What Women Want And How Financial Brokers Can Help Them Get It

What women want …and how Financial Brokers can help them get it

Recent Aviva research shows that only 17% of Financial Brokers have a differentiated sales and marketing strategy for females¹.  Yet, 66% have a differentiated strategy for younger investors, and 82% have a differentiated strategy for older investors¹.  Yet, the gender wealth gap is well documented, with too many women risking their financial futures by leaving their partners to handle their finances.  To help close this gap, Aviva launched a new digital hub, ‘women tackling finance ‘   In this article, Niamh Ledwith, Account Manager with Aviva Life & Pensions, discusses why Aviva launched this hub and how this hub can help you close the gender wealth gap for your female clients.

What is the ‘Women Tackling Finance Hub’?

Aviva’s ‘Women Tackling Finance‘ hub hosts a series of educational videos and articles helping women to make better financial decisions.  You’ll find many familiar female Aviva faces talking about everything from ‘Why use a Financial Broker’, ‘Tips on Financial Security’, ‘Protecting your Income’, to ‘Why Start a Pension’.

Why did Aviva launch the hub?

Our female subject matter experts wanted to help Irish women move closer to achieving their financial goals.  Of course, the role of the financial broker in achieving long-term financial success is promoted throughout this content.

Do women have different financial needs from men?

While protecting your income, saving for retirement, protecting your dependants, saving for education, protecting your car and home and planning your estate are universal financial needs, women have specific requirements.

Generally, women make less money

While women have made significant gains in the last few years, the mean gender pay gap in Ireland is still 12.6%².  This means women often don’t make as much money as men in their careers.

The drivers of this are well-known:

• The occupational groups dominated by women tend to be those that are less well-paid.
• Men typically hold more senior and higher-paying roles.
• Women are more likely to take a career break or work part-time to care for children or elderly dependents.

Generally, women are more cautious, have less financial confidence and care more about ESG

There are motivational differences between women and men as well. Here are some:

• Although women are just as likely as men to save, they often choose lower-risk investment options which generally produce lower returns over the longer term.
• Recent Aviva research shows that investors in general care about how their money is invested. However, more women than men agree with the statement that “when investing my pension it’s important to actively consider environmental, social and governance factors”. Yet, fewer women know if their pension is invested responsibly and would need good financial advice before investing sustainably

Generally, women live longer than men:

• According to the report ‘Health in Ireland Key Trends 2022’ – Irish women are living an average of 84 years. This is in comparison to 81 years on average for men.

All of this has an impact on product ownership. Indeed recent Aviva research indicates that women are less likely to invest in a pension and know where their pension is invested³.  Awareness of these unique factors when creating a financial plan for your female clients can lessen the chances of adverse outcomes, such as not having enough income in retirement.

How can I use this hub?

We have social media sharing options across all our videos and articles you can share with your female clients. You can also embed these YouTube videos on your website.

Where can I access the hub?

You can access this hub here: Women tackling finance – Aviva Ireland

This is a living digital hub, so watch for new content to support you.

How is Aviva promoting this hub?

Aviva took over the home page of her.ie for International Women’s Day.  We also published an article you can share with your clients on their site.   We are running a paid campaign on social media to promote four of these videos in March:

• Why use a Financial Broker
• 5 Essential Financial Planning Needs
• 5 Tips for Tackling Your Finances
• Insuring your small business

1. Source: Aviva based on a poll of 348 Financial Brokers on 09 March 223.
2. Source: PWC https://www.pwc.ie/reports/gender-pay-gap-reporting-analysis-2023.html February 2023.
3. Source: iReach research undertaken on behalf of Aviva in October 2022.