International Women's Day 2022
On the 8th March all around the world, people celebrate all things women – be that their value, achievements, or contributions to society, the home, and the workplace (or all three simultaneously).
Within our society, there are key influencers whose goal is to not only close the gender pay gap, but decrease the financial gender gap, and this year International Women’s Day is rightly calling for society to #BreakTheBias, something that has historically held women back and hindered their natural progression, in and outside of the workplace. As a wealth management company, we want to play our part and make a fundamental contribution towards this movement.
In 2022, we are witnessing a gradual rise in female investors and more and more women taking ownership and agency of their finances. However, in a 2021 survey conducted by WealthiHer on ‘the meaning of wealth for women in the UK’, the majority vote (47%) was for ‘Health and happiness’, with 37% saying that ‘Financial security’ was their definition of wealth.
Whilst the peace of mind that health and happiness can bring should not be dismissed, the above statistics do highlight a contributing factor in the current financial gender gap.
For many women, and specifically those in couples, the archaic notion that finance and money matters falls under the man’s remit has led to a significant disparity in financial education, literacy and importantly confidence between women and their male counterparts. Coupled with the fact that the financial advice industry is overwhelmingly dominated by men, in 2021 just 24% of women occupied leadership roles within financial service firms (Deloitte Insights), might explain (in some, not all cases), why women feel misunderstood and reluctant to approach the topic.
So as not to brand every woman as the same, reinforce stereotyping and ultimately play into the exact bias we are trying to break, it would be remiss not to point out that we are seeing trends of increasing numbers of women financial advisors in the finance industry as a whole.
At BRI we are proud to boast that across our Wealth Management team of advisors, paraplanners and portfolio managers, we have a 7/11 split of female to male ratio. Today more than ever, we want to shine a light on this, as we believe that more females within the industry might help to bridge the financial gender gap and help more women to feel confident to seek financial advice from those who understand them and their needs best.
For resources on how to get into investing, financial education platforms, webinars and tools and advice on all things finance, the following sites are tailored specifically for women:
If you would like to get in contact with one of our female advisors for an initial conversation or to discuss any elements of financial planning and investments, please contact Kate Howells on kh@brigroup.co.uk or call 01676 939 405.
