“Many women were very, very eager to have an opportunity to tell our story.”
The company noted that more than 800 of its nearly 3,500 employees are women. In an email, Fisher said a quarter of those ranked vice president or higher are female, as well as three of five senior executive vice presidents who report to Ken Fisher. (Five men, including Fisher, oversee all investment decisions, however.)
In a joint interview arranged through the company, Winfield and two other female executives who appeared in the ad said they considered Fisher’s culture to be meritocratic, collaborative and ethical.
While Winfield acknowledged the request to appear in the ad caught many by surprise, she said the company had to work quickly to correct what she called inaccurate information in the press.
Jessica Smith, a vice president in the Camas office, said many women reached out to her before the photo shoot. “They felt like what the media has put out there is completely opposite of what they experienced,” Smith said. “Many women were very, very eager to have an opportunity to tell our story.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.