By Darcy Illg, president of Financial Women of San Francisco
1. How did you first connect with The Financial Women of San Francisco?
Nearly a decade ago, I found a posting online for a lunch hour training on negotiation skills hosted by Financial Women’s Association of San Francisco (now, Financial Women of San Francisco). I wasn’t familiar with the organization at the time. During that first event, I met women and men from a large segment of the financial community, at all levels. I sat next to a senior level woman in banking and learned a lot from her during our casual conversation. I met another woman on the way-out who has since become a dear friend. The training was excellent, but the people in the room were really the highlight of the event. Now, I often look forward to seeing FWSF members and meeting new people, almost more than I look forward to the event (almost!).
2.How were you chosen to be its new Board President?
I worked for several years on committees, and then was invited to be the co-Chair of the Financial Woman of the Year committee. After holding that position for two years, I was invited to run for Vice President. I said “no,” several times, thinking I was not ready for the role. I eventually said, “yes,” and was voted in during a live vote at our annual meeting in December 2014 (I had not appeared on the leadership slate voted on prior to the meeting because I continued to say “no” until the night before our annual meeting). The next year, 2015, I was voted in as the 2016 President of the Financial Women of San Francisco.
As President, I have worked with board members who approached me and clearly articulated their goals and desired position within the organization, or members whom I approached and asked to fill certain roles. At FWSF, as with many organizations, it’s important to get visibility by being involved and to communicate how you would like to serve the organization.
3.FWSF is celebrating its 60th year, congrats! What has the organization been able to do for women over the years? What can other women-focused orgs learn from them?
Financial Women of San Francisco started out 60 years ago when 17 women in Finance in San Francisco met to create a forum to share ideas and to support one another. Today, the organization has grown to provide scholarships to women entering careers in Finance, to orchestrate formal mentorship relationships between members, to bring interesting topics and relevant training opportunities to all levels, and to provide networking opportunities. However, the original goals of FWSF’s founding members –sharing ideas and supporting one another in our careers – is at the heart of all that FWSF does.
At FWSF, bringing together individuals who are keenly focused on our mission has made us a highly successful, thriving, all-volunteer organization. It is important to have a strong mission (FWSF’s mission is “to advance professionalism in finance and financial services by promoting the development, career progress and leadership of women”) and leaders who truly believe in the mission. At FWSF, you will more often hear “How can I help you?” rather than “What can this organization do for me?”
4. Mentorship has helped you professionally. How does one connect with a mentor, especially women, for the benefit of one’s career?
I’ve found that mentorship happens all the time. Even the most casual conversations lead to important learning, as long as one has her ears open and is willing to take in new opinions and ideas.
I have several people whom I consider to be my mentors. One of my most trusted advisors, Neil, is the person who originally told me that I should not only rely on just his advice, but also the advice of others, even taking information away from casual conversations. Once I started thinking about what I could take away from each conversation I had and apply in my own life, my growth career-wise became exponential.
5.Current stats say that 50% of the financial industry is made up of women, compared to 29% in the tech industry. Why do you think the financial industry is outpacing tech in terms of female representation?
Women have been entering the financial industry in greater numbers for a longer period of time than they have in the technology industry. Following years of hard work by the women who have come before us in finance, the financial industry is a more welcoming place for women. In tech, women are just now joining the workforce in greater numbers, and the environment can be quite unwelcoming to women.
Several recent studies have shown that women are entering more industries in greater numbers (finance is one of these industries), but women are not making it to senior level roles. One prominent 2015 study (“Women in the Workplace” from McKinsey & Co and LeanIn.org) stated “Female leadership is an imperative for organizations that want to perform at the highest levels. Yet based on the slow rate of progress over the last three years, it will take twenty-five years to reach gender parity at the senior-VP level and more than one hundred years in the C-suite.”
Just as FWSF has worked for 60 years to build in-roads for women in finance, women in tech need similar support groups. As women, we face obstacles in the workplace that are harder to overcome, higher to scale, and more frequent on the playing field. Having a support group of others who have faced similar obstacles can help each of us navigate the field through coaching or mentoring, both formal and informal, from like-minded women.
6.What tips can you give women who want to advance in their career, especially if they have to balance family?
First, know your worth! We are not valued because we can work a precise 8 to 5 schedule. We are valued because of the quality of our work, our ability to build relationships with clients, or any number of skills and qualities that aren’t tied to traditional work scenarios.
Next, communicate your worth. Make sure you communicate your value, so that others see what makes you unique and highly valuable. Don’t assume others will recognize or acknowledge all that you do. This is critical if you need flexibility in your work schedule to manage family events or emergencies. You want others to be cognizant of all that you add to the team, not of when you arrive or depart from work. These two steps will help you create a foundation for building balance in life.
Finally, recognize that it will be difficult, but not impossible, to make the right decisions for career and family, in a constant state of balancing and re-balancing. It may never feel like the perfect balance. Balancing is a continuous process, not something we achieve. Recently, in a FWSF book club book, author Brian Tracy wrote that, like a tightrope walker, we are constantly adjusting because we are unbalanced from one second to the next.
7.What is your ideal day off, what do you enjoy doing?
My ideal day off is sitting in my backyard with my family, reading and having a glass of wine.
So much of the time, weekends and evenings are filled with events that it is hard to find time to simply enjoy my family’s company without the pressure of having to run to another event, meet a deadline, or cram some last minute work in before Monday morning.
With the support of several of my friends at FWSF, I have been setting boundaries and finding one day a week to be calm, quiet and contemplative. It’s so much easier to accomplish goals when one has a fantastic support network, as I do with the women and men of FWSF.
8.If you could travel anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would you like to go?
San Francisco is my favorite city, but I’ve also fallen in love with Vancouver and Madrid. My ideal travel scenario would be to visit one of my favorite cities, and walk, walk, walk. Ideally, I’d walk to a lush garden or park, stop to read for a while with a cup of coffee in hand, then walk all afternoon, stopping now and then at art galleries, and eventually ending the day with a delightful meal and glass of wine or beer.
About The Financial Women of San Francisco
Celebrating its 60th anniversary, the Financial Women of San Francisco seeks to advance the success of women in finance and financial services and to be a source of insight and inspiration to financial women executives and managers throughout the Bay Area.
The organization’s membership includes women in positions of influence within the financial services sector and women who hold senior level positions within non-finance companies, government agencies and the non-profit sector. Members include CEO’s, CFO’s, corporate treasurers, CPAs, attorneys, commercial and private bankers, investment advisors, fund managers, securities analysts, administrators, financial planners, consultants, recruiters and marketers.
For more information please visit http://financialwomensf.org/, follow the Financial Women of San Francisco on Twitter @FinanceWomenSF, Facebook and LinkedIn, or hashtag us at #financialwomensf.
About Darcy Illg
Darcy Illg leads the Virtual Channels Fraud Reporting & Analytical Oversight team at Wells Fargo. Using her prior experience heading Finance and Operations teams, and her previous role as CFO of an international services company, she makes complex, rapidly changing data understandable to a wide ranging audience, including executives not involved in daily fraud operations.
Darcy is also Lecturer in Leadership Communications at the Haas School of Business. Previously, she was Teacher, Special Programs-Excel and Associate Lecturer in New Venture Finance at Haas-UC Berkeley.
She has an MBA from Haas-UC Berkeley, and a BA in Business Management & Communications, summa cum laude, from Holy Names University. LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/darcyillg