Happy International Women’s Day

Women’s rights have come a long way from the time when most societies consider them chattels of their husbands and they were not given the right to vote or to pursue certain professions. Women have proved themselves to be no inferior to their male counterparts in terms of intelligence if they were given the same opportunities. Even so, gender discrimination continues to be a problem in some cultures and pockets of society. Women may face an invisible glass ceiling in male-dominated industries and women’s salary increments and career progression can lag behind that of men because of the perception that women are less driven or committed to their careers due to their having to balance their careers with the traditional roles women play at home, especially when they are married and/or have children.

I greatly admire Geraldine Weiss who did not give up on her passion for finance when she was not able to secure a job as a broker despite possessing the appropriate educational qualifications. She started her own investment newsletter “Investment Quality Trends” and signed off as G. Weiss to avoid the gender prejudice prevalent at the time. Her strategy of picking value stocks that pay consistent and high dividends performed well even in poor market conditions and it was only after she had established a solid track record that she revealed she was a woman. She is known as “The Dividend Detective”.

Regardless of our gender, we can all celebrate the wisdom of outstanding women and learn from great female investors both past and present. Happy Women’s Day!