What It Was Like to Be a Woman at Goldman Sachs?

Investment banks expect their employees to make their work far and away their first priority in life. Working hours are often 8am to 1am, not for any real purpose but just to compete on who is more committed. Weekends? What are those?

Yes, the pay is extremely high. But the vast majority of the partners at Goldman Sachs have sacrificed everything important in life -- family, friends, relationships, marriages, children, hobbies -- just to make tens of millions of dollars per year. It takes a certain kind of poor prioritization to commit to such a career and I'm not surprised that more men than women choose to participate.

GS is a large firm, and has a very high profile. It's not a surprise that it's under fire for having an environment like this.

This didn't end with the 1990s. Even now, in 2012, lots of smaller broker-dealers and hedge funds have events that stretch (and cross) the boundaries of HR-acceptability. For those who object to this kind of environment, it's a real dilemma. Filing a lawsuit, or even an HR grievance, can be a severely career-limiting move - after all, what executive wants to promote a person who has a back history of suing their employers?