What do you think?
Rate this book
She-Wolves: The Untold History of Women on Wall Street
The propulsive story of the women who sought, and gained, a piece of the action on Wall Street.
First came the secretaries from Brooklyn and Queens—the “smart cookies” who learned on the job despite the obstacles. Then came the first Harvard Business School grads, who, despite their hard-earned diplomas, often settled for less. Eventually came the yuppies of the 1980s in power suits and commuter sneakers. In She-Wolves, award-winning historian Paulina Bren tells the story of the first generations of women who fought their way into the bad-boy culture and lavish opulence of the finance world. If the wolves of Wall Street made a show of their ferocity, the she-wolves did so with tough-as-nails persistence. Starting at a time when “No Ladies” signs hung across the doors of Wall Street’s clubs and unapologetic sexism and racism were the norm at top firms, Bren chronicles the remarkable women who demanded a seat at the table. She-Wolves is an engaging and enraging look at the collision of women, finance, and New York from the go-go years to ground zero.
First came the secretaries from Brooklyn and Queens—the “smart cookies” who learned on the job despite the obstacles. Then came the first Harvard Business School grads, who, despite their hard-earned diplomas, often settled for less. Eventually came the yuppies of the 1980s in power suits and commuter sneakers. In She-Wolves, award-winning historian Paulina Bren tells the story of the first generations of women who fought their way into the bad-boy culture and lavish opulence of the finance world. If the wolves of Wall Street made a show of their ferocity, the she-wolves did so with tough-as-nails persistence. Starting at a time when “No Ladies” signs hung across the doors of Wall Street’s clubs and unapologetic sexism and racism were the norm at top firms, Bren chronicles the remarkable women who demanded a seat at the table. She-Wolves is an engaging and enraging look at the collision of women, finance, and New York from the go-go years to ground zero.
384 pages, Hardcover
Published September 17, 2024
111 people are currently reading
4081 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
February 13, 2025
Paulina Bren is a writer and historian who previously wrote 2021's The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free. Her follow-up, 2024's She-Wolves, provides a broad overview on American women's entry into the finance sector, starting with the first women admitted to the Harvard MBA program in the early 1960s, to the first women who worked at major investment firms, to the first women who worked on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Common themes throughout include sexism and sex discrimination, unequal pay, and women battling both internal and external pressures to choose either a career or motherhood, but rarely both.
Though I listened to the audiobook which didn't include footnotes (audiobooks seldom do), it appears Bren conducted extensive interviews with dozens of women whose stories she traces in a combined chronological fashion. I suspect the book may have been easier to follow if the cast of characters was pared down or if a single character was chosen as the central one, similar to how another book with similar themes, Kate Zernicke's The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the Fight for Women in Science, used Nancy Hopkins as its main focus while also including many stories of sexism and prejudice experienced by other female scientists of the era. Bren does mention in the epilogue that a few of her characters have written about their own experiences, namely Patricia Walsh Chadwick in her memoir Little Sister: A Memoir and Maureen Sherry in her memoir-turned-novel Opening Belle.
One woman that wasn't profiled to my knowledge (unless her name was changed) was Carla Harris, who had a long career on Wall Street and whose career development books including the excellent Strategize to Win: The New Way to Start Out, Step Up, or Start Over in Your Career definitely belie many of the challenging career experiences Bren describes. Specifically, Harris describes the importance of having sponsors: more senior, influential people who are willing to go to bat for you when important decisions about your career are being made. Extrapolating, it appears that many of the 'she-wolves' Bren portrays who were successful managed to find these sponsors (usually men), whereas those that struggled, got fired, or lost lawsuits were less successful at attracting and retaining sponsors.
Overall, an interesting read for the overall themes and historical context.
My statistics:
Book 51 for 2025
Book 1977 cumulatively
Though I listened to the audiobook which didn't include footnotes (audiobooks seldom do), it appears Bren conducted extensive interviews with dozens of women whose stories she traces in a combined chronological fashion. I suspect the book may have been easier to follow if the cast of characters was pared down or if a single character was chosen as the central one, similar to how another book with similar themes, Kate Zernicke's The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the Fight for Women in Science, used Nancy Hopkins as its main focus while also including many stories of sexism and prejudice experienced by other female scientists of the era. Bren does mention in the epilogue that a few of her characters have written about their own experiences, namely Patricia Walsh Chadwick in her memoir Little Sister: A Memoir and Maureen Sherry in her memoir-turned-novel Opening Belle.
