What it's like to be a woman in the hedge fund business

Business Insider

Women have a long way to go on Wall Street, and nowhere is this more true than in the hedge fund industry, where only 15% of CEOs are women.

While women often hold marketing and compliance roles, they are rare in investing positions, which usually pay the most.

There are a lot of reasons for the gap, among them biases, cliquey hiring, and weaker professional networks.

Last year, I spoke with female investors about what it is like working in the industry. We're republishing their stories in honor of International Women's Day on March 8.

Some spoke of annoying biases - one woman who launched her own fund said she stopped wearing her wedding ring at investor meetings because she grew tired of questions about what her husband did. Others spoke of being ignored for the investment ideas they presented or hearing crass talk about female colleagues.

Most said their experiences had, on the whole, been otherwise positive. Investing proves a quantifiable measure on which to be measured, something other careers lack, some mentioned. There are fewer gray areas on which to be measured, the thinking goes, if you can point to a number that proves your performance for the year.

Everyone asked to be kept anonymous so to not jeopardize their careers. Here are their stories.