how did women break into wall street? a new book fills in the gaps in women's history
2024-09-19
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according to reports from the washington post and other media, a new book focusing on the stories of women on wall street, which will be published in september, has attracted widespread attention. in this new book, she-wolves: the untold history of women on wall street, american historian paulina bren reconstructs the entire story of how women broke into the men's club on wall street. in a place of power that has long banned women from joining, bren describes in detail how working-class women at the time knocked on the door of wall street in a tortuous and imaginative way.
still from the movie "the wolf of wall street" (2013).
the book lists many impressive "firsts", including the first woman in history to attend harvard business school, the first black female bank president in the united states, the first black woman to take the new york stock exchange license exam, the first woman to become a member of the new york stock exchange, and the first and only new york stock exchange member company managed by women.
brunn combines literature review with first-hand interviews to bring readers into the stories of these women in the financial industry, and ultimately shows that it is not just one type of woman who can succeed on wall street. what these women who have successfully entered wall street have in common is that they all face endless struggles - sexism, workplace bullying, glass ceilings, and systemic injustice. brunn observed that most of these women have undergone special training in "dealing with dysfunction" and they know how to deal with families that are difficult to get along with and hard to get rid of, especially vicious brothers at home.
book cover of the english edition of she wolf.
one of the most memorable stories in the book is about a high school senior. louise jones was a foster child who was found abandoned in a telephone booth. she had forty hispanic foster brothers and sisters, and she was considered quite suitable to work on the chaotic trading floor of the new york stock exchange. she rose through the ranks from teletypewriter to clerk typist until 1985, when several companies offered her a trading floor clerk position. she negotiated a tough deal and finally got a salary of $78,000. she was only twenty years old at the time.
there are many similar stories. the women in the book have amazing willpower. they can only fight for hard-won jobs by overcoming the jealousy of men who try to hinder their career development. the book also exposes the outdated gender concepts in the financial industry at that time. for decades, the world of wall street has been operating according to its own rules. these rules are made by men and serve men. this world in turn shapes the face of new york city, both materially and socially. in 1972, a question on the job application exam of merrill lynch was: when you and your wife quarrel, who usually wins?
compared to men, the first women on wall street also faced considerable physical threats. alice jarcho was the first woman to work full-time as a floor broker on the new york stock exchange. however, the higher the position, the more obstacles she had to face, and the more jealous opponents she faced. so much so that an undercover police officer had to drive her to work every morning for several days.
a book review in the washington post believes that she-wolf is ultimately not only a story about women entering the financial world, but also a story about them leaving the financial world. the postscript at the end of the book is an alphabetical list of characters, with detailed information about "where they are now". many of the people at that time have retired, some have chosen to resign due to career changes or family reasons, and others are writing a memoir that "tries to reveal everything".
what does it all mean, after decades of struggle and only “marginal” progress? brune doesn’t say. her only goal seems to be to remind readers of a familiar truth: “wall street was built for men. it remains, at its core, an old boys’ club.”
reference links:
1.How women broke into the boys club of Wall Street — sometimes literally
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/09/16/she-wolves-women-finance-bren-review/
2.NEW BOOK “SHE-WOLVES” UNCOVERS UNTOLD STORY OF THE WOMEN WHO BUILT WALL STREET
https://untappedcities.com/2024/08/19/book-she-wolves-women-wall-street/
compiled by shen lu
editor/lotus
proofreading/zhao lin