One woman that wasn't profiled to my knowledge (unless her name was changed) was Carla Harris, who had a long career on Wall Street and whose career development books including the excellent Strategize to Win: The New Way to Start Out, Step Up, or Start Over in Your Career definitely belie many of the challenging career experiences Bren describes. Specifically, Harris describes the importance of having sponsors: more senior, influential people who are willing to go to bat for you when important decisions about your career are being made. Extrapolating, it appears that many of the 'she-wolves' Bren portrays who were successful managed to find these sponsors (usually men), whereas those that struggled, got fired, or lost lawsuits were less successful at attracting and retaining sponsors.
Overall, an interesting read for the overall themes and historical context.
My statistics:
Book 51 for 2025
Book 1977 cumulatively
November 14, 2025
Another great read by Paulina Bren. If you love non-fiction about women succeeding in male-dominated industries, then this belongs on your book shelf.
January 8, 2025
Enjoyed the anecdotes, but found the women hard to keep track of as the author weaved through their stories through the decades. Would’ve been more effective to focus on less women and tell their story more deeply.
March 13, 2025
I enjoyed this because I've heard so much about events on Wall Street, and seeing how the women fit in or mostly didn't fit in was interesting to me. (Not surprising) I loved the chapter about Louis Rukeyser as I used to watch Wall Street week with my parents on Friday night when I wasn't babysitting. I read this after hearing the author speak at the Brandeis luncheon. She did a great job researching this.
December 4, 2024
I loved reading this book. It was well researched and well written. The author does a good job of explaining finance terms in layman’s terms. I learned a lot but was never bored.
January 7, 2025
Fascinating history, but not told in a way that really brings it together effectively.
January 22, 2025
A Love Of S
She-Wolves
The Untold History of Women on Wall Street by Paulina Bren
A Love of Stories
Jan 21, 2025
Rating: ***** 5/5
Genre: Nonfiction Women’s History
Version: Physical book borrowed from the Chicago Public Library
The Brief
My first thought was that the book was released in October 2024, and I was the first person to open it. When we ignore history, we fail to plan for the future. She-Wolves was a genuinely mesmerizing tale of women's experiences on Wall Street, including an expansive history of the Street itself. Generations of dysfunction, harassment, gendered demotions, and intense stress on Wall Street flowed from one woman's story to the next. Bren's realistic writing puts you in the Pit as a broker, trader, analyst, and manager. Instead of demeaning the various men who created much of the aggressively anti-woman themes on Wall Street, Bren ingeniously places them as objects in her story. They weren't just bad guys; they were following the norms and traditions of American society throughout the decades she discusses. They were pawns in the game of history telling that helped me, the reader, better understand the needs and demands of the highly stressful job of working in any position on Wall Street. As a Generation X woman, her discussion and observations of the 80s and 90s were thorough enough to feel I was there. Sure, I'd known people who worked at Chicago's BOT and Merc but never saw the inside story from a realistic perspective. Her use of Gordon Gecko and the movie Wall Street perfectly showed the massive fortunes made and lost as the decades blended and ended. Why didn't I ever work there again?
The Treasures
The true treasure was the long history of the various women and their triumphs against a patriarchal system to become leaders in global finance. From the first woman to buy a seat on the NYSE to the women who rose from the back rooms to become financial engineers of America. Bren's description of women's choices to be career leaders reflected our lives. The women who wouldn't ever have children so they could pull all-nighters and travel the globe meeting clients is a female dilemma. A repetitive theme was the sacrifice of their rights to be treated equally and without sexual harassment to make millions. A Faustian bargain that became a centerpiece of Wall Street's cultural downfall in the 21st Century. Bren's exposure to the Black female experience on Wall Street was harrowing. The average American vilifies the rich; this story turns that upside down by personalizing the hard work of these women. Bren exposes a Wall Street that isn't focused on money but on the American women's experience to rise through their intellect to become leaders.
The Closer
Should you be the second person to borrow this book from the library or even buy it on your own? Yes. Everyone, regardless of career, sex, gender, ethnicity, and perceived notion of how easy rich women have it, would learn more than a thing or two. It's a rich history of our country and financial sector through the lives of the women who made America the financial champion it is. If you're a history buff, you'll learn intimate details of Wall Street that may make you think twice about its stellar reputation. Some things Michael Douglas can't teach us in a 90-minute movie, and the role and strength of the women of Wall Street is one of them.
