Mari Nieves Lanzagorta won Excellence in Regulation at Markets Media Group’s inaugural Women in Finance Latin America Awards, which was held in Mexico City on March 6.

Markets Media spoke with Mari Nieves after the event to learn more.

Briefly outline your career path.

I’m an economist who started out interested in public policy, but worked a bit in Strategy & Operations (S&O), competition, and competitiveness. Like many other women, I stepped aside when I became a mother, at 28. While my kids were babies, I started working as a consultant for a big firm in communication strategies in Mexico. It turns out that communication experts could use someone who understood financial markets to help people better understand their pension funds. That’s where I discovered my passion for making financial markets more accessible.

I really enjoyed the challenge of having formal workers in Mexico understand that since 1997 they were investors via their Afores, that these funds were well managed by experts, and that temporary losses in value were not something to worry too much about. Instead, considering the long-term returns, it would be wise and necessary to make additional contributions to everyone’s account in order to achieve better pensions.

During the next few years, I discovered that I could really help deliver complex economic messages to the general public and that I enjoyed doing so. After a few years as a consultant in projects for Amafore, the Mexican Stock Exchange, and an NGO focused on explaining economic concepts to people who weren’t economists, among others, I decided it was time to return to a full-time office job, where I joined the National Banking and Securities Commission as their spokeswoman. After a few years, the opportunity to return to Amafore and work directly for the pension funds industry—promoting better regulation and public understanding of the system—was a dream come true. I’ve been here for the past six years and have enjoyed every second of it.

What’s a moment in your career that you’re especially proud of?

I think it was when I realized that I wanted to be at the big table instead of the side table. Although I have always had good feedback about my work, somehow it took ages for me to realize that it was possible to have a real career and also a family. When I noticed that my kids were proud and did not feel abandoned for having a working mom, I decided I could make plans and aspire to professional growth. I got hired in a nice company and with a nice boss, but their expectations of me were to stay on the side and focus on projects that I felt were not adequate to my interests and potential. It took me three weeks to realize that it would hurt both myself and the company more if I stayed, than if I left as soon as possible for a job I could actually enjoy and grow in.

What was your reaction to winning the award?

At first, I actually thought I was being scammed. It’s funny how sometimes we feel we do not deserve recognition, and these things sound too good to be true. Fortunately, I remembered that a few days before someone told me she had nominated me for an award and that they’d probably get in touch. Once I managed to stop smiling like a fool all day long, I felt really grateful for being considered to receive such an honor and lucky to have had the will to keep on pursuing my passion—and the support of many people who trusted and believed in me.

What’s a challenge you’ve faced in your career, and how did you overcome it?

I found that sometimes people look at women who aspire to certain positions as too soft, too inexperienced, or too young. I have thought so myself several times. I once wanted a particular job and had the odds stacked against me. I wondered if I should just leave it and back off. No one thought that I even deserved to be considered. I had a great mentor and a great coach. They both talked me into raising my voice and getting heard, to try a bit harder.

I learned that many women, like me, grew up believing that it was rude to ask for things, to say that we wanted them. Instead, we should wait patiently for someone to notice us and offer whatever it was we wanted… it could be a toy, an invitation to a party, a job, or a promotion. I studied, I raised my hand, I asked them to at least let me “pitch” the reasons why I thought I should be considered. I was heard, and suddenly, there was a chance for me. I grew and learned a lot from that process. You may not get what you want every time you try, but your chances are always better when you do.

As a woman, have you experienced any challenges in your career that a man might not have faced?

I think the main one is facing the guilt towards the family. I have been lucky enough to be in meetings with some of the most important CEOs and company owners in the country—most of them men. I have never seen any of them apologize for leaving early from an afternoon meeting because they need to pick up their kids after basketball practice or go buy materials for a big homework they have due the very next day. Everyone assumes there’s a partner backing them and in charge of those things. And I think that’s also related to the self-confidence breach between men and women. I believe there’s a good future there, since the younger generations are better understanding that caregiving is a shared responsibility, and most young women have grown in a more equal environment.

Do women in Mexico / Latin America have good opportunities to pursue financial careers? What are the hurdles?

I think they do. The financial sector, although dominated by males, is an industry that has relevant knowledge of the benefits and the need for equality and inclusion. I think that new generations are coming, where more and more women are willing to specialize in finance and pursue a career. And I do believe that the doors are open—we just need to show up.

What would be your advice to young women just starting, or considering a career in finance?

Make a plan, get a mentor, trust yourself, keep studying and most definitely, do not ever consider yourself as the only caregiver. If you have a partner (or ex-partner) and kids. Men have achieved great careers and have families because they’ve had partners who support them at home. Women need that too.

What does the future hold for you?

I hope to keep contributing to people’s lives and helping more and more workers understand the benefits and the need for their pension savings. I hope to contribute to more sustainable and responsible investment, and to help shape a world in which every single person knows they can have access to financial markets and obtain the marvelous benefits of investing. I want a future in which I play a role in making financial markets and financial well-being as relevant as mental and physical health for everyone.