IWD2022: #BreakTheBias around Women Investors, with Tamara Gillan
☎️ Tamara Gillan is a successful entrepreneur, founder and CEO of The WealthiHer Network. Her mission is to bring together the UK’s leading financial institutions to work in partnership for the first time to celebrate and support female wealth. As a single mother, Tamara has had to fight for her own success and passionately believes women deserve to be recognised and championed by the financial sector.
💸 In this episode, we’re keen to #BreakTheBias around women and investing for IWD. We’ve had enough listening to the messages that women aren’t interested, have a lower tolerance for risk, or don’t care about growing their wealth. The truth is that women are great investors, so how do we break the bias by inspiring women to grow and protect their wealth?
💥 Today on The Wallet:
1️⃣ 72% of women do not think that the finance industry is talking to them or catering to their needs. There are still inherent biases in the process: for example, some mortgage companies have policies whereby if you were self-employed last year as a woman and you had a baby, it doesn't class that as maternity leave, which can impact your mortgage ability.
2️⃣ When women can ask any question and share experiences with other women, it changes their overall engagement with investing. It changes their propensity to invest in something with a slightly higher risk profile. So information and education is the key, but conversation and questions also matter.
3️⃣ When we ask for a pay increase or pitch our business, we often negotiate against ourselves. When you go into that situation, make sure you sit and look them in the eye and believe you are worth it. As women, we need to remember our own worth.
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1. What are the main challenges women face right now?
72% of women do not think that the finance industry is talking to them, that it doesn't understand them and that it is not catering to their needs. Over 50% of women say that there's too much jargon, which creates another barrier.
Women want to see more women within all levels of the industry talk to women who look like them or understand life moments unique to women. It doesn't mean that women only want to deal with women as advisors, but they do want to have the choice of people who understand the differences between men and women.
There are also inherent biases in the process or the applications; for example, some mortgage companies have policies whereby if you were self-employed last year as a woman and you had a baby, it doesn't class that as maternity leave, which can impact your mortgage ability. I had been paying my mortgage myself, but when I got divorced, my affordability got downgraded, even though my financial situation was no worse.
Women love to save. It’s important to remember that there are slightly smarter places to put those savings and be aware of inflation impacts. This could begin with something as simple as reviewing your subscriptions and culling unnecessary ones.
2. How has the pandemic affected those?
From our research, we can see that the pandemic has made women want to become more involved in financial decision-making. The themes are: “I want to make sure we are protected, and I want to be informed and act in the best possible way.” I see that as a big opportunity for institutions to start talking differently to women customers.
Women are not risk-averse; we are risk-aware. If you think about the purpose of money, over 60% of women say it is “to provide comfort, safety, security for myself and my family's education”. We’re not talking about new shoes or a lovely house. It's knowing, where is my money going? How is it being used? What risk do I have? But some biases cause women to feel like they can’t ask questions or get information.
When women can ask any question and share experiences with other women, it changes their overall engagement with investing. It changes their propensity to invest in something with a slightly higher risk profile. So information and education is the key, but conversation and questions also matter.
3. How can we break the bias in our own lives?
A really amazing woman said to me, “You are worth it.” She made me put it on my mirror, and I wrote it in lipstick. And my son came in and put a heart around. It ruined my lipstick, but every day I look at it. As women, we need to remember our own worth.
When we ask for a pay increase or pitch our business, we often negotiate against ourselves. When you go into that situation, make sure you sit and look them in the eye and believe you are worth it. It sounds like a really simple thing, but that's held me in really, really good stead.
Speaking to women and speaking to each other is essential, whether it’s advice or even talking about some of your financial problems and opportunities. I've recently employed a new Head of Finance, who’s personally very savvy and has given me some fantastic practical tips - and now, I know that I can ask her any question.
RESOURCES:
You can follow and connect with Tamara at:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamaragillan
*** Our podcast partners PensionBee are also offering you a £25 pension contribution (£20, plus £5 in tax relief) when you sign up. To claim the offer, follow this link: https://www.pensionbee.com/vestpod. Capital at risk. ***