Following book review: Killer Run by Lynn Cahoon a Tourist Trap Mystery
Thanks for reading A Love Of Stories! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
Subscribed
Discussion about this post
Write a comment...
The Night I Got Lucky
A life changing adventure by Laura Caldwell
Jan 15 • A Love of Stories
1
Come on in...
The books are waiting.
Jan 15 • A Love of Stories
1
© 2025 Mac-Z Zurawski
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start Writing
Substack is the home for great culture
October 13, 2024
Outrageous fortunes are made through the buying and selling of stocks on Wall Street. The trading floors are active whether the prices for financial instruments are high (bullish) or are engaged in a sharp decline (bearish). Throughout much of its early existence, Wall Street was dominated by men. There were a variety of firms with their own exclusivity in terms of hiring practices, including Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. The one commonality amongst them was a non-existent female presence.
The key to gaining a foothold in a male-dominated culture was to be ambitious and make your mark. In the 19th century, Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee Claflin operated their own brokerage house. Nearly a century later, Mickie Siebert would purchase a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. Despite the inroads women had been making in society, most of Wall Street remained a boys’ club.
The 1960s was a time of political and social upheaval. The Civil Rights and Women’s Rights movements went up against an ingrained culture on Wall Street that was hesitant to change. Women began to be admitted to esteemed institutions such as Harvard Business School. Yet they were often ignored by professors and set up to fail with various barriers placed in their way. Despite the obstructionist tactics, women like Lillian Lambert were resolute in meeting any challenge and receiving their degree.
Alice Jarcho’s breaking of the glass ceiling would result from a series of strange twists. She had gone from receptionist to office manager at a financial firm after the mental breakdown of her predecessor. However, she left the firm as they refused to pay for her Series 7 broker’s exam. Her next employer at Oppenheimer paid for the exam and would pave the way for her to trade on the floor of the NYSE.
As the ’60s gave way to the ’70s, the forces of feminism were beginning to make headway in challenging the stodginess of the masculine-favored establishment. Women were being hired at financial firms as arbitrageurs and featured on television programs such as “Wall Street Week.” A woman’s voice was being heard on multiple fronts, and she was providing financial guidance to uninitiated and experienced investors.
SHE-WOLVES charts the ascent of various women as they attempt to climb the formidable ladder of success in the financial markets. The battle would be fought over decades as women like Louise Jones and Marianne Spraggins ran up against harassment and discrimination in an environment dominated by male chauvinism. The fascinating paths of the ladies profiled would take them from storybook highs (seven-figure salaries) to devastating lows (market crashes). The markets were stagnant in the '70s but would be revived in the ’80s on the heels of deregulation and leveraged buyouts.
Paulina Bren, an award-winning historian and a professor at Vassar College, thoroughly highlights the unsung heroines and pioneers who started the liberation of the Wall Street patriarchy. SHE-WOLVES is a powerful work about inspiring women who paved the way for future titans of the finance industry.
Reviewed by Philip Zozzaro
The key to gaining a foothold in a male-dominated culture was to be ambitious and make your mark. In the 19th century, Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee Claflin operated their own brokerage house. Nearly a century later, Mickie Siebert would purchase a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. Despite the inroads women had been making in society, most of Wall Street remained a boys’ club.
The 1960s was a time of political and social upheaval. The Civil Rights and Women’s Rights movements went up against an ingrained culture on Wall Street that was hesitant to change. Women began to be admitted to esteemed institutions such as Harvard Business School. Yet they were often ignored by professors and set up to fail with various barriers placed in their way. Despite the obstructionist tactics, women like Lillian Lambert were resolute in meeting any challenge and receiving their degree.
Alice Jarcho’s breaking of the glass ceiling would result from a series of strange twists. She had gone from receptionist to office manager at a financial firm after the mental breakdown of her predecessor. However, she left the firm as they refused to pay for her Series 7 broker’s exam. Her next employer at Oppenheimer paid for the exam and would pave the way for her to trade on the floor of the NYSE.
