Black women who manage billions of dollars break down the microaggressions they’ve faced while excelling in highly demanding jobs

• Dekia Scott oversees $24.5 billion in assets as the CIO for energy company Southern Company.

• Tina Byles Williams is the founder, CEO, and CIO of Philadelphia-based money manager Xponance.
• Both women revealed microaggressions they’ve faced in a predominantly white, male field.

From subtle yet incessant expectations to explain their qualifications to being undermined in their roles, Black female executives in the world of institutional asset management are constantly reminded that they are one of a few in a predominantly white, male field, according to several women who shared their experiences with Insider.

Take Dekia Scott, the chief investment officer of Atlanta-based energy company Southern Company, who oversees around $24.5 billion in retirement assets as well as money in trusts, foundations, and other asset pools for the firm.

Scott, one of 8 Black women in high-powered asset management roles who spoke with Insider about their experiences and shared advice for up-and-comers in the industry, said the microaggressions she has experienced in her career have mostly been in external-facing duties, while working with professionals trying to sell investment funds to her.

“For over 20 years it required a lot of meetings with prospective and current money managers, where we would all put our business cards on the table,” Scott said. “My boss was a chartered financial analyst; my colleagues were CFAs, and I had that designation, while maybe a couple colleagues did not have a CFA. And usually the only person who they wanted to learn more about as far as their background was me.”

For Scott, the first microaggression was “having to tell my story when I put down those cards.”

The next was experiencing sales professionals trying to circumvent her to get in front of other decision-makers at the fund.

“There were some men — or primarily men — who had done very well at bringing in new business to the asset-management firms, who thought I should call them back in one day instead of two,” said Scott. “They wouldn’t call me about it, but they could call my boss at the time, the previous CIO, Roger Steffens.”

Scott said having support from her manager made a significant impact and empowered her in her career moving forward.

“My boss called me into the office with those folks on the speaker phone,” she said. “He said, ‘I’ve delegated this work to her, and I believe she can do it. Please don’t call me anymore about this.'”

“Word spread quickly about that,” Scott added. “It happened one time that I was aware of.”

‘I don’t look like the standard issue, but I can compete.’

Tina Byles Williams, the CEO, CIO, and founder of Xponance, a Philadelphia-based money manager with more than $12 billion in assets, said it’s been pointed out to her at various points in her career that she is not “the standard issue” in her field.

“Sometimes you are marginalized,” said Williams. “I remember early in my career, I was competing against a firm run by a man, and one allocator said, ‘I’ll give the man the business because he has a family to feed.'”

The founder said she is fully aware that she is not who the average person imagines when they think of a money manager.

“I’m pretty sure that the image that comes to mind doesn’t look like me,” she said. “It probably doesn’t look like a woman, and it surely doesn’t look like a Black woman.”

“That is the opportunity and the burden,” Williams added. “What you have to fight through is that predisposition. No, I don’t look like the standard issue, but I can compete.”