A kinder, gentler Bankers Trust
Remember the Bankers Trust tapes? And the image of the Bankers Trust employee as a sleazy used-car salesman touting risky derivatives? As the bank has grappled to reshape its image, the firm's aggressive macho culture has given way. In its place, Bankers Trust has become one of the 100 best places for women to work in the us, according to Working Mother magazine.
As it turns out, while the guys were making trouble, bt women were quietly building the biggest women's networking group on Wall Street. Started by a handful of women after a training seminar in 1991, it now numbers 600 and has become a model for others at firms such as Smith Barney and cs First Boston. Known somewhat loftily as Bankers Trust's Global Partnership Network for Women, it held its second annual conference on women on Wall Street last month, with former Federal Reserve Board chairman Paul Volcker as the lead speaker.
With one of the group's founding members, Kathy Site, now head of human resources in London, it's not surprising the bank has become a Wall Street pioneer in offering flexi-time, telecommuting and emergency child care centres.