Stephanie Ruhle

Since leaving DB, I have participated in many conferences and swish events that other financial institutions have held for their women's groups.

Of course the female experience is different from those of our male peers - just like every woman's story is different from their fellow females.

The smartest and most successful people I know are the people who are constantly evolving, always learning. It does not end with school.

From Warren Buffett to Jamie Dimon to Paul Tudor Jones, no one has cracked the code and put a critical mass of top women in the C-Suite or near it.

No doubt bias exists everywhere, but Wall Street is a ferocious battlefield with everyone in search of the next rainmaker or best strategy. It shouldn't matter who delivers it.

I want to tell stories of impact.

Very early in my career, I almost went to journalism school.

Wall Street is not the right career for everyone or for every woman. That is clear. But it can't be wrong for every woman. A big job in a trading house can't only be the head of Human Resources or chief operating officer in charge of overhead.

Whatever job you're asked to do, whether you think it's mundane, boring, or beneath you, do the best job you can. No assignment should be treated as a task. Before you can climb the ladder, you need to build a good foundation.

I've never been the smartest or most qualified for any job I've ever had, and I'm talking waitressing, babysitting, you name it. But I know I've got the will to win. And I learned how to bet on myself and take a shot.

The jobs Americans don't want are the ones the migrants fill.

When I first started working, I thought I would have a career in my 20s and a family in my 30s. But when I got pregnant with my first, I was really just hitting my stride professionally. That's when I realized it wasn't an either/or decision.