I am an olympian with both undergraduate and graduate level Ivy League degrees and my drive and competency is questioned more than my white girlfriends who have half as much investment experience, no Ivy League degrees and no MBA. I considered getting the CFA as another badge of accreditation in the asset management field, but I had to face the fact that my other black girlfriends with multiple Ivy League degrees plus CFA and CAIA certifications still struggled to get hired at the higher paying Endowments and Foundations investment offices. Our place is relegated to the lowest paying segment of asset allocators, Public Pension plans. The compensation difference is more than $150,000 per year at even the Associate Director level and the pay discrepancy only widens at more senior levels.
