Urban women keen on financial independence

Survey finds stronger motivation than men, but lower incomes mean they have less to invest

More than 80 per cent of urban women wish to become more independent economically, showing a stronger motivation than men for financial empowerment, a recent survey has found.

The poll on investment attitudes indicated that 82 per cent of female respondents wanted to be better in control of their own financial situation, according to a report by investment management service provider Fidelity International, released on Monday.

The company surveyed more than 2,000 adults in mainland cities, 49 per cent being women and 51 per cent men, last month.

While the average desirable age to realise economic independence was 33 for men, it was three years earlier for women, the survey found.

“Compared with men, we found that women surveyed are more eager to become financially independent. They wish to do so at an average age of 30,” said Zhou Wenqun, head of equity investment and a fund manager at Fidelity International China.

They are also more active in making financial plans, the report said. The rate of men who have made such plans was 69 per cent, while it was 71 per cent among women.

However, the average amount of money invested by women was 20 per cent lower than men, which could be a result of their lower incomes or poorer knowledge about investment, said Zhou.

Though gender equality and women’s rights have been gaining growing support in China amid a feminist awakening in recent years, the salary gap between women and men remains large as women continue to bear the bulk of child-raising and housework.

Women earned 12 per cent less in general than men, according to a working women report by leading job-hunting website zhaopin.com last year. This was already a drop of 5 percentage points on the previous year.

On the other hand, female employment rates are some of the highest among the world’s major economies.

Nearly 62 per cent of women were in the country’s labour force in 2020, compared with the world average of about 46 per cent in the same period, according to the World Bank.

Compared with men, we found that women surveyed are more eager to become financially independent

ZHOU WENQUN, FIDELITY