Make Investing More Inviting & Inspiring For Women
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“Women save, men, invest.” This has rung true for centuries and is unfortunately still the predominant theme tune of the financial services industry. This Women’s Month, we find out how the pandemic has affected women’s financial confidence and wellbeing in SA, as well as how to make investing more inviting, inspiring and inclusive for women.
A five-point plan to make investing more inviting and inspiring for women:
- Reduce the separation between saving and investing. The financial services sector is quite neutral, so how can we bring the two worlds together?
- Change the imagery, tonality and language of our communications to better represent women today. Think about financial wellness, not just wealth itself. Position your brand in emotive territory and consider the most promising themes, relevant to your organisation.
- Establish a clear role for your brand in transforming the lives of women, enabling them to exceed their financial and life goals. Represent this clearly and consistently in every encounter you have with them.
- As women are value-driven, they’re more likely to invest in their own families, communities and a more sustainable planet. Place greater emphasis on “impact investing”, where the capital generates a measurable and beneficial social or environmental impact alongside a financial return.
- Increase your focus on making younger women feel valuable as investors of the future. Increase their confidence to manage their long-term finances and close the self-esteem gap.
This seems like a simple and worthy five-point plan, but we still need to go further. True change comes from within, so financial institutions need to work from the inside out. To generate broader interest in investment, the industry needs to become more representative internally, in ensuring the workforce is less male-dominated.
For example, one such initiative from the industry, looking at representation affecting culture and brand, shows that asset management today is male-dominant at 80:20, with the projection for the future shifting only slightly to 65:35. Think about your own organisation’s internal mix. Is it having an impact on your culture and brand? Because, while money still makes the world go round, ethics and values are also at play.
It makes good financial sense to close the gender investment gap as there’s a mutual financial benefit. Inspiring and inviting more women to invest, results in more financial independence and greater self-esteem, which improves overall wellbeing. Brands need to convert their understanding of the gender gap into more positive actions that will transform the perception of wealth accumulation and give women the opportunity to invite themselves in.