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UBS, Bloomberg Widen "Girls Take Finance" Program, Include More Cities
Tom Burroughes
2 March 2020
UBS and Bloomberg have launched a global program to inspire young women to pursue a financial career, a push that fits with a focus on the need to improve diversity and widen the industry’s talent pool. The firms are rolling out "Girls Take Finance," which builds on the 2019 "Girls Take" events. The new program provides young women, aged 14 to 18, with insight into the financial services industry and career opportunities in business, finance and technology. This year’s schedule includes Frankfurt, Jakarta, Johannesburg, London, San Francisco, São Paulo, Sydney, and Zurich. "As someone who started his career in financial services as an apprentice at age 15, I know first-hand how important encouragement is to making career choices," UBS Group CEO Sergio P Ermotti said. "That's why I'm so delighted to expand the program this year. Together with Bloomberg, we can inspire hundreds of young women who otherwise might not have seriously considered pursuing careers in areas like finance, banking and technology." It is often noted that the wealth management industry remains dominated by men, and that in some nations such as the US and UK, it is getting grayer. This puts the sector under pressure to widen the talent net to meet the needs of new, younger entrepreneurs and inheritors. UBS and Bloomberg partner with non-profit organizations in each city to host on-site events. The full-day program will include workshops focused on career growth and networking skills, panel discussions with industry experts, and motivational talks with volunteers about the variety of careers in financial services. “Businesses that want to attract tomorrow’s brightest talent must do more to make careers in their industry accessible to more diverse groups at an earlier age,” said Peter T Grauer, chairman of Bloomberg and founding chairman of the US 30% Club. In October last year, the “Girls Take Wall Street" event was held in India. Nearly 150 young women from colleges across Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad participated in the mentoring events. Students also had the opportunity to ring the Closing Bell at the Bombay Stock Exchange and visited the India International Exchange , India’s first international stock exchange.