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Associate Professor Jacquelyn Humphrey

Meet the academic educating women in finance

UQ people
Published 14 Jan, 2025  ·  5-minute read

If you’re considering a career in banking and finance, now is an exciting time to join the industry, according to Associate Professor Jacquelyn Humphrey.

With research expertise in sustainable finance and responsible investment, Jacquelyn has been heavily involved in developing the Master of Finance and Investment Management. She is particularly passionate about encouraging women to join the next generation of finance professionals.

Discover why Jacquelyn first got into finance, why she loves teaching at UQ, and her advice for anyone considering a career in the industry.

Jacquelyn Humphrey

Most organisations in finance are actively looking to recruit women at all levels, and particularly at senior levels. Right now is a great time to be a female finance professional.

Jacquelyn Humphrey
Associate Professor, UQ School of Business

Why finance?

Jacquelyn loved studying maths at high school. After graduating, she completed a Pitman Bookkeeping qualification and then worked at an accounting firm for a few months. This inspired her to enrol in a Bachelor of Commerce to study accounting.

One of the compulsory initial courses she completed in her first year was a finance course. She found this finance course fascinating and challenging – so much so that she decided to take finance as the second major in her degree.

“As I continued in my studies, I became less enamoured with accounting and more fascinated by finance, eventually pursuing an honours degree and then a PhD in finance,” she says.

After completing her PhD, Jacquelyn worked at UQ for 2 years as a lecturer before being headhunted by the Australian National University. She worked at ANU for 4 years before returning to UQ in 2014.

Industry changes and predictions

With over 20 years of experience behind her, Jacquelyn explains how the industry, and sustainable investment in particular, has evolved.

“When I first started working on sustainable investment, the market was extremely niche and dominated by investors who wanted their investments to also reflect their values. I found this fascinating because my values are an important part of how I make everyday decisions, so it made sense that this should apply to investment decisions.

“However, the sustainable investment landscape has changed a lot in recent years. While values-based investment is still a (relatively small) part of the market, much of the sustainable investment philosophy is now based on the idea that ignoring environmental and social issues puts companies at risk and has real financial implications."

“Now is an exciting time for sustainable investment in Australia because there has been a lot of new regulation. Examples include new legislation requiring companies to report on their emissions, a world-first nature repair market, and the development of a sustainable finance taxonomy. I’m keen to see how this all pans out with our financial market development.”

Jacquelyn’s experience teaching finance

Jacquelyn also teaches in the Bachelor of Advanced Finance and Economics (Honours) program and supervises finance students at Honours and PhD levels.

“I love seeing students have a ‘lightbulb moment’ when something suddenly makes sense,” she says.

“It’s rewarding to see students develop their skills and knowledge base over a course or degree.”

Most recently, Jacquelyn has been involved in the development and teaching of the Master of Finance and Investment Management.

“This specialised program is the only one of its kind in Australia. It provides a deep dive into managing investments across all asset classes and was designed in consultation with the financial services industry. Students learn from academics who are leaders in their field. But they also have access to finance industry professionals who bring their wealth of practical knowledge to the table.”

“I have been on the program steering committee, which sets the overall strategic direction of the degree,” she says.

“I have also helped other lecturers to include elements of sustainability and introduce Indigenous knowledge into their courses.”

In 2024, Jacquelyn developed and coordinated the Industry Project course, in which students get to work on a small industry-relevant research project of their choice.

“It has been great to support our first cohort of students through this process and see them produce some interesting work.”

Advice for women in finance considering this career

“Finance has historically been overwhelmingly male dominated, but this is changing rapidly,” Jacquelyn says.

“Most organisations in finance are actively looking to recruit women at all levels, and particularly at senior levels. Right now is a great time to be a female finance professional.”

How many women are in finance?

The financial and insurance services industries reported the second highest gender pay gap of 29.5% in 2022 (Workplace Gender Equality Agency). In the same year, only 27% of ASX100 Chief Financial Officers were women (Women in Finance: Beyond the Numbers).

However, progress is being made. According to the Financial Services Council, women made up 29% of investment teams on average in 2023, a 2% increase from 2022 and a 4% increase since 2021. Around 54% of the workforce is women and 80% of organisations in the industry offer parental leave, which is the second highest percentage of all reporting industries (WGEA).

During her time at UQ, Jacquelyn has acted as vice president of the Financial Research Network, overseeing a career development program for academic women in finance. But if you identify as a female and are interested in pursuing a degree and career in finance, there are many other ways you can access support at UQ.

“UQ is a member of Women in Banking and Finance (WiBF), a non-profit whose mission is to increase the number of women in the industry,” Jacquelyn says.

“Most of the leading banking and financial institutions are members of WiBF. As a UQ student, you have access to their full offerings, which include in-person events, networking opportunities and fantastic online professional development resources.”

You can also apply for the Master of Finance and Investment Management Outstanding Women Scholarship.

“The Master of Finance and Investment Management degree is both academically rigorous and highly practical,” Jacquelyn says.

“You will gain a wide range of new skills that are directly relevant to working in finance and funds management.”

Dive deeper into where a career in finance and investment management could lead or meet some other UQ academics impacting the world in their fields.

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