Abigail Miller
What was your introduction to the Finance industry?
My introduction to the finance industry was as a summer analyst at Citi on the CitiLean & Smart Automation Team. In this role, I supported a portfolio of CitiLean projects across the bank using CitiLean methodology, created content for CitiLean training courses, and supported the build-out and customization of the Smart Automation Center Playbook for Robotic Process Automation.
When / why did women empowerment in finance start to become an important issue for you?
I don’t think there ever was a time in my life where women empowerment hasn’t been an important issue to me. Though it definitely came to light starting in my freshman year of college when I realized how many more males there were in my Integrated Business and Engineering Honors Program cohort. Looking back, the cohort was about 30% female and 70% male and I even remember one of the TAs saying that this was the most girls he had ever seen in an IBE cohort so far. My jaw dropped and it made me realize how much of an issue this still was and I wanted to do everything I could to enable women to feel confident in pursuing a career in Finance/Technology.
This is why I am proud to work for Citi as it still stands as one of the few companies to offer information about its gender pay gap to the public. Though having a gap is not a good thing, acknowledging it is the first step in making strides towards closing it. Though it has been acknowledged that Citi’s workforce is made up of more than 50% women, the gap stems from an imbalance at the leadership level. While men populate higher-paid roles, women are more concentrated at the lower end of the corporate ladder where the pay is less.
One way that I am currently fighting this is through getting involved in as many Diversity initiatives as I can, including being a mentor for the Early ID Program. This program focuses on identifying, mentoring, and hiring top diverse talent for Citi’s Summer Analyst Programs from the following Affinity groups: Black Heritage Leadership Program, Hispanic Heritage Leadership Program, Pride Leadership Program, Women’s Leadership Program, and Veterans Leadership Program. The program is a fast track to an AVP role at Citi and will enable women, among other underrepresented groups, to be promoted to leadership positions at Citi and hopefully close the gender pay gap once and for all.
What inspires you and keeps you motivated?
The chance to be a better version of myself than I was yesterday. Each day we are given an opportunity to get better. Whether my “better” is in my job trying to crush a presentation or at the gym trying to crush a new PR - there are so many opportunities to make yourself just that one bit better each day. Additionally, the fact that I am a First-Generation College Student also feeds my fire to keep me going each and every day. I had to fight so hard for my college education and once I was there, the fight got even harder. Though I received financial aid, funding a college education by myself is a daunting task. Throughout my four years at Lehigh, I managed three part-time jobs along with leadership positions/extracurriculars, on top of a honors dual-degree program that had me taking about 18 credits a semester. From this experience, I made it a priority to find ways to give back and help other first-generation college students get through school by focusing on their studies vs. their finances. One way I did this was through volunteering as a peer financial mentor in the Office of Financial Aid so I could show younger students what options they had, how to set a budget, and even how to gain access to free textbooks - a huge deal since they can be huge out of pocket cost.
What type of impact are you hoping to make in the ACE community?
I am hoping to enable the ACE community to not only embrace their entrepreneurial spirit through my own endeavors in the health and wellness space but also teach everyone how to make their health a priority in the midst of a seemingly never-ending workload that comes along with a career in Finance, especially for women. I think a lot of us career-driven women in Finance and Technology tend to feel like we can’t have it all - when, in fact, we can. It’s just as important to be your best in your personal life as it is in your career and that includes taking care of yourself.
What are your interests and a fun fact about yourself?
In my spare time, I enjoy taking my morning CrossFit classes with the 6:30 AM squad, learning how to make new recipes, and working on my Nutrition Coaching side hustle.
A fun fact about me is that I have a twin brother