Why aren’t women investing?

It’s no secret that the investing world has been made and catered by men and for men. This is hard to understand, as women make up half the population, and historically, are the ones who handle the family budgets, and tend to know what sre the needs of the family finance-wise. Women also tend to outlive men (which means more time to see the return on investments) and are more likely to pass on financial knowledge to their children. Not to mention women are more frequently becoming the breadwinners of the family!

So, you may think, why are we so underrepresented in the investing world? Let me tell you why: 

A history of oppression.

Women have had to fight (and are still fighting) for nearly every basic right we have today. Until the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act in 1975, it was still legal for banks to refuse women mortgages without a male guarantor.

The financial gender gap

100 years ago, women were not allowed in the workforce, let alone earn and own property. It was not uncommon to hear the words that money was a man’s responsibility. So, business and money information was passed down from father to son, and it wasn’t until World War One where women had to enter the workforce to help the economy. 

Years of oppression, lack of financial education, representation and the gender pay gap has long-lasting effects to this day.

Sexist stereotypes

There is a persistent stigma that women are “bad with money”. You can see this in our everyday pop culture where we see women painted as “shopaholics” “gold diggers” and “avo toast buying millennials”.

Women affected by the literacy gender gap could feel ashamed for their lack of financial knowledge which makes them reluctant to seek educational resources or help.

Fear

Countless studies have shown that women want to understand the market 100% before investing and are less likely to take financial risks than men who claim to be more aggressive investors. This again is due to lack of financial literacy and the fear of the unknown seems to stop the modern-day women from investing money and stick to what they know works. 

Lack of role models

Only 18% of women are online active investors across Australia. This is a shockingly low number. A study conducted by the Financial Times claims that Women have shared that the financial market is “off-putting and untrustworthy and male-dominated. They feel as if investment services are not marketed to them and are not inclusive.

This is changing but there is still a long way to go

More women are taking it upon themselves to learn more about financial literacy than the generation before - Great news! If you’re reading this, you’re already taking those steps to financial literacy by following my page (@financial.feminist).

With financial knowledge, confidence and empowerment, there are no limits to what we can accomplish!