The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-09-08
Banking Is Now Profession For
 Women
By BETH MILvAINE


 "We spend all the money, do we," exclaimed one irate maiden. Yes, we dont! Maybe we slip at lot over the
 counter for clothes, but how about the clubs men belong to, their tobacco, their
 cars, their amusements? l may spend
 money but I make it too" And she's
 right too. was just speaking of the old days!
 In our enlightened era women make
 money as we'll as the men; they take care of their own money, and whats
 more they take care of mems money, too That is, those who are "lady bank
 CTS" do.
 Until the last very few years bank ling has been fenced off with barbed
 wire from the professions open to wom- cn. They were not supposed to have the financial sense, the hand that holds the money, ncr the head that holds fig ures. Men, unwilling to admit the pos
 sible existence of female financial wiz
 ards, operatetd closed shop. During the war, however. women broke into the sacred prccints and have been
 streaming in ever since.
 One of the pioneers, an able execu- tive in banks for six years, believes
 that all women in banking are still in the pioneer stage.
 I Miss N had the competence and efficiency such as you find in all able
 executives. Yet she was splendidly feminine, from the top of her smart fred hat to the silver buckle on her pump l. "Now, take my work here, which think is typical. believe my business [experience is typical too of other wom- en in banking. l had had. experience in selling and in organization work, put was a babe in the arms as far as thls was concerned. Seeing an opening op- portunity for women in banks, took
 n course in the Bankers institute. Then, after I was offered and had accepted this position, I spent one whole year in every single branch of this lnstl- tuition.
 "A bank is different from other places of business. The building and especially the employees must give an lunshakable confidence to the investor. So a girl who meets the public must be agreeable and easy to talk with 1; quietly substantial in personal appear ance. expression and voice; perfectly sure of her facts and assured In her
 own mind of their value.
 q handle women's affairs Tn any branch of banking, although most wom-
 en in similar positions handle men as well. Generally the timid, old-fash-
 toned woman who hasn't gotten used to managing her own affairs and IS
 afraid of dealing with men, comes to
 me. Then, the modern young woman,
 also managing her own affairs for the
 first time. but who wishes to deal with
 onother woman because she'll have more
 patience with her ignorance and agaln
 inc older woman, a widow perhaps, left win money and no business head, Fms
 tyne desires the sympathy and under
 standing which men haven't the power
 and time to give. Banking sounds dry
 but it's dealing with human beings as
 we'll as figures"
 Smaller banks offer greater oppor- ,unitv for women executives than the ioroe New York institutions. Five m tbe United States have women presi' dents. and many. have women casniers' treasurers, heads of women's depart ments. home savings departments, wee
 nresidents, and so on. l found that many New York banks use them only
 in clerical capacity, some preterring experienced help, others wishing to de- veion their own talent. Everything from filing clerks through special ma chine cperators to department heaGs . and private secretaries are needed' oar
 ories to begin with are average, put dencndjng on ability and length or ser'' ice. may reach $4,000 year. The employment manager or one ol
 tho oldest and most powerful banking houses in the world said, we looE
 for the woman who does the common , h;no in the uncomman way, Wno puts tho came amount of energy and lntel' iirenre into everything she does, big or IittIe One girl I have gets our ldea
 nIn,ost before you have time to put
 ;t into words. And before you can r sov Jack Robinson, it's carried out She.u % far. We're always looking
 for first class stenographers' glrlS whose ability lies in their heads as 5 vol as between their. wrists and thell finger tips .... h,nLiro ,r,,nor is opcn:ng to women and that 3 ;s hond selling. I talked with a young ,vonon who had been business Managei of har college for several years, anC
 thon came to New York for some kine :. of n ioh. She went from one business
 bowse to another on q tour Of lnvestl g cation Q until bond selling caught hei . fancy. oo;o,,v roo,
 in mathematics in college she con f;dod to me, "anG my other major hat
 bnon economics. No two studies coui' r. have belped more. They're the one F to study plus history, even after yo, - Lova vour job. My bank put me throusl
 tIe same course that it gives the men .- [ was the only girl in the class Du f +bis year there were two. Among otne |. tb;nrs we studied management, foreigl j. oxchsnre. finance, general business con T ditions. T, ,.o,, ,,us d lrnow what you're talking about: S vou'rc not Il good salesman, this IS n l. ;nh for YOU. Besides, you must nav }. the spirit of service, and take the woi
 ries and needs of your client on you
 own sLoulders. You have no idea nov s tbev dep4ud on your judgment. Tn a other day | sold a regular woman IT 3. vestor of mine some bonds Of ne' issme over the telephone. In the after
 n0on she called me back and asked Ill y inc neme of the bonds l had sold he !, !, that morning. And she's a smart bus le ness Woman.i ,... "I have as many men on my list a ,I vomen' To the great majority of mel e we are just business heads not wSmS m :;
 at all. That's the way 1t shoula De. IS This young woman could have sol
 me anything she recommended with tn ,e most nerfect ease. Not that I'm eas 1t to sell but she filled me with perte' r. confidence in her opinions and he of knowledge of bonds. Hers was an e m necially happy combination of intell