Women in Financial Planning

With 80% of companies still paying men more than women¹, the gender pay gap doesn't appear to be closing - not quickly enough anyway. And that's not all. The difference in pension income for women compared to men is a whopping 40.5%².

We first established Fidelity International’s Women and Money campaign to understand many of the challenges women face when it comes to financial empowerment, from the gender pay, pension, savings and investment gaps that stand between men and women.

Our second Global Women and Money study³ explores the subject of financial independence, based upon findings from more than 6,000 women across the UK, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, China and Taiwan.

The findings reveal a mixed picture when it comes to women and financial independence in the UK, with many facing significant financial uncertainty, less than a third (32%) feeling confident about reaching their financial goals, and just 28% saying they are free from money worries. A fifth (19%) do not feel they can easily support themselves or their family, with only a third (31%) expecting to live comfortably in retirement - leaving the remainder unsure about their long-term position.

The result is that 38% of those who do not consider themselves financially independent feel unable to make their own life choices, with 30% dependent upon a partner’s income and 24% having outstanding debts.

At the other end of the spectrum, those who do consider themselves financially independent attribute this to having sufficient income to cover their outgoings (62%), as well as freedom from debts (51%) or having built up a savings buffer to cover unforeseen expenses (49%). More than two-fifths (44%) say their finances provide them with the ability to shape their own lives, highlighting the importance of financial independence in enabling and empowering women to make decisions.

*Source:

¹ BBC - 5 April 2023
² Prospect - 8 March 2023 
³ Research conducted by Opinium research between 7 January and 17 January 2022 among 14,052 men and women in the UK, Germany, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. UK-specific findings taken from the global study are based upon sample of 2,010 (991 men and 1,008 women).