Nina Godiwalla speaks from experience. It's not necessarily experience gained over a lifetime. She worked at Morgan Stanley from 1997 to 1999 in the rough-and-tumble corporate finance arena. And that stint has given her enough material to write a book, Suits: A woman on Wall Street.

"Godiwalla wrote the book because she wanted women and minorities to understand what they were getting into when they joined a Wall Street bank," notes FINS.

"It's a bitter experience while you're there," she said. "But the reality is we all benefited from it. I got into Wharton because I went there. A lot of the great jobs I got afterward was because of the experience. I just wanted people to know what it was like before they got there."

The stories are brow-raising to be sure. How about the executive who leaned into a colleague only to take a bite out of his ear, like Mike Tyson. She didn't see this, but she heard about it first hand.

Godwilla comes away with a novel insight: "If the story of 'Women and Wall Street' was once about sexual harassment, maybe the modern-day story is about witnessing the callous way bankers treat others. During my time on Wall Street, I learned to bury myself in my work and look the other way. I saw many successful people do the same. It's an art form."

It's no wonder more women are shying away from Wall Street as a career.

For more:
- here's an article in FINS
- here's an essay by Godiwalla

Related Articles:
Women and Wall Street
Former Wall Street woman touts interracial 'dating' prowess
A new sexism rampant on Wall Street?
Women on Wall Street: Gains come hard