Ana Paulina Pinto of BBVA: Women should raise their hands

“We have to believe, be more self-confident and raise our hands more.”

Paul Misle

In the 18 years she has worked in finance, Ana Pinto always noticed how few women were in the field. “This is why it was always very challenging to be surrounded by men and assert myself,” she reflects.

“It’s funny that there are people who think that the trading world is for men ‘because you have to take many risks.’ However, I think that the skills women have — such as multitasking — are useful, because you have to be analyzing 10 screens, making split-second decisions, making money and offering your clients the best solution. There should be many more female traders.”

Born in Mexicali — capital of the state of Baja California, located in northern Mexico right by the U.S. border, and home to one million people — Pinto was always passionate about business, even if she had to challenge social norms to get there.

“There were not many professional career opportunities in my city, so I went to study in Guadalajara. It was a great experience. Then I had the chance to come to Mexico City and that was when I said, ‘This is for me,’” she recalls. Pinto studied finance in the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente (ITESO) and has lived in her country’s capital for almost 20 years.

In 2003, she started working as a junior trader at Afore XXI, one of the most important pension fund managers in Mexico, which she says was a great experience because she had managers who inspired and helped her professional development a lot.

Getting ahead in a man’s world

Pinto, currently the Strategy Business Planning Manager at BBVA Mexico, where she has worked since 2006, says that sometimes the environment in financial markets may seem rough for some women.

“You got to the bank and some men would rate you or speak using somewhat inappropriate language. I’ve always been a bit tough, and I got along with everyone; I always set boundaries,” she says.

“Men often say that women can’t take the pressure in this business, but of course we can, and we even know how to manage it better. As a trader, I was never much of a risk-taker, but I was efficient — while I didn’t take so many risks, I did stay within my budget and met my thresholds.”

This is why she believes that more equity, respect, and inclusivity are needed at all levels of finance and with everyone.

Inspired by her family

Pinto has overcome all sorts of obstacles in life to reach her goals and to be able to have the career she wanted.

“I wasn’t excited about what I saw in Mexicali. I felt I had to do something else. In my generation and in the city where I was born, women were more conservative than in big cities, and many of them were just waiting to get married. But I always saw myself working, being independent and seeking professional development,” she explains.

She attributes this to her grandmothers. They have been her greatest inspiration because they faced very difficult situations when they were young, and yet they were able to reinvent themselves and push ahead.

“Since childhood, I was taught perseverance and discipline, to be structured and to never depend on anyone. This is what helped my grandmothers. This is why they were great drivers in my life; much of who I am today is definitely because of them,” she says.

Learning from adversity

This grit has helped Pinto at different times in her professional life, such as when she witnessed the onset of the 2008 crisis.

“I was pregnant with my first child and it was a nightmare. Every day I felt that the world was going to end, that all companies, especially those that had short-term needs, were going to go bankrupt because there was no liquidity. And there we were every day, trying to figure out how to make each trade successful and supporting our clients; those were difficult days,” she explains.

Then there were people who said things like, “What are you even doing here? Go home. Mothers belong at home.” But she always preferred to keep working and acquiring the knowledge afforded her by this confluence of events.

“I learned like you wouldn’t believe, but in terms of my personal life, it wasn’t easy. However, everything settled down and flowed wonderfully because there were also people who trusted me.”

This challenge continued for several months, because, shortly after delivering her first child, she became pregnant for a second time. “Without thinking about it, I had two children in three years! I was questioning whether I should stay home and just take care of my kids, but that wasn’t part of who I was. I wanted to upskill and continue to learn.”

She was very passionate about trading, but she knew she had to learn new things.

“To continue growing, I had to develop new skills. I could’ve stayed within my comfort zone, but I wanted to keep learning, reinventing myself, and growing.”

The path yet to be walked

Pinto, who is also on BBVA Mexico’s D&I Board, explains that companies must have greater awareness so that women can develop more self-confidence and choose to face new challenges.

“A man always raises his hand when offered a position, even if he meets half the requirements, while we women won’t do it if we don’t feel that we qualify 100%. We need to be aware of this and raise our hands more often,” she says.

“We have to believe, be more self-confident and raise our hands more. We should say, ‘I always can, I won’t give up and I’ll aim for a ‘yes’; you already have a ‘no’.’”

She recognizes that the financial world has evolved in regards to gender equality, but at a slower pace than she would like, and there is still unconscious bias clouding our judgment when we make decisions.

“Fortunately, today we are focusing more on the importance of more inclusive and diverse teams. There is progress, but we are only just getting started.”

Learning and unlearning

Pinto would have also loved to study financial engineering, but she loves what she does every day. Not everything in life is about work, though — she also likes playing and spending quality time with her children.

“I love doing yoga, traveling, knowing other cultures and, although I don’t have the time for it, I like cooking. Also, [I like] challenges; for example, I recently learned to surf, I have gone skydiving. I like running, I love reading, skiing… nothing scares me. That’s life — there are always new challenges,” she says.

As for upcoming generations, she believes that they have fewer stereotypes when it comes to issues such as the gender equality. “They come with a different chip, with much more awareness of these issues.”

She advises young people to never give up. “We must also learn and unlearn. We need to be constantly transforming ourselves and innovating, and understand new developments,” she maintains.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Bloomberg.

Bloomberg invited the GETTERS of the financial market in Latin America to share their insightful stories about their careers, their success stories and the challenges they had to face while not only witnessing the development of this fast-paced environment, but actively contributing to its evolution by creating new tools, sharing best practices and inspiring change.