Financial trading is the great equaliser, as anyone who has knowledge, research, skillset and discipline to navigate the markets has the potential to make money.
The only barrier that is in the way of potential success is access to capital, something we try to fix throughout our instant funding prop firm accounts.
Historically, however, this access to capital allowed for the establishment of a glass ceiling that prevented a lot of promising female traders from rising the ranks, as seen in books such as Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis and Tom Wolfe’s The Bonfire of the Vanities.
Talent is often undeniable, and there are countless female traders who have shattered the glass ceiling and become huge successes in the process. Here are five of the most famous, successful and influential.
Kathy Lien
One of the greatest forex traders of all time, Kathy Lien was a prodigious talent who started her Wall Street Career at the age of 18, having graduated from the Stern School of Business in New York.
An advocate for fundamental analysis, the secret to her success has been studying wider macroeconomic trends whilst combining that with technical analysis to find the entry and exit points for trades with a high probability of success.
She has also written several best-selling books, with Millionaire Traders being particularly beloved as an inspiration for many people from all walks of life to give trading a try.
Muriel Siebert
The “First Lady of Wall Street”, Muriel Siebert was one of the most critical voices in the history of the New York Stock Exchange and faced every type of institutional sexism it was possible to face at that point, but triumphed to become one of the most important traders and Superintendent of Banks during her era.
Her biggest achievement, however, was her advocacy for women and other voices that had been silenced by a male-dominated sector. She argued and was vindicated time after time that a plurality of voices is essential for the future of the financial sector.
Given that the NYSE did not even have a women’s bathroom until 1987, the scale of the progress she blazed a trail for is almost impossible to truly measure.
Victoria Woodhull
The first stockbroker in Wall Street history, Victoria Woodhull was a tireless advocate for women’s suffrage, civil rights and the free love movement, who leveraged her talent for trading into materially improving the lives of women and advocating for beliefs that were inexplicably controversial at the time.
Having made a fortune as a clairvoyant, she would, alongside her sister Tennessee, open a brokerage firm with the help of railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, proving to be successful in a field that struggled to comprehend the existence of female stock traders.
She would, ironically enough, also publish the first English edition of The Communist Manifesto and even run for president in an extremely influential life.
Linda Bradford Raschke
One of the highly influential New Market Wizards, Linda Bradford Raschke was heralded as one of the finest technical analysts of her era, taking advantage of her particular skill at short-term trades to craft a highly successful track record even during particularly volatile market periods.
What makes her career particularly impressive is that her success has been tied to short-term technical analysis in the commodity and futures markets, with a hit rate that has made her hugely popular in the trading world.
With a reputation for consistency across a 45-year career, Ms Raschke has cemented her status as one of the greatest financial traders of all time, and like many who have come before her, she has provided a wealth of insights into financial trading alongside actionable advice that has inspired generations of other traders.
Lauren Simmons
Known as the “Wolfette of Wall Street”, Lauren Simmons became the youngest ever full-time female trader on the New York Stock Exchange at the age of 22, as well as only the second African-American woman in such a position.
Her particular story, which began in Georgia with a genetics degree and ended with a job in one of the most prestigious trading floors in the world, is one that showcases the power of pursuing one’s goals. Her determination and the motivation it provided her to improve are the reasons she achieved what appeared to be the impossible.
She left the position after a year and a half to advocate for diversity, empowerment and financial wellness, but she also represents the possibilities that are available for people willing to invest in themselves, both on Wall Street and through the opportunities that came afterwards.