Women Are More Invested in Financial Wellness Than Ever Before, New Survey Says
Amid a changing macroeconomic landscape, including record high inflation and extremely volatile markets, women’s attitudes toward financial wellness have changed as of late. In fact, a new survey has found that women are more invested than ever in their financial wellness.
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The Ellevest Financial Wellness Survey indicated that in 2022, women are three times as likely to see financial wellness as critical (when compared to 2021’s result).
The survey found that 42% of women say financial wellness is critical, a drastic increase from the 14% who said the same in 2021. Mental wellness is still at the No. 1 spot regarding wellness priorities (48%), compared to 36% in 2021.
“They’re [women] walking the walk, too, making moves to practice financial wellness regularly,” the survey noted.
Steps women have been taking in terms of financial goals include cutting back on spending — with two-thirds of women polled saying as much — and continuing to invest in their retirement portfolios despite the difficult economic environment.
There is also a gender gap in that area, as the survey noted that 75% of women who are actively investing for retirement say they’ve continued their contributions despite market volatility, compared to two-thirds of men.
Nonetheless, women still continue to stress about financial matters, with 43% of women polled saying they actively worry about money at least once a day, and 59% at least once a week.
In terms of what women worry about, issues vary based on age. Older generations tend to be more worried about inflation, a potential recession and having to cut back on spending. Younger generations, meanwhile, tend to worry more about how political issues will impact their finances in both the short and long terms, the survey noted.
Another key finding is that across generations, women worry about their financial readiness, with 14% of them saying they feel financially prepared for a recession, compared to 39% of men. What’s more, 70% of women say they have never met with a financial advisor, compared to just 41% of men.
Finally, the survey suggested there is also a gender divide when it comes to financial priorities, with men ranking the growth of their retirement savings as a top financial priority.
Women on the other hand, have more immediate priorities.
Their top priority is “supporting family” (30% of female respondents said so), while for men, this line item came in fourth position.
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Additional priorities for women polled included building an emergency fund (29%), sticking to a budget (26%), growing retirement savings (22%), paying off credit card debt (22%) and creating a budget/spending plan (20%), the survey noted.
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