Where are the women? Why India’s trading floors remain a male domain #IndiaFinance

“The trading floor is intense—full of aggression, sharp language, and a no-filter attitude that can be overwhelming,” said a female equity trader with nearly two decades of experience who didn’t want to be identified. “The gender ratio is shockingly low at 20:1 in dealing rooms.”

However, in the finance sector overall, about 20% of those employed are women, according to estimates shared by search firm Korn Ferry India. Women’s participation is even higher in an industry like information technology services at 36%, according to estimates by industry body Nasscom.

Trading floors of the past, where men jostled, animatedly signalled and shouted orders over the din, have given way to dealing rooms where people furiously tap away client trades on keyboards. That, according to multiple traders Mint spoke with, hasn’t brought women into these roles as much as some of the other profiles.

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“There is a clear boys’ club, and the cultural nuances on the trading floors make it a male bastion,” said Monica Agrawal, managing director – financial services, Asia Pacific and India lead, board and CEO services at Korn Ferry India. “There are few role models for women and that prevents them from even considering to aspire for the role.”

In equity dealing rooms, traders execute stock and derivatives transactions, often involving high volatility and short-term trades on the National Stock Exchange Ltd and BSE. A bond dealing room focuses on government and corporate bonds, trading via negotiated dealing system-order matching, over-the-counter markets, and exchanges. The activity on an equity trading floor is far more frenetic.

“We have to take instant decisions on whether to buy or sell (shares of a firm), and the order sizes can be large,” said Radhika Maheshwari, lead dealer at WhiteOak Capital’s portfolio management vertical. “In a volatile market like the one we are seeing now, the risk multiplies and only those with a strong risk appetite and risk management can confidently make quick, high-impact decisions.”

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A trade call, often made in split seconds, can either boost or erode a client’s portfolio. The stereotyped belief that men are more attuned to such risk-taking prevents many women from applying for roles in dealing rooms even now.

“In the futures and options (F&O) retail space, the number of women traders is quite low,” said Salonee Sanghvi, founder of research firm My Wealth Guide. Sanghvi, who has worked with ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s RARE Enterprises for nearly a decade, estimates that barely 10-15% of all retail derivative traders in India are women.

“We have women as senior executives in other teams like finance, marketing, but the dealing rooms are all-male,” said a senior executive in the dealing room of one of the largest financial advisory firms. “Some [women] who came in the early years, asked for a transfer or left.”

Alekh Yadav, head of investment products at Sanctum Wealth, who headed trading for four years, said in the open outcry method of the 1990s and early 2000s, men were considered “naturally suited for the role” of shouting out buy-and-sell orders on the BSE floor. “But as technology has advanced, the need for physical presence has disappeared, allowing more women to enter the space. Still, old traditions linger, keeping the gender ratio skewed.”

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A few financial services firms have been trying to reduce this gap.

“We are proud to have achieved 26% female representation in our dealing room,” Manjeet Dhillon, head of human resources at Kotak Securities, told Mint. But the broking firm flagged that “early reporting hours” was one of the major hurdles.

Many companies are adopting gender-blind hiring practices, forming diverse interview panels, and setting specific gender-diversity goals to encourage more women to pursue equity trading, Dhillon said.

Rival HDFC Securities has introduced a childcare allowance, helping reduce attrition among returning mothers to just 5.5%. “While challenges in closing the gender gap in broking remain, we believe our initiatives will empower more women to thrive in this field,” said Dhiraj Relli, the company’s managing director & chief executive officer.

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While HDFC Securities has reached an overall gender diversity ratio of 26.7%, Motilal Oswal Financial Services told Mint that it has clocked a 308% increase in the number of women professionals in its company.

Both the companies did not specify the percentage of female traders in their dealing rooms.

Most companies still want to hire women in the treasury, accounting and finance floors, and trading rooms stay largely off-limits.