NCTR Congratulates P&I’s ”Influential Women in Institutional Investing” for 2025

September 15, 2025

Pensions & Investments (P&I) recently announced its third annual list of “Influential Women in Institutional Investing,” honoring 46 extraordinary women making invaluable contributions to the investment industry. P&I has also named 26 women to its 2025 “Rising Stars” program, spotlighting exceptional early-career professionals by recognizing influential women in the institutional investing industry who have been in their careers for less than 10 years. Among the honorees for both programs are a total of 18 women (ten “Influential Women” and eight “Rising Stars”) that NCTR proudly acknowledges work for either our retirement systems or our commercial associate members. NCTR supports the efforts of these remarkable women, celebrates their achievements, and is committed to the success of all women in institutional investing.

“These trailblazing allocators and investment managers not only excel in their respective roles but also exemplify a profound commitment to advancing the field of institutional investing,” P&I underscores, explaining that this year’s honorees have an impact through their relationships both in and out of managing capital. To these women, being influential “is both a privilege and a responsibility” — as they see it “as a tool to elevate others and foster collaboration,” the publication stresses.

P&I accepted nominations for its “Influential Women in Institutional Investing” awards and its “Rising Star” program earlier this year. To be eligible for recognition in the former, women must be currently employed in institutional investing, have a minimum of 10 years of experience in the industry, and demonstrate a measurable effect and results within her workplace and within the industry. As noted, eligibility for the “Rising Stars” program is limited to women in the institutional investing industry who have been in their careers for less than 10 years.

P&I asks that nominees ideally should demonstrate a commitment to attract, retain, support and promote women into the industry. Women across the institutional investment industry are eligible, including asset owners, asset managers, consultants and service providers.

P&I collaborated with an advisory board of leading investors and key industry executives to assist in selecting this year’s group of women, as well as with a select group of 2024 honorees and the Pensions & Investments’ leadership team.

Of the 46 women named to the “2025 Influential Women” list, the following are associated with NCTR members:

Gloria Gil, Senior Investment Officer, Oregon State Treasury

Rosa Perez, Managing Investment Officer II, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Michele Chow-Tai, Managing Director, Business Development. Fairview Capital Partners

Meenal Mehta, Senior Managing Director, Co-head of Underwriting, Blue Owl

Anna Paglia, Executive Vice President, Chief Business Officer, State Street Investment Management

Sandy Kaul, Executive Vice President, Head of Innovation, Franklin Templeton

Cassandra Lichnock, CEO, California State Teachers’ Retirement System

Amy C. McGarrity, Chief Investment Officer/Chief Operating Officer, Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association

Cathy Marcus, Co-CEO and Global Chief Operating Officer, PGIM Real Estate

Katherine Renfrew, Head of EM Corporates and Quasi-sovereigns, Nuveen

Of the 26 women named to the “2025 Rising Star” list, the following are associated with NCTR members:

Amanda Camp, Client skills facilitator, Global Sales Management, T.Rowe Price
Mary Kate Clifford, Vice President, Blue Owl Capital
Mackenzie Cronin, Defined Contribution Retirement Consultant, Capital Group
Mailinh Dang, Investment Professional, Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System
Katie Lee, Investment Officer, California State Teachers’ Retirement System
Andrianna Papadimitriou, Senior Consultant, Aon Investments USA
Zainab Raji, Director, Corporate Strategy, T. Rowe Price
Lauren Rosborough Watt, Lead Economist, Investment Manager, California Public Employees’ Retirement System

(P&I asked members of this year’s class of Rising Stars to share what sparked their interest in pursuing a career in the industry, how they view mentorship and what’s on their minds early in their careers. Be sure to check out their responses.)

These honorees may have varied backgrounds, experiences, and roles within the industry, but a common thread among them is “the desire to lift others and the drive to bring about positive change,” as Nikki Pirrello, the former president and publisher of P&I, said of the 2024 cohort. Congratulations to them all!

On a more sobering note, while this year’s honorees represent more than $22.4 trillion in assets, it is still the case that women are underrepresented at money management companies.

For example, as Larry Rothman, data editor at P&I, recently reported, over 90 percent of money management companies reported having 50 percent or less of the workforce consisting of women, according to P&I’s annual money manager survey. “This underrepresentation carried through to different levels of the organization, with even lower employment percentages in senior management and investment roles,” he points out.

Consider the following. Based on the 270 responses to P&I’s most recent money manager survey:

About 69 percent of money managers stated they had 40 percent or less of their workforce consisting of women. Only 22 money manager firms (about eight percent) employed more women than men.
Nearly all the money managers reported having less than 50 percent of women in senior management roles. “About two-thirds had 30 percent or less, and one company reported having no women in those roles,” Rothman reports.
Looking at women in investment positions, 49 out of 226 money managers reported one to ten percent, while more than half, 55 percent, had up to 20 percent of women in investment jobs.
Examining 23 public money management companies, none had a majority of their board of directors made up of women. Eleven had 31percent to 40 percent of their board consisting of women. Another six money managers had 21 percent to 30 percent, and five firms had 41 percent to 50 percent of their boards made up of women.

In short, “[t]here’s a dearth of female workers among the upper echelons of financial management and investment services,” Investopedia stresses. According to the Deloitte Center for Financial Services, only six of the 107 largest financial institutions in the United States were run by female CEOs in 2019, while in 2024 “women accounted for a mere 10.4 percent (52) of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, 9 percent (270) of the CEOs of Russell 3000 companies, and 7.8 percent (39) of the CEOs of S&P 500 businesses.”

Why? The reasons given are “a lack of role models and mentorship, a lack of managerial support, and women’s concerns about work/life balance.” In addition, “the polarizing climate around diversity, equity, and inclusion threatens to jeopardize the gains made by women in recent years,” according to the 2024 “Women CEOs in America” report from Women Business Collaborative.

Furthermore, Investopedia reports that, according to Payscale’s 2024 Gender Pay Gap Report (GPGR), women in what is described as “the finance and insurance industry” earned 77 cents for every dollar earned by men, at 23 percent the largest gap out of 15 industries surveyed and lower than the overall gap of 83 cents to every dollar for all women (a 17 percent gap). [Payscale publishes a number of data-driven reports analyzing compensation management trends from their large-scale compensation survey.]

The situation may be changing for the better, thanks to programs that honor and encourage women’s record of achievement in institutional investment such as the P&I lists. But more needs to be done, particularly in light of what Investopedia calls “the effect that a dampening on the push for diversity will have on future progress.”

NCTR believes in the great value that women add to building a more diverse institutional investor workforce, and salutes all these women, whether included on the 2025 P&I lists or not. But we particularly salute the achievements and dedication of the 2025 honorees and the way in which they are helping to encourage more women to seek a career in institutional investing. Everyone benefits!

NCTR is also proud to have almost two dozen women from our systems and commercial membership as speakers, presenters, moderators, panelists, and hosts at our 103rd Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, October 4-7. We could not do it without them!