Jacki Zehner proudly notes that she joined Goldman Sachs in 1988 "as an analyst in the mortgage securities department and two years later became a trader on the mortgage desk. By 1996 I was managing the fixed-rate trading desk, and was made a partner," she writes in Bloomberg.

"I was the youngest woman and first female trader to hold that position. I believe I was promoted because of both my profitability and my commitment to teamwork. It also helped that I was a woman," she says. This is a significant achievement. She was able to make partner and thinks that other women at Goldman should be able to as well.

Zehner thinks recent charges of gender bias by three women are rooted in negative experiences, which she says are "valid without being symptomatic of a larger problem. I have seen plenty of talented people, not just women, get screwed over." She makes an interesting point.

"Cases like this may just motivate managers to hire, mentor or promote more men instead of the equally or more talented women because men are easier to fire if they are poor performers," adds Zehner.

For whatever reason, the larger problem here may be that women increasingly do not see the financial services industry as a great career path. My sense is that most firms have cracked down on boom-boom room type behavior. You make crude comments to women now at your career peril. But to the extent that a new sexism flourishes, it is infinitely more complex.

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