by Ahana Samat

For a long time, I envisioned the financial services industry as an endless re-run of “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Finance seemed so ruthless, competitive, and masculine. As a woman, I assumed that I could hold a very small place in it. This was despite the fact that I was raised by encouraging parents who owned a small scale business, and family dinners often included asking for my opinion about their work.

Being fairly middle class, finance played a significant role in my life. It became even more important when I looked for scholarships to attend a university in the United States and calculated the expenses of studying abroad. My life revolved around finance yet I claimed I would have nothing to do with it.

In college, I quickly changed my major to Economics. I had no particular rationale for doing this apart from the fact that I enjoyed the subject. But finance was a world apart. So, when I came across the FinMango page on my Instagram, I was surprised. I knew immediately that FinMango was doing important work in promoting personal and economic freedom via financial literacy. They were making people independent and self-sufficient- what could be better? This inspired me when I thought the world of finance had little humanity to offer.

Soon after, I took a leap of faith. I messaged the founder and CEO of FinMango, Scott Glasgow, on Instagram asking if his organization had any volunteer opportunities available for a college student with no experience and an interest, that after months of denial, had revealed itself.

FinMango took me on after we messaged. After two weeks of being a “Mango”, I was already in charge of conducting a panel at our grand “EXTRAVAGANZA” event, a 24-hour free Zoom call, where people from all walks of life were united in one mission – to promote financial literacy. Specifically, I conducted a panel discussion on the importance of financial literacy for women in the world of business. As I prepared for the panel, I felt a bit like an imposter. I used to view finance as a very male-dominated field, but here I was, talking to women pioneers in venture capital, risk management, and corporate law. My belief that finance was a place that I didn't belong was shattered. I wasn't disappointed to be wrong.

A topic that came up in the panel was the low number of women represented in the financial services industry and the relative invisibility of those who were. We also talked a lot about confidence. This struck me on a very personal level. Despite successfully navigating a very quantitative- heavy major, I didn’t feel confident in my abilities to handle finance or numbers. In this panel, as well as conversations I have had with my peers, there is agreement that women are socialized into being nice and modest, often at the expense of their confidence. The lack of this quality can infiltrate our careers and the way we view finance.

Developing this innate confidence also depends on the community one is surrounded by. At FinMango, I have been given opportunities that strengthened my belief in my ability to make a change. One prominent example of this is the Google collaboration, an open source data project designed to collect information about the COVID-19 pandemic. I worked with a team that supported my outlook and encouraged my leadership in a world that often tells women otherwise. Additionally, the internal training opportunities for volunteers have led me to meet some of the most fascinating leaders in fields of marketing and corporate law, who have mentored me and shared their knowledge, skills, and external resources to help me succeed in the business world. To say I am one of the lucky few is an understatement.

Women are underrepresented in the financial services industry, are less likely to be financially literate, yet, according to an article by The Economist, women were expected to control $72 trillion of the world’s wealth by 2020, as estimated in 2015. The number of women represented in the financial services industry is growing, as companies promise equal representation. But it shouldn’t stop there – the goal is to ensure equity through visibility. Women should not just have a seat at the table; their voice and professional opinions should be accorded equal legitimacy as their male peers. Workforces should encourage the confidence of women, rather than subscribing to archaic societal norms of meekness.

The FinMango community, the resources it has provided me with, and my personal experiences convince me that I can help drive change. By building my confidence and providing me with endless opportunities, FinMango has changed the way I view finance, my place in it as a woman, and has shown me what I can do to help those who come after me. It has inspired me to follow my passion of increasing financial literacy among women and making the financial services industry more representative. But equality- true equality- can only exist when it is not limited to pockets and available to a “lucky few” but is an indisputable fact of life for all. I believe that financial literacy can aid in this goal.

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