Published February 6th 2020

Millennials, money & myths - Gender & investment behaviour

Author

Tim Richards

In the fourth and final release of our research, Millennials, money & myths, we take an honest look at the impact that gender continues to make on millennial wealth in the UK.

Ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March 2020, our research highlights investing as an important aspect of the gender wealth gap – with almost twice as many affluent millennial males generating wealth through investment, than females.

The World Economic Forum recently revealed that the UK has dropped six places in the latest gender parity rankings, meaning it could take more than 250 years for the gender wealth gap to close. Our research suggests this could be set to worsen, as a fifth of women don’t plan on investing in the next 12 months.

The gender wealth gap among affluent millennials is stark across a wide range of return on investment products.

From investing in riskier products, to starting a business and using robo-advisors, gender and age continue to have a bearing on the behaviours, perception and use of technology that impact on personal finance. Our report suggests that women are often prioritising assessment of risk over potential profit or the ease of access to returns. The knock-on effect is not only a wealth gap, but also a confidence gap: when it comes to feelings about their current financial position, our male respondents reported higher levels of success and contentment. Furthermore 14% of men reported feeling ‘influential’ when it comes to their financial position compared to just 4% of women.

How can we close the gap?

The gender wealth gap is complex and multi-faceted – however there are many things that individuals and businesses can do to close the gap sooner rather than later.

To move closer towards financial equality, we need to increase understanding of and confidence in investing, improve knowledge surrounding investment risk and the overall importance of financial gender equality. Great strides can be made in the workplace to ensure employees are equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to confidently invest in their future, regardless of their gender. At Michelmores we are running various initiatives as part of our financial wellbeing programme which we plan to develop further during 2020.

Download the report here

Click here to download sections one to three of our ‘Millennials, money and myths’ reports:

Author

Tim Richards

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