(By ELIZABETH HOPE)

Jennifer Hope is a woman in the financial service industry. She is a dedicated mother, wife, and worker. And because of her gender, she has also overcome some challenges along the way.

“Women are not always treated equally in the business world,” Jennifer says.

Women tend to be underpaid, are not equally represented, have fewer leadership positions, face sexual harassment, often don’t have equal access to training and career building opportunities, and don’t always receive equal treatment. This means women have to work so much harder to get what they want out of life, and that’s exactly what Jennifer did.

After graduating from college, Jennifer was in need of a new job. Luckily, her cousin called her about a job opportunity when she lived in Colorado to work for a company called The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America-College Retirement Equities Fund, or TIAA-CREF.

She didn’t know anything about insurance or retirement plans, but the company offered great training, so she took the job and found her calling. It was the perfect stepping stone.

After working at TIAA-CREF for a few years, she moved to Montana and took a job with Merrill Lynch. She soon became a partner and the group decided to venture out on their own to start their own wealth management firm.

Years later the partnership dissolved and she moved to Austin, Texas and landed a position as a financial advisor at a credit union that serves those who are employed by IBM. At that point, Jennifer had been in the financial services industry for over 20 years.

Due to the changing landscape with the pandemic, she made the bold decision to open her own wealth management business. The timing couldn’t have been better.

After months of planning, arranging, and being adamant about her hopes for her business, she opened Espira Wealth Management and her clients “enthusiastically followed” her.

Jennifer did not always have an easy time in her industry though. She has felt defeated by her male colleagues — especially since women only represent 16% of the financial advisors in the industry, according to an April 2021 report published by InvestmentNews.

“I have to say that some of my male colleagues don’t treat me the same as they do their other colleagues,” Jennifer says. “I have many examples of that.”

Some examples of the disrespect and inequality she has faced is being called “kiddo,” “girl” and “darling”; being asked if she is new to the industry; men being surprised that she follows the stock market; or even being asked, “Do you have your license to be a financial advisor?”

To be a woman in the workforce is no easy task, even to this day. In the United States, for every dollar a man makes, a woman makes 79 cents for the same exact job, and that number varies lower or higher depending on which state you live in and what race you are.

Serving in public office is no different. Although at an all-time high, women make up less than 27% of members of Congress, and less than 9% of those women are women of color.

“When women are given access to opportunities for career growth, they can make a huge impact on their company,” Jennifer says, wondering why women only represent 16% of financial advisors.

“Is it because women are not taught to be assertive and to be more submissive?” she asks. “If 50% of the population is female, then people who are dealing with a financial advisor should be able to have equal access.”

Jennifer is not satisfied with the status quo. She says her goal is to “coach women how to get into business and be successful, while also crushing the patriarchy.”

Editor’s Note: Jennifer Hope is the mother of ACC Star’s Elizabeth Hope, who wrote this profile.