Money, finance and investing – Stop talking to us like men!

Women are living longer, building wealth more quickly, running more businesses and graduating with degrees faster.

Big change is afoot. And yet, despite these rapidly shifting dynamics, the financial services industry struggles to communicate with us as though we are, well, women.

WOMEN AS CUSTOMERS, WOMEN AS FINANCIAL DECISION-MAKERS

Sure – some in the financial services sector are starting to take action on gender equality. For example, through boosting the number of women at senior management levels and opening up discussions on gender pay gaps. But progress is painfully slow …

And there is another aspect that is often overlooked. Few financial services firms pause to think about women as customers and as financial decision-makers. Many have yet to develop strategies, products and communications that reflect the growing prominence of women in areas of life that were once seen as male preserves.

WINNING WOMEN OVER

I was fascinated to read a recent report by Kantar – Winning Women Over – on how financial service providers are meeting – or rather, failing to meet – the needs of their female customers. The research found that, when it comes to investments and pensions, the gap between meeting the needs of men and women as customers is most pronounced. For women, this is still very much a man’s world.

Unsurprisingly, confidence seems to be a major issue. For the majority of women who think of themselves as less confident when it comes to investing, an aggressively masculine approach can be very off-putting. They can feel just as diminished when meeting an investment expert as they do when dealing with a builder, a plumber or a car salesman.

BUT IT IS MORE THAN GENDER-BASED COMMUNICATIONS

It’s not just about communicating with women, it’s also about understanding what women want. And we know that women as investors are looking for more than just good financial returns.

Our recently published research – Understanding Female Investors – confirmed that an increasing numbers of professional women want to make investment decisions that positively influence the world, investment decisions that are aligned with their values.

So let’s push for change in substance and not just style!

We would love to hear from you if want to share any examples of how financial services firms are communicating well (or not so) with you as a female investor – calling on the industry to do things better is an important step forward.

Yours responsibly,

Jessica Robinson

Founder