The internet has made it possible for the average person to participate in local, international, and global markets. The largest single market in the world – the foreign exchange (forex) market – is no exception.

But as at 2016, only about 15% of traders at investment banks were women, and this number keeps falling.

At international fund manager Brevan Howard, only 6% are women and only 7% are women at BlueCrest Capital Management hedge fund.

Despite these poor numbers, studies have shown that there has been a significant development in the performance of women traders compared to men.

Some experts in the world of finance would even say women make better traders than men. Why?

1. Women can deal with mistakes

Trading is a profession where mistakes can be extremely costly. Mistakes are inevitable, but it is important to be able to deal with them in a constructive and professional manner.

Studies show that women are better than men at accepting and moving on from a mistake.

Unlike women, men tend to put themselves in a position where they feel they have to prove something.

Women, on the other hand, just want to learn, do the right thing and let life go on.

2. Women handle emotional turmoil well

Some people claim that women are too emotional for most types of work. This could not be more wrong in the world of trading.

Women are actually the more disciplined and more in-control traders on the floor.

Women do not think about being ostracised, criticised and put down for actually having human emotions.

They can solve a problem because they can acknowledge its existence in the first place.

3. Women have no problem with not trading if they think it is not wise

Women are less prone to overtrading. Overtrading is when a trader cannot stop trading after spotting opportunities everywhere in the market.

It can cause physical and mental exhaustion, emotional fatigue and, worse, irrationality. Irrational traders are losers.

Winning traders know when it is not healthy, wise or profitable to trade.

4. Women stick to the strategy and follow procedures consistently

Generally, women do not put themselves in a position where they have to prove themselves.

Why? Because women do not see any need to prove themselves. A

s traders, women prefer to follow the strategies taught by their seniors, stick to them and learn more if mistakes happen.

Men are more likely to prefer to “have it their own way”. Because of this, women manage their trading schedules better since they are able to follow better trading strategies.

5. Women measure their ability to control the situation first

Throughout history, women have been measured by the things they cannot control or the things they cannot do.

This conditioning developed a “test the waters” attitude in women that is crucial in trading. Women do not commit to things that they cannot measure because immeasurable things are uncontrollable.

Men, although more risk-hungry, are more likely to jump into trades headfirst, exposing them to large risks.

So, it could be said that women are in a great position to start a career in trading currencies.

These points are not made to discredit men’s ability to trade profitably, rather, they illustrate the advantages the female personality offers in trading.

This article first appeared in The New Savvy. The New Savvy is Asia’s leading financial, investments and career platform for women. Our bold vision is to empower 100 million women to achieve financial happiness. We deliver high-quality content through conferences, e-learning platforms, personal finance apps and e-commerce stores.