New Book “She-Wolves” Uncovers Untold Story of the Women Who Built Wall Street

She-Wolves: The Untold History of Women on Wall Street, a new book by Paulina Bren (author of The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free) publishing in September, is a fascinating page-turner about the lesser-known but no less fascinating history of the first women on Wall Street. The stories of these bold and daring women are set amidst the backdrop of New York City’s Financial District from the 1960s to the events of September 11, beginning from when women had to literally jam their foot into the door of an industry exclusively for men, to the austerity years of Jimmy Carter’s administration in the 1970s, to the decade of excess under Ronald Reagan, and into the early 21st century.

Bren’s rich and engaging writing style brings you right into what it felt like to be a woman in the finance industry, ultimately showing that there was not one specific type of woman who made it on Wall Street. What unites them is the perpetual uphill battle they all faced—sexism, bullying, glass ceilings, and systemic inequities—whether it was the first women to attend Harvard Business School, college dropouts who wanted to be liberated from their family or a bad marriage, the first women analysts, the first woman to have a seat at the New York Stock Exchange, the first Black women on Wall Street, and others. There’s even the story of the enterprising sisters Tennessee Claflin and Victoria Woodhull who made it big with their own brokerage house at 44 Broad Street in the middle of the 1800s.

One of the most memorable stories is about a high school junior named Louise Jones, a foster child found as a newborn in a telephone booth on Columbus Avenue and West 88th Street. She had forty Hispanic foster siblings and a toughness that suited her perfectly for the rough and tumble trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange. She made her way up from teletype operator to clerk typist and then in 1985, was offered jobs from multiple firms as a clerk on the floor. She negotiated for herself and landed a salary of $78,000. She was only twenty years old.

As an Ivy League graduate myself in the early aughts, it was not until I read She-Wolves that I finally understood the working world into which I was ushered—why the only jobs available from the Harvard recruiting office were investment banking and management consulting jobs, why the hockey players all ended up on Wall Street, and why when I was twenty years old (but looking fifteen), a Vice President at Lehman Brothers hit on me on the subway and gave me his business card. For decades, the world of Wall Street played by its own rules, one written by men and for men, and that world in turn shaped the landscape of New York City, both physically and socially.

I am beyond excited to host Paulina Bren at our next Lit Salon on September 19th. Inside a historic brownstone in Brooklyn, we will have an in-depth conversation with Bren about the book and the women of Wall Street, you’ll imbibe a specialty cocktail (as well as mocktails by the amazing Mocktails by Lilly), and listen to live music from the Brownstone Quartet! The Lit Salon will also be streamed virtually for those who cannot attend in person. You can pre-order an autographed copy of the book here.

Lit Salon: She-Wolves Launch Party w/ Paulina Bren

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Untapped New York Insiders can attend the virtual livestream for free! Learn more and book here.

Next, check out 10 Secrets of the Financial District