Being International Women’s Day (IWD), it seems a good time to acknowledge the progress women have made, socially, economically, and specifically financially.
The theme of this year’s IWD is ‘invest in women, accelerate progress'.
Nowhere has that mantra been more obviously true than in the financial sector.
Today, women are investing in the stock market and similar securities more than ever before.
Closing the gap
While women still trail behind men in terms of both pay and investment portfolios, the gap has been slowly closing in recent years.
“Over the last two years, we’ve seen more females investing, which is outstanding, and on top of that female investing interest is soaring,” moomoo market strategist Jess Amir said.
“Research also suggests females are getting better returns than men, and females are now opening investing/trading accounts earlier as well and getting started invested earlier in life.”
In terms of finance leadership, women’s participation is also lagging, but improving.
Research conducted in Southeast Asia noted: “Women’s entrepreneurship is key to economic stability...however, access to capital remains stubbornly low.”
This is despite reams of data highlighting the substantial economic benefits of female leadership.
20% increase in stock price momentum
“As for women accelerating progress, we know that listed companies who have female CEOs are now outperforming the market over the long term (in terms of shareholder returns),” Amir explained.
“It’s also worth noting in the subsequent two years after a female CEO has been appointed, the companies’ stock saw a 20% increase in price momentum (according to a study from S&P Global).
“We know that women prefer to invest in ESG themes, and we now know ESG Investments have also historically outperformed the market too.”
Greater participation in company leadership and the greater financial market itself is a valuable opportunity for women to invest in themselves, while also adding to the larger community.
“We need to see big changes made by bodies and governments,” Amir stressed.
“I have been advocating for financial education and investing education to be brought into the school syllabus.
“That won’t happen overnight, but what we can provide as an industry is free education for women to invest.
“We should be a collective force, not just in financial services, but also government and organisations.
“We can pave a way for a brighter, more equitable future.”