Time’s up for The Gender Investment Gap

With International Women’s Day just gone, and movements such as #MeToo and #TimesUp shedding light onto the widespread inequalities still present in many facets of our society, it seems a good time to take a look at the property investment industry.

After discovering only 17% of its investors are female, property investment platform Brickowner has conducted research into why this might be. The four main areas it found are as follows.

1. Unequal pay and less disposable income

The first and most apparent reason for less female investors, is the gender pay gap currently stands at 18.4% in favour of men. This equates to roughly a difference of £5,380 per annum. The gender pay gap tends to run deeper than simply companies choosing to pay certain employees more than others based on their perceived gender alone (although this of course occupies a small percentage).

Reasons for unequal pay and less disposable income include women being perceived as less competent or managerial (meaning their skills go undervalued), or their status as mothers (or even potential mothers…) means their commitment to work is taken less seriously (whereas being a father does not create the same effect). For more detailed information on why the gender pay gap exists, this article helps to explain it.

2. Unequal Pension Pots

As a follow-on from unequal pay and less disposable income, women tend to have lower pension pots. In 2015-16, according to government statistics, the number of women contributing to a personal pension grew from 1.94m in 2011-12 to 3.65m in 2015-16. During the same period, the number of men making payments rose from 3.37m to 5.31m.

Although progress may feel slow on the issue of the pay gap and unequal pension pots, if you look at the above figures as percentages – the number of women contributing to pensions actually increased by 88% from 2011/12 to 2015/16, compared to an increase of 57% of men. This indicates a move in the right direction, with perhaps less pressure on men to be the sole-earners, as well as increased financial independence and economic power for women.

Whilst there is systematic inequality in our society, an increase of female contributions to pensions is an encouraging sign for the future of property investment

3. Financial service firms tend to direct their appeals to men

Writing for The Guardian, Rebecca Nicholson comments; ‘Broadly speaking, girls have lower self-esteem than boys, while boys struggle to express their emotions, and “gendered” interests – mechanics for boys, makeup for girls – are fixed early on in a child’s development. According to the various scientists and medical professionals […], there is no biological reason that these should be pre-determined.’

Perhaps the financial sector is also guilty of gendering certain campaigns, and making them seem more open to men as opposed to women, whereas really there is no logical reason for this bias. One of the biggest studies carried out in recent years by Kantar on over 30,000 people found the perception of banks’ advertising fails to consistently communicate products to women. It’s said they failed to connect with women who view financial advisors in an untrustworthy light, and paint men as the direct target audience in their advertising.

4. Women are more reluctant to invest with firms

Since the 2008 financial crash, it seems we all are warier of the trust we place in financial institutions. It seems that women are less trusting than men too, preferring even less risk associated with their financial endeavours. However, it seems that with the potential new market that could be worth around £130bn, it makes good business sense and creates a massive opportunity for firms to cater towards women too.

What does this mean for the future?

We live in a world of binary gender – we are generally designated as either male or female at birth and grow up with societal pressures to fit into those roles. Maybe in the near future, our gender will dictate less about what is and isn’t acceptable for us as individuals. It seems these figures show a shift towards a future where men and women alike (as well as gender non-conforming people) will be able to live their lives and achieve what they want to, whilst starting from an equal platform.

In a related article, check out why women shun the stock market, which discusses the uncomfortable truths at the heart of the investment and pensions industry.