Sexism, Misogyny On Wall Street, Claims Basking Ridge Writer In Book

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Jamie Fiore Higgins of Basking Ridge made it pretty far up the executive ladder at Goldman Sachs. She was bringing in big bucks but at the same time enduring a toxic environment, she said.

She said she endured the "sexism" and "misogyny" of Wall Street for almost 20 years before "having the guts to walk away in 2016."

Now she is opening up and sharing her very raw experience in her memoir "Bully Market: My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs."

"It’s invigorating and scary to share my personal story with the world, but this book isn’t just about me. I want my experiences to spark discussion about gender equality in the workplace and create change," said Higgins.

Higgins began working at Goldman Sachs in July 1998. However, what she actually wanted to do was go into social work.

"I had a history of some health issues as a kid where I was benefiting from the medical and mental health communities and really wanted to do that. But my parents discouraged me from it because it was not the best well-paying," Higgins told Patch.

Higgins came from a family of immigrants whose parents wanted their children to choose careers that gave them more financial stability.

She followed her parents' redirection and focused on Wall Street.

Her journey began in college where there was a job fair with Goldman Sachs and a push to bring more diversity to the field. Representing the company was, what Higgins described as, an "amazing woman who was smart, powerful, and strong yet also kind."

"I thought, 'Oh my God. I want to be just like her'," said Higgins.

Now Higgins jokes that she wonders if that woman was even real or a paid spokeswoman.

Upon landing the job at Goldman Sachs, which she said is harder to get into than Harvard, she found a lot of white noise surrounding sexism.

"There was this locker room mentality. People's body parts were openly discussed," said Higgins. I was like 'Woah.' It was a cultural shock but I was determined to stay."

The more senior Higgins got and the more money she made that kind of sexism became much more obvious and directed toward her, she said.

"I got really good at keeping my mouth shut. As each year went on and each payday became larger - the harassment got worse," said Higgins.

Eventually, in 2016 she walked away, but she didn't pen her memoir until several years later.

The "ah ha" moment clicked while she was doing some volunteer work and shared a story from her days on Wall Street.

"I talked about pumping for my last child and hearing them 'Moo' at me when I walked off the desk," said Higgins. "When I told the story I saw it from their eyes and realized 'Wow this is really F’ed up'."

In 2018 she decided to sit down and work on her book. It took about three years to find a publisher and she had the book vetted by an attorney.

"We strongly disagree with Ms. Higgins' characterization of Goldman Sachs' culture and these anonymized allegations. We have a zero tolerance policy for discrimination or retaliation against employees reporting misconduct, and all claims are thoroughly investigated with discretion and sensitivity," said a Goldman Sachs spokesperson.

Higgins says that all of the names have been changed in the book and some of the characters are composites, according to her author's note.

"I do feel I told it in a responsible and respectful way. It's not about shaming individuals or dragging anyone's name through the mud. My setting happened at Goldman Sachs but really it is about all large influential people," said Higgins.

Additionally, Higgins noted the book also shines a light on how the toxic environment changed her.

"My book is not just about things that happened to me but how I perpetuated the toxic environment. It is like the kid on the playground who was bullied and then becomes the bully. I am very candid about not only what happened to me but what I did to other people," said Higgins.

Higgins' book is available online and in bookstores. She even made appearances on the Today Show in September.

To learn more about Higgins and her book visit jamiefiorehiggins.com.

A request for comment from Goldman Sachs was not immediately returned.

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