Today’s article was triggered by a study that I recently conducted among my followers, but mostly my mentees. I know that the study was not done among thousands of traders. This is not a conclusion or a fact, but rather what I have observed as an individual.

Why is there a few of us (female trader

As the years progressed, I have seen an increase in numbers of women who are interested in learning more about the financial markets. It excites me, this has been a zone filled with men for such a long time and a very lonely one for us (women). As a female trader myself, I still come across people who think I cannot excel in this simply because I am a woman. Some people will even go as far as saying things like “We thought you were just blogging and there’s a man behind all this great work that you do”. In short, I still get undermined by men in this field and also by fellow women. This post is not about putting men or women in a certain box on how they should behave or how they act. It is also not about who does it better between men and women in trading. This is just my observation (I just got tempted to use my favorite word “Nje”). This is just my own observations.

What I have noticed about male traders

My mentees are so gonna kill me. I might as well just hide after this post. But again, they know how much I love them and how I am always straight forward with them.

• Most of them were a bit skeptical in the beginning just before they enrolled for my private lessons. The fact that I am a woman is still an issue for some (not all of them though)
• When they finally enroll for my private lessons & mentorship, there’s something that they mostly struggle with. They hate to admit when they are wrong and therefore take longer to realize that they are actually in a bad trade and they need to do something about it. They love being right or correct all the time.
• They are likely to ignore my teachings and just do their own thing. This is simply because men are not like us. We like to hide stuff from our friends for the fear of being talked about. We love to keep to ourselves and never share everything with our friends. Most men are likely to share with their homeboys and play around with different strategies and take tips from friends (which usually ends in huge losses). They can hardly focus on one strategy.
• They mostly have that urge to want to trade even when there aren’t really any trading opportunities
• Just like most guys love speedy cars, most of them do love speedy profits as well. Higher lot sizes that cannot be handled by their accounts are their biggest challenge. They are mostly chasing quick results and sometimes I may appear too conservative for their liking. They have a general lack of patience (not all of them)
• They struggle to communicate effectively with their mentor (me) and they are mostly too shy to cry out for help.
• They prefer to sit in their corner and drown in losses instead of asking for help. Mostly, I only find out when the mess is too big that they actually messed up. That is one thing that delays their progress. Slowly, but surely, they are coming to the “party” and as a mentor I think I am winning.
• Their bravery can sometimes be their demise.

What I have observed about us (female traders)

There’s something about us and patience. We can be extremely patient and understand that things may take longer to materialize. When women enroll for my private lessons, they mostly speak the same language. They talk about how they are willing to nurture their accounts and grow them from strength to strength. They also do love the fact that I won’t teach them to trade the whole day and night. They love the fact that they’ll still be able to take care of their families, go to work and pursue their other interests while trading the financial markets. You know what I love the most about women traders? We are not interested in letting all our friends know what we are up to. That is one thing that we do best. Some of us learned the hard way and decided never to announce our plans to our friends. Here are some of the things that I have observed about  most female traders.

• They usually do not believe that they can actually be the best
• They question and undermine their own intelligence a lot
• They are too careful and it makes them to doubt their decisions for the fear of losing money. They cannot separate being careful and being too scared.
• They are likely to move slower than they should. They feel more than they do. But they are likely to be more sustainable than male traders.
• They are likely to stick to my teachings because no one in their circle really knows that they are also trading, therefore they hardly join trading groups or take tips from outside sources. They do not have that kind of pressure that men are mostly exposed to. That on its own has contributed to their success rate and how they manage to keep it real.
• They do not have that urge to trade every hour (well, most of them)
• They are likely to keep the profits because it is in our nature to care and nurture anything
• They are not about doubling accounts every second day, they are more about growth month after month.

I almost forgot to tell you about these women under my mentorship, I have found sisters in them. We share more than what actually brought us together. It is also the case with the guys, we have that brotherly/sisterly relationship and great friendships. OK, back to my wishes now.

If I could cut and paste

My wish is for male traders to think like men, be more patient and trade like women. My wish for female traders is for them to have a little dose of bravery (not all of it, just a little) have more confidence and trade like women. Did I just say female traders are better traders than male traders? YOH! I don’t know. What do you think? Remember these were just my own observations from my group of traders. What’s your thought? I would like to hear, kindly leave a comment. I thought I should just pop in and have a long chat with you, nothing serious but just a chat on what I have observed. This post is not for education purposes, it was just a chat. Also note that not all men or women are as described. Maybe, just maybe learning from a women will make a difference. Thank you for stopping by.

I recently started a podcast not only because I love talking (Of course I love talking, I really do) but because I thought it will also be another great and awesome way to share my message and also to put the voice behind all this writing that I’ve been doing here. As a teacher/mentor & coach, I have learned through my mentees that some people get the message better through listening than reading. Check it out HERE. You can also download the App where I post weekly tips on trading psychology and also to have this blog right at your fingertips.