"Female bankers have to be excellent. The men are still mediocre"
It is 2025, and yet, in a recent interview for a capital markets origination role, I was asked whether I planned to have more children. The question, though unspoken in most rooms, remains embedded in the DNA of the finance industry. Women may now feature prominently across LinkedIn feeds and on diversity panels, but the unvarnished truth is this: there is little room for the average female rainmaker.
In investment banking, the system does not run on star performers. It runs on thousands of technically capable, diligent men who are neither exceptional nor extraordinary. They are the engine room; consistent, competent, and unburdened by the expectation of perfection. Even Goldman Sachs CEO, David Solomon recently remarked that AI wouldn't necessarily replace bankers, not because of quality, but because it couldn't scale client reach; in essence, a volume game. Excellence has become algorithmic.
But for women, the bar remains pristine and punishingly high. To succeed, one must possess the perfect combination of elite education, affluent networks, a polished accent, and, crucially, no baggage. The moment maternity enters the frame, so too does a slowdown. Each child doesn't just set a woman back ten months of leave; it pushes her trajectory down by three or four years. In an ageist industry, that's a lifetime.
The successful women who remain in banking have learned the quiet art of invisibility. They do not mention school pick-ups or sick days. They arrive at dawn, depart after dusk, and are flanked by round-the-clock childcare. To admit otherwise risks being labelled not fully committed. Mention your children, and you're quietly redirected to a compliance or project management track; functions valued for diligence, not deal-making.
In contrast, average men flourish. Banking is filled with them. But where are the average women? The ones without billionaire fathers, Mayfair postcodes, or old-school mentors? We celebrate the exceptions like Ana Botin. Icons whose lives seem impossibly immaculate, scrubbed of the messy reality of family life. The rest simply fall away.
Women in banking must rise flawlessly. The cost of imperfection is career death. Meanwhile, senior men move seamlessly between banks regardless of market conditions or performance. Their networks cushion every fall.
Hiring practices don't help. High-paying roles are increasingly filled through informal processes where trust, references, and after-hours drinks matter more than open competition. Men, who dominate these circles, thrive. Women, less likely to be regulars at Canary Wharf bars, simply don't get invited into the room.
When I hear the refrain, "We didn't see many female candidates," I think: Of course you didn't. You didn't take them to lunch. You didn't let them build trust in the same informal spaces where deals and careers are made.
And what of women supporting women? That too is often a mirage. I once reached out to the head of my bank's women's committee for a brief conversation after returning from maternity leave. I never heard back. Yet she continues to speak at conferences about female advancement. Advocacy has become performance art.
The industry has come a long way since the 1970s, but progress has plateaued. Real equality will only arrive when women are allowed to be average. When we can have imperfect normal lives, and still be trusted with rainmaking mandates. When a female banker no longer needs a godfather, a Chelsea postcode, or a full-time nanny to belong.
Until then, the unspoken checklist for success remains:
Godfather. Pedigree. Zero baggage.
Good luck.
Jeanette Fulton is a pseudonym
Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: +44 7537 182250 (SMS, Whatsapp or voicemail). Telegram: @SarahButcher. Signal: sarahbutcher.22 Click here to fill in our anonymous form, or email editortips@efinancialcareers.com.
Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: comments are moderated intermittently by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. You must take sole responsibility for comments you post on this site. We will take reasonable steps to weed out anything that we consider to be offensive or inappropriate.
