Women, it’s all about you and money
New Zealand women will earn and save less than men in their lifetimes, they’ll feel less confidence about money and investments, but will need more money for retirement because they’ll live longer.
That financial gender inequity is among the issues the Herald is exploring in its four-part Women and Money series, which starts today.
We look at why women are still woefully absent from the Rich List, why they struggle to attract funding for business start-ups, why many lack knowledge in money matters and defer to others for financial decisions.
We look at women’s attitudes to money and what’s holding them back. And we come up with the answers. We share advice from experts on money management, relationships, entrepreneurship, investing, legal and banking matters, and wealth creation.
We talk to women such as Brooke Roberts, co-founder and chief executive of online investment platform Sharesies, who says women are good at investing if the environment is right.
Sharesies commissioned a PinkPaper investor survey from Colmar Brunton that showed only 14 per cent of women invested in shares, while 25 per cent of men did. Sharesies’ 50/50 gender split of investors shows that needn’t be the case.
Of 67,000 clients investing $106 million on the site, half are women, proving women want to be involved.
Roberts says the industry has been dominated by men for too long: “Our research showed women lack confidence and motivation, so if we can improve this, even by a small amount, this could have a profound impact on women’s lives.”
The research showed two thirds of the country’s 300,000 retail investors, with more than $80 billion invested in New Zealand capital markets, were men.
“If we were able to increase women’s participation in investing even by 50 per cent, that could add a staggering $11b to the New Zealand markets,” Roberts said. “We’ll all benefit from this but the outcomes for women will be more pronounced in closing the wealth gaps and helping women achieve greater financial wellbeing.”