Degree Name

Department

Finance

College

Marriott School of Management

Defense Date

2022-03-09

Publication Date

2022-03-18

First Faculty Advisor

Colbrin Wright

First Faculty Reader

Taylor Nadauld

Honors Coordinator

Jim Brau

Keywords

Finance, women, gender gap, women in business, women in finance

Abstract

This thesis explores the root cause of the systemic underrepresentation of women in the finance industry by investigating why so few women choose to study finance in college. It looks in depth at why there is a low percentage of women that graduate in finance from Brigham Young University each year by analyzing the survey responses of women in business majors across the Marriott School. The thesis discusses three areas of solutions for greater mentorship, transparency, and exposure that can be implemented through five actionable steps to help shift the dynamic of representation. While I do not aim to make generalizations about my findings at BYU to colleges nationwide in my thesis, I do believe that my research will be generally indicative of problems that are applicable nationwide.