As the ’60s gave way to the ’70s, the forces of feminism were beginning to make headway in challenging the stodginess of the masculine-favored establishment. Women were being hired at financial firms as arbitrageurs and featured on television programs such as “Wall Street Week.” A woman’s voice was being heard on multiple fronts, and she was providing financial guidance to uninitiated and experienced investors.
SHE-WOLVES charts the ascent of various women as they attempt to climb the formidable ladder of success in the financial markets. The battle would be fought over decades as women like Louise Jones and Marianne Spraggins ran up against harassment and discrimination in an environment dominated by male chauvinism. The fascinating paths of the ladies profiled would take them from storybook highs (seven-figure salaries) to devastating lows (market crashes). The markets were stagnant in the '70s but would be revived in the ’80s on the heels of deregulation and leveraged buyouts.
Paulina Bren, an award-winning historian and a professor at Vassar College, thoroughly highlights the unsung heroines and pioneers who started the liberation of the Wall Street patriarchy. SHE-WOLVES is a powerful work about inspiring women who paved the way for future titans of the finance industry.
Reviewed by Philip Zozzaro
August 21, 2024
I liked Bren's book The Barbizon so much, that I admit to being disappointed with this one. First, the book offers a very limited history, from the 1960s, decade by decade, to Fearless Girl.
Since time horizon coincides with my professional life, my view of history is different. Admittedly, the second chapter offers extremely cursory looks at the incomparable sisters Tennessee Claflin and Victoria Woodhull, deserving of so much more than a few paragraphs. And more please about Maggie Walker, daughter of a slave and the first Black female bank president. What about the Gilded Age's Hetty Green? Those were the stories I was hoping for.
So to be clear, this is a history of second-wave feminists, who were interviewed by Bren. Good stories and often-evocative photos show us what the workplace environment was like: the judgment of appearances, the casual 'boys will be boys' acting out in what would clearly be sexual harassment today; and the true need for closed off professional associations, something I participated in with another professional field at the same time. For readers who consider this history, there's much to admire and enjoy in this book.
Now for my pet peeve. The author uses the first names of the women she interviewed. Yes, that may be a technique for helping the reader feel close to the subject, but in actuality it's belittling. She references Oppenheimer several times, and not as Robert. Same with Louis Rukeyser and numerous other notable men. Yet the women were Alice, Lillian, Robin, Mickie (the powerhouse who ran her own firm), Priscilla, Margo, Helen and Helen the Second, and many more. Yet she refers to the New York Times journalist Lucy Greenbaum as Greenbaum. How to explain this inconsistency?
She is not alone in creating this inadvertent hierarchy. For example, Jane Austen becomes Jane, not Austen, while Charles Dickens is always Dickens, not Charlie. Please, give your subjects their dignity the same way you do with men. They've worked overtime to earn it.
Thank you to NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company for this Advance Reader Copy.
Since time horizon coincides with my professional life, my view of history is different. Admittedly, the second chapter offers extremely cursory looks at the incomparable sisters Tennessee Claflin and Victoria Woodhull, deserving of so much more than a few paragraphs. And more please about Maggie Walker, daughter of a slave and the first Black female bank president. What about the Gilded Age's Hetty Green? Those were the stories I was hoping for.
So to be clear, this is a history of second-wave feminists, who were interviewed by Bren. Good stories and often-evocative photos show us what the workplace environment was like: the judgment of appearances, the casual 'boys will be boys' acting out in what would clearly be sexual harassment today; and the true need for closed off professional associations, something I participated in with another professional field at the same time. For readers who consider this history, there's much to admire and enjoy in this book.
Now for my pet peeve. The author uses the first names of the women she interviewed. Yes, that may be a technique for helping the reader feel close to the subject, but in actuality it's belittling. She references Oppenheimer several times, and not as Robert. Same with Louis Rukeyser and numerous other notable men. Yet the women were Alice, Lillian, Robin, Mickie (the powerhouse who ran her own firm), Priscilla, Margo, Helen and Helen the Second, and many more. Yet she refers to the New York Times journalist Lucy Greenbaum as Greenbaum. How to explain this inconsistency?
She is not alone in creating this inadvertent hierarchy. For example, Jane Austen becomes Jane, not Austen, while Charles Dickens is always Dickens, not Charlie. Please, give your subjects their dignity the same way you do with men. They've worked overtime to earn it.
