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While there’s still working to be done on the income equality front, narrowing compensation and education gaps are among the reasons women are increasingly sophisticated, financially speaking. That’s stoked higher levels of demand for financial education and high-quality advice, both of which are positives for the wealth management community.
However, the road to enhanced female financial empowerment is littered with hurdles advisors need to be aware. Progress has been made, but according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) women make 83.6 cents for each $1 earned by a man. Plus, women are more apt to spend time out of the workforce raising children and/or caring for older family members.
Then are significant retirement issues such as women’s longer life expectancies and the possibility of gray divorce, the latter of which can be a setback for both parties. Any and all of those situations speak to the need of women to grab the reins of the financial futures and highlight the need for advisors to be involved with appropriate planning and strategies.
Women and Money: Some Encouraging Signs
Women face unique financial challenges, but data indicate many are aware of those potential pitfalls and they’re taking action to improve their situations. According to the 2025 Schwab Women Investors Survey, 90% of women say they’re where they need to be in terms of financial goals.
Obviously, that’s a positive. Another noteworthy statistic from the survey is that 91% of women polled feel empowered when managing their investments. That’s a positive for advisors because it implies a curious client base and one that’s open to further education. And simply because a woman likes managing her investments, that doesn’t imply she’s closed off to working with an advisor. In fact, some of the emotional and psychological elements of finances could compel women to seek out relationships with advisors.
“What are your needs, wants, and wishes? What goals are you trying to achieve, and when do you want to achieve them? How long will it take to reach your goals?,” notes Schwab’s Susan Hirshman. “And how will you measure your progress? Answering these questions and creating a realistic timeline can help you come up with a plan of action.”
Hirshman adds that money indeed can be an emotional subject and one way for anyone, man or woman, to control their money rather than it controlling them is to establish a plan. Advisors can certainly help with that confidence-building endeavor.
Investing, Retirement Loom Large
As noted above, the vast majority of women love investing, but many aren’t doing that. That’s amplified by the facts that women are generally better savers and investors than men. One way of looking at this scenario is that many women will be responsive to the benefits of investing over saving when they feel empowered by education and planning.
On a related note, retirement planning is a significant issue for female clients for many of the reasons noted at the start of this piece and it’s a subject that can foster anxiety among some clients. Advisors should help women understand the benefits of not delaying retirement planning while providing education on the related tools that make accomplishing this mission easier.
“Retirement can be long, especially for women, so you need to save as much as you can as soon as you can. Take full advantage of a company retirement plan. Contribute at least up to the company match, and much more if possible. No company plan? Consider opening an IRA,” adds Hirshman.
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