Women need equitable financial opportunities, not equal opportunities
- Shunil Roy-Chaudhuri, Personal Finance and Investment Writer
- 09 July 2024
- 5 mins reading time
When it comes to gender and finances we can make a crucial distinction between ‘equal’ opportunities and ‘equitable’ opportunities. In order to understand what this means, let’s consider the definitions of each word.
Equal: Identical in amount, size, degree or value.
Equitable: Just and unbiased; no undue advantage for anyone.
For example, let’s say we have £1,000 to help two families invest for their children. Giving each family £500 is equal treatment. But if one family has three kids and the other just one the second family would benefit more than the other. That’s not equitable.
This distinction was highlighted in last year’s International Women’s Day, where the theme was ‘embrace equity’. The International Women’s Day website says the mission of this global day is to:
Shine a spotlight on activity uplifting and inspiring women to pursue goals without bias or barrier.
This mission statement (1) can be directly applied to women’s finances and investing, and it seeks to empower women to reach their financial goals without barriers. The ‘embrace equity’ theme highlights the fact that equity is needed for women to pursue their goals, financial or otherwise, as equality may not be enough.
Equality is important…
Progress has been made towards equal pay in the workplace, but men in full-time work still earned 7.7 percent more than their female counterparts in April 2023. And the gender pay gap was even greater among higher earners (2).
…but equity is essential
It is still true that more women than men take career breaks or work less hours to fulfil caring responsibilities (3). And a recent survey showed that childcare duties had held back the work progress of two-thirds (67 percent) of women. This meant missing out on promotions, pay increases and other career opportunities (4).
Taking a career break for childcare duties can mean women have several years’ less time in work than their male counterparts. This could leave them needing extra support during and after career breaks to put them on to an equitable footing with their male counterparts.
Women often require more than a level playing field (5).
Equitable financial advice
At Schroders Personal Wealth, we can’t compensate for differences in gender equity. But we can provide an environment where women feel as comfortable as men when discussing and deciding on their finances.
In our view, a one-size-fits-all approach to gender won’t work when it comes to making financial plans. We take a holistic approach to financial advice that takes all your circumstances into account, including your gender, to create a plan that aligns with your personal goals and your unique needs.
Sources:
(1) International Women’s Day (www.internationalwomensday.com), ‘Mission: shine a spotlight on activity uplifting and inspiring women to pursue goals without bias or barrier’, 17 June 2024.
(2) Office for National Statistics, (www.ons.gov.uk), ‘Gender pay gap in the UK: 2023’, 1 November 2023.
(3) Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS, ifs.org.uk), ‘Women much more likely than men to give up paid work or cut hours after childbirth even when they earn more’, 12 March 2021.
(4) The Guardian (www.theguardian.com), ‘Two-thirds of UK women say childcare duties affected career progression’, 8 March 2023.
(5) International Women’s Day (www.internationalwomensday.com), ‘Equality versus equity: what’s the difference as we #EmbraceEquity for IWD 2023 and beyond?’ 17 June 2024.
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