Thank you to NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company for this Advance Reader Copy.
October 5, 2024
I really thought the country was more progressive in the 1980s. I knew before that, women were not treated equally and did not have the same job opportunities, but in 1980, I was alive. I’m just shocked but some of the history the author shares.
So much historical context I didn't think about while connecting financial changes and all the stock market advancements: AIDS, LGBTQ, sexism.
I love how current the book is - just published 2 weeks ago. I really appreciate this author's research, and having something as up-to-date. I also feel like I am learning the inner workings of the stock market and not just the history of female independence and rights.
It did take me a bit to get into the book at the start, and there's no way I could take a test on the book. There were just so many names of women and events. If I really wanted to remember it, I'd have to take so many notes. But it did help me understand progress in the decades. Man, the way women didn't have bathrooms, were told to just get coffees, or couldn't be a working wife/mom - WOW! But I did have to laugh when certain men got in trouble for illegal trading, and the women didn't get involved/in trouble because the judges (men) assumed there was no way women would know how to do the illegal things men had been doing.
I did enjoy Bren's other book (Barbizon) a lot more. It was an easier story to follow. I liked, though, the overlap in certain women who stayed at the Barbizon and were in this book, or the books referenced.
I would have liked to hear how Bren got her information/what interviews she did, but that wasn't in the audio book.
So much historical context I didn't think about while connecting financial changes and all the stock market advancements: AIDS, LGBTQ, sexism.
I love how current the book is - just published 2 weeks ago. I really appreciate this author's research, and having something as up-to-date. I also feel like I am learning the inner workings of the stock market and not just the history of female independence and rights.
It did take me a bit to get into the book at the start, and there's no way I could take a test on the book. There were just so many names of women and events. If I really wanted to remember it, I'd have to take so many notes. But it did help me understand progress in the decades. Man, the way women didn't have bathrooms, were told to just get coffees, or couldn't be a working wife/mom - WOW! But I did have to laugh when certain men got in trouble for illegal trading, and the women didn't get involved/in trouble because the judges (men) assumed there was no way women would know how to do the illegal things men had been doing.
I did enjoy Bren's other book (Barbizon) a lot more. It was an easier story to follow. I liked, though, the overlap in certain women who stayed at the Barbizon and were in this book, or the books referenced.
I would have liked to hear how Bren got her information/what interviews she did, but that wasn't in the audio book.
October 19, 2024
An HF about the pioneering women of Wall Street! Yep THAT Wall Street. There isn't very much information about these women because to work or exist on Wall Street it is necessary to keep the secrets good and bad within the walls of this "Sacred" place. With some deep research by the author she was able to ferret out some of the information she sought. As usual the early days of women trying to get the power jobs on the "Street" as they say were passed over, humiliated, ignored, made fun of, under paid over educated and treated horribly back in the 50's & 60's. In reality it never really got better for most of the women mentioned in this book.
It was interest to learn about how money works, stocks, bonds, leverage, mergers and acquisitions, buying and selling stock, short or the long game and who the male players were for a long time, names that were recognizable. The author helped the reader understand just how much money these people earn and or squander either for the business or for personal pleasure.
After the crash of 1987 (which was forecast by a woman), the dot com melt down and the crash of 2008, not to mention the need for more bodies (hiring women) to run the "street" rules and laws have been enacted to add a little protection for women, but the culture is primarily the same.
Wall Street is a good old boys club to the core and probably always will be. The women that make it as high powered bosses or fund runners had to be a certain type of woman and tougher than most to stand on her own and fight for her place. So after reading this it begs the question, Who Would Want These Jobs? Answer: people that think they have the stamina and can become ultra wealthy doing it.
It was interest to learn about how money works, stocks, bonds, leverage, mergers and acquisitions, buying and selling stock, short or the long game and who the male players were for a long time, names that were recognizable. The author helped the reader understand just how much money these people earn and or squander either for the business or for personal pleasure.
After the crash of 1987 (which was forecast by a woman), the dot com melt down and the crash of 2008, not to mention the need for more bodies (hiring women) to run the "street" rules and laws have been enacted to add a little protection for women, but the culture is primarily the same.
Wall Street is a good old boys club to the core and probably always will be. The women that make it as high powered bosses or fund runners had to be a certain type of woman and tougher than most to stand on her own and fight for her place. So after reading this it begs the question, Who Would Want These Jobs? Answer: people that think they have the stamina and can become ultra wealthy doing it.
