New York Stock Exchange trader Lauren Simmons is breaking records as not only the only full-time female trade but the youngest.
When CNBC.com interviewed Simmons, an equity trader for Rosenblatt Securities, she attributed her success to an early age love of numbers.
Simmons started applying to positions in finance — she had loved numbers since high school — and eventually secured her current position at Rosenblatt Securities by applying to an opening posted on LinkedIn.
“The one thing that I love about numbers and statistics, and kind of one of the reasons I came to the New York Stock Exchange, is because numbers are a universal language,” she explains. “When you put them on a board it connects everyone, which is probably one of the reasons why the New York Stock Exchange is so iconic.”
Simmons goes on to express her happiness in her trailblazing role and how she hopes she will soon see more women on the trading room floor like the recent addition of NYSE exchange president Stacey Cunningham. The first woman to serve as the head since the exchange started in 1792.
“I’m so excited,” says Simmons. “[Cunningham is] as qualified as any other man, and probably even better. I really do believe that new changes are coming. Hopefully with her being the new president, and you know even my story, that will encourage other women to come down here as well.”
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