WOMEN STOCKBROKERS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 154, 27 December 1912, Page 2

WOMEN STOCKBROKERS

It was stated at a public dinner in i London la»fc month that there wa» a woman "Stockbroker" jn th© city> tho only ono in the country. She ik Mrs, Brooke, .'wife of Brigadier-General t. (). Brooke, C.fe. (retired), 'late commander of the Connaught Bangers, who distinguished himself in the Boer war. The Stock Exchange is closed against womeitj but this had wot prevented Mrs. Booke from conducting a successful business ill stock and Bhares. Her natne appears on offices in Bueklersbury, where she ha* the assistance of a woman secretary. Mrs. Brooke said : "My office hours are from 10 .to 4. My husband, who wan dangerously wounded in ' the battle of Colenso, stays at home, and the children have gone to school by the time I leave. On arriving at the office my see* retary— • who has a wonderful knowledge of the markets— and Igo through tfc* correspondence, which as a rule is very bulky. I make a note ot all the orders, and being unable to go on the Stock fixchange 1 next consult the brokers who act for ,me. The business over, I have luncheon at a place in St. .Swithin'* lane, frequented by brokers, and 1 am invariably the ohly woman ■ present. My htftband .often joins me there. The - afternoon is ipetit mostly iti interviewing client*. iMoet of them are women, but I have a few men friends who ehtmrit their J n*ncstmentf», to tto. I started tw,o years ago, taking over the business of Miss Bell, who was a stockbroker for twerity-flve years. .In two years it has doubled, thanks mainly to the help of many influential friends. Of course t am greatly handicapped in not being able to work -directly with the Stock Exchange. One needs to be levelheaded, but T do not' bos that' women &re more deficient in that respect than

men. Women, I find, are more inclined to gamble thah men. There is an interesting career in the financial world for women. They have more intuition than men, And as a rule are more persuasive. They are not lacking in caution, tmd they certainly nre the best bargainers. They excel in buying and sellings ribbons. Why should not they also excel in buying and selling Btocks and shares? I do not trouble much about figures. I leave them to my secretary ; but I find mental arithmetic very useful. Women are a.s good at sums as men." In the same building where Mrs; Brooke carries on her business, a woman accountant, Miss M. Harris Smith, has offices.