March 27, 2025
I only had an inkling of what went on AND STILL DOES on Wall St. and the misogynistic environment that these strong women had to endure in the 50’s, 60’s and beyond. While it became unacceptable over time to be overtly disrespectful of the women coworkers, it became covertly so, as time went on. Still exists, just sneakier. These women , highlighted so well in Ms. Brenn’s book were courageous beyond imagination and through their professional perseverance became successful in their own right. The expression of “women have to work twice as hard to go half as far as men” is evidenced in this telling. A fascinating read that is quite well researched. One of my book club members worked on Wall St. for many years and she vouched for the accuracy of this topic covered here. Unfortunately, it reflects some of my own experiences in the corporate world. Happy to be retired in more ways than one.
June 23, 2024
Disclosure: I received this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway and this is my unbiased opinion.
What a fascinating book! I had never given much thought to the composition of the Wall Street kingdom, and this book was an education. What struggles women had to go through in the days before 'equality'. And yet, it's an entertaining read covering both time periods and particular women.
The research that Bren had to go through is evident as you read the stories of these trailblazing women. But it isn't written as a college text - the flow of the book takes us through different periods (including 9/11) and follows different women. It's interesting to see how the women coped with the old boys club mentality.
Well written and a fluid story, I'd recommend it. These women's stories are compelling reads.
What a fascinating book! I had never given much thought to the composition of the Wall Street kingdom, and this book was an education. What struggles women had to go through in the days before 'equality'. And yet, it's an entertaining read covering both time periods and particular women.
The research that Bren had to go through is evident as you read the stories of these trailblazing women. But it isn't written as a college text - the flow of the book takes us through different periods (including 9/11) and follows different women. It's interesting to see how the women coped with the old boys club mentality.
Well written and a fluid story, I'd recommend it. These women's stories are compelling reads.
November 21, 2024
This book has a terrible title. It's a decent history of women on Wall St, but the point of it isn't to give us stories of a bunch of lady wolves of Wall St; to the contrary, it's more about how the woman have mostly done their best to remain human in an inhuman environment and have been forced to pay for that attitude again and again. They have had a tough time of it in a horribly misogynistic man's world. The women who have succeeded may not be angels. To have any chance, they have to blend in, and to some extent it is human nature for all of us to become the roles that we play. Maybe the first thing that we need to do is to find a way to reform the working environment on Wall St. for people of all genders. I'd bet on a woman being the best person to take charge of that. Maybe it isn't likely to happen, but we can dream.
July 27, 2025
Biggest issue with this one is the unbelievable amount of grammatical errors. I’m not a grammar purist, but it was evident that no one edited this book. Sentence structure is at times bizarre, making an already convoluted narrative carrying a lot of subjects and people difficult to follow. Egregious, obvious errors range from comma splices to actually using wrong words (e.g., “literarily” when the author wanted “literally”; “ever” instead of “even”). Disappointing because the work is obviously well researched, but the sheer volume of errors hurts the author’s credibility and offends the reader who is investing time into the storyline.
The information is interesting and the issues these women faced are infuriating, but these errors were so distracting it almost makes me regret ever having picked this one up at all.
The information is interesting and the issues these women faced are infuriating, but these errors were so distracting it almost makes me regret ever having picked this one up at all.
October 25, 2024
A fast, engaging read. The focus of this book is women in the financial industry--the ones who were the very first on Wall Street followed many others throughout the decades, up to the early 2000s. The book's ending includes this quote from Gloria Steinem: “We’ll never solve the feminization of power until we solve the masculinity of wealth.” Simply put, this book is about the women who dared to enter men's world of money and power, and it is also about the many men who tried to keep these women down through sexism and harassment. There is also an occasional story of the male ally. The stories of what was happening in the financial industry during this span of time--both in terms of culture and finances--is fascinating.
July 30, 2025
I rarely read non-fiction but an article in The Vassar Quarterly caught my attention. This book is absolutely fascinating, describing the challenges of women to get out of the secretarial pool into the real work of Wall Street beginning in 1950's. Women endured misogony, lewd behavioiur, a definite lack of bathrooms on their very slow climb to the trading floor and other higher kevels. For decades women were paid a fraction of what men received. During the 1980's when men like MIchael Milikin and Ivan Boesky went to jail, no woman was involved in the insider trading scandals. This is a wonderful book which is an education about the progress of women as well as a look at how Wall Street works.
