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Every year on 8 March, the world celebrates the achievements of women across the world as we mark International Women’ s Day. This year The TRADE wanted to pay special attention to the women working across our capital markets.
Eden Simmer, head of global equity trading at PIMCO, Laura- Jayne Carlyle, senior fixed income trader at BlackRock, and Gozde Yildiz, fixed income trader at UBS Asset Management, share their market outlooks, reflect on their career paths, and discuss the opportunities and challenges shaping the industry’ s future, highlighting the contribution of women across the sector.
Paramount was unpacking the key messages from the industry that young women considering a career in capital markets should hear.
Diversity as an opportunity, rather than a hurdle In March 2016, the UK Government launched the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter, with the aim of building a greater sense of equality and gender balance in senior management across capital markets. Since then, various annual reviews have taken place, with progress revealing that average female representation in senior management in this sector increased from 35 % in 2023 to 36 % in 2024.
In addition, the report indicated that a one percentage point increase has been an annual standard since the launch of the charter, meaning that if this uptick continues, female presence in these senior roles should reach parity by 2038.
Building on this, finding
International Women’ s Day
Celebrating women shaping the industry
In honour of International Women’ s Day 2026, NATASHA COCKSEDGE sat down with senior female leaders from PIMCO, BlackRock and UBS Asset Management to discuss their journeys to the trading desk, delving into the best way to build a career on the floor, the importance of the voices of female mentors, and the most important lessons they’ ve learnt along the way.
pathways to the trading floor can be difficult for all those looking to stake their claim in the industry. However, as Yildiz highlights, diversity and an open mindset are key to building a successful career in capital markets.
“ One persistent misconception is that trading success depends on personality stereotypes rather than professional discipline. In reality, the most effective traders tend to be measured, analytical, and process driven,” says Yildiz.
“ The most damaging assumption is that anyone must conform to a predefined mould to succeed. Markets are complex adaptive systems, and they consistently reward diversity of perspective far more than uniformity of style.”
Similar sentiment was also echoed by Carlyle, who
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