December 1, 2024
Paulina Bren’s book is taking on a big problem. She knows that women have never gotten the amount of money for the work they do. And she wants to show what has happened in the last few years. (It’s the time that ALL of most have lived through.
In the early pages, there’s a short piece about what women who were getting in 1792. It was a woman on Wall Street. And Chapter 4 is W.I.C.H. on Wall Street. And there’s more chapters with these kinds of labels. And there are many reasons to keep reading.
In the early pages, there’s a short piece about what women who were getting in 1792. It was a woman on Wall Street. And Chapter 4 is W.I.C.H. on Wall Street. And there’s more chapters with these kinds of labels. And there are many reasons to keep reading.
March 23, 2025
This was an excellent account of the difficulties women on Wall Street faced and continue to face as they fight for access. Unfortunately, scared men afraid of competition went out of their way to make life miserable for the women and they also faced significant institutional discrimination. This book is a excellent read for anyone who claims that there is something wrong with the women who do not succeed in Wall Street, and other areas, as it will show women who succeeded despite men trying to stop them.
Read
March 19, 2025I thought this was good but I feel like I would have liked it more as an audiobook. It was really interesting to learn more about the “original” women on Wall Street and the struggles, obstacles, and discrimination they went through. I did find it a little bit difficult to keep track of some of them given it covered so many different women. I also would have like more present day information - what’s different now? How have things changed?
March 24, 2025
I love books that highlight discrimination against women and showcase their power and strength in the face of adversity. Unfortunately, this book was excruciatingly difficult to follow along with, literally 20+ storylines to follow over the course of 5 decades. All the women’s stories fell flat imo.. Not to mention, by the end of it, it just felt like the narrative promoted remaining complicit if it means becoming ultra wealthy.
May 23, 2025
Makes you realize just how brave and resilient the first few generations of women on Wall Street were and how they really paved the way for a better environment today. The book has a lot of interesting anecdotes and mini biographies, but it did feel a little chaotic as it jumped between different women, different time periods, and different firms. It was hard to follow individual stories and remember which woman was which. Overall I enjoyed it.
October 27, 2024
She-Wolves: The Untold History of Women on Wall Street, provides the insightful personal stories of the women who worked there. Fascinating and undertold history of the fight women undertook just really to be taken seriously for the jobs they were more than qualified to do. Hopefully, we've come along way.
December 18, 2024
If you want to read the tough history of women on Wallstreet, this is your book. I was not surprised by some of the horrendous prejudice at HBS, on the floor at the exchange and in firms; but I was excited to learn about the many ways women proved themselves over and over again and were able to succeed despite terrible conditions.
March 28, 2025
This book was also for book club and was interesting but historical about the women in Wall Street. Tbh didn't get thru all of it but at our meeting the end seemed great with more of a reflection and take away rather than the history dump in nt beginning. Fascinating to learn what it was like at that time tho!
April 27, 2025
I thought the information was very interesting and I loved the subject matter but the way it skipped around was confusing and I found it hard to follow the stories. There was also a few parts where I wish she had gone more into a subject and she was trying to cover a lot so she glossed over. But glad I read it.
June 4, 2025
Really informative. It was heavy sometimes and felt a little too in the weeds of Wall Street rather than women’s experiences, but I understand why it was written the way it was.
Overall, it was enjoyable and as a woman that prioritizes financial literacy and independence it was nice reading about women in finance.
Overall, it was enjoyable and as a woman that prioritizes financial literacy and independence it was nice reading about women in finance.
November 23, 2024
This book traces a shocking but sadly believable line through the past several decades in American finance. After reading it, I am much less surprised that the U.S. government is being taken over by misogynistic, privileged, and greedy bros.
December 18, 2024
really interesting to hear the stories of women battling it out in corporate settings. but i don’t know finance at all so i think it would’ve made more of an impact if i understood more of what their jobs were
July 25, 2025
I found it very slow at times, but it is was interesting to learn how women were treated on Wall Street in the 60s 70s and 80s, how they had to deal with so many obstacles to get ahead in their careers and it was fun to read about the anecdotes of how these trailblazers changed the industry.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews