Crystal Kelly knows first-hand just how hard women have to work to surmount gender inequalities in investing and financial matters. The Certified Financial Planner and Chartered Financial Divorce Specialist candidate not only assists her clients in overcoming barriers to financial stability, she has also overcome her own, including “one of the most impactful barriers” – the lack of government spending on women’s health care.
“I was diagnosed with endometriosis after three years of advocating for myself and being told ‘it’s in your head’,” Kelly says. “The lack of training and resources allocated to this very painful condition that one in 10 women suffer from has a tremendous impact on women’s ability to show up for, and stay, at work.”
According to McKinsey research, better health for women is correlated with economic prosperity. But it’s certainly not the only issue at play when it comes to women and investing.
Financial inequalities are wide-ranging
According to Stats Canada, women in Canada experience a 12% pay gap, thanks in part to a concentration in lower-wage occupations. Women represent only 30% of those in senior management positions, and 35% in other management positions. “The motherhood penalty, too, has a massively negative impact on women’s ability to create financial security and wealth,” Kelly says.
But realistically, women face financial barriers and inequalities in all areas including earning, spending, saving, borrowing and financial planning, Kelly adds. And these inequalities start early in life.
According to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, “as early as kindergarten, little girls are led to believe that they aren’t as good as boys are at math,” which can create truly disastrous cascading effects. Financial literacy is a vital way to address at least some of these gender inequalities. And for us at Genus, that means helping our clients understand how to build wealth and well-being in the long term.
That’s why we’re thrilled to host our annual female-focused webinar in honour of International Women’s Day 2025. In alignment with the theme ‘Accelerate Action,’ we’ve invited Kelly to join our Portfolio Manager Sue-May Talbot in a discussion on Women and Investing: Building Wealth with Confidence. “The perception that women are less investment-savvy than men often leads to their exclusion from financial discussions, especially when it comes to family finances,” Talbot says. “Even in meetings with investment advisors, the focus is frequently placed on the male partner, leaving women feeling overlooked. It certainly doesn’t help build their confidence.”
This webinar will focus on helping women navigate common financial barriers in their journey toward building long-term wealth, by covering topics such as overcoming investment confidence gaps, leveraging effective financial planning strategies, and taking practical steps to gain control of their financial future. “I coach women to advocate for their financial security and their value – whether it’s at home with a partner or at work with a boss,” Kelly says. “When women understand how to navigate financial decisions, they feel empowered and confident to do so.”
And building their confidence is essential when you consider that women live, on average, five years longer than men. “This means women will be inheriting significant assets,” Talbot says. “In 2019, women in Canada directly controlled $2.2 trillion in personal finance assets, a figure projected to grow to $3.8 trillion by 2028. This magnifies the importance of financial planning and literacy among women to effectively manage and sustain their wealth for future generations.”
Change is happening, but gender gaps in investing persist
We’re committed to helping more women understand – and feel confident – investing in themselves, their families and their futures. And we’re heartened to see that it’s helping: women are changing the investing landscape – slowly but surely.
Recent research from Fidelity shows that the number of women who own investments jumped 18% last year. And with the intergenerational wealth transfer ramping up, more women will soon find themselves stewards of their family wealth.
But the same study also showed that women are still nearly twice as likely as men to lack understanding of investing – only 35% consider themselves investors.
Kelly believes this can be addressed with more female-focused investing services. “Women want to be heard and understood; they want to feel safe and not judged or shamed,” she says. “They want to feel like the recommendations being made are in their best interests and they want to invest in socially and ethically responsible companies and not be scoffed at for saying so.”
“And,” she concludes, “because women work so hard to earn everything they get, they want their advisor to match their effort to earn their business and trust.”
Talbot agrees: “In my experience, women want to work with people they trust and that trust is strengthened when advisors understand their experiences and the challenges they face. I always strive to meet my clients where they are; if that means spending extra time with newer or less experienced investors, I’m more than happy to do so,” she adds. “In my view, the best client is a curious one—because the more they understand, the more confident they become over time.”
As it turns out, studies have shown that when women trust themselves (and their advisors), they actually become better investors than men. “Women are out there trying to close the wealth gap, align money decisions with their values, break generational cycles, care for their children and elderly parents, and give back to their communities,” Kelly says. “Investing with confidence is crucial for women to gain financial independence and succeed on these missions. When women prosper, everyone prospers.”
Join us March 19, 2025 at 10 am PST for our Women and Investing: Building Wealth with Confidence webinar. Register for your free spot today.
References:
- Smith, K. (2023, May 3). Women’s health research lacks funding – these charts show how. Www.nature.com. https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-023-01475-2/index.html
- McKinsey Health Institute. “Closing the Women’s Health Gap: A $1 Trillion Opportunity to Improve Lives and Economies | McKinsey.” Www.mckinsey.com, 2024, www.mckinsey.com/mhi/our-insights/closing-the-womens-health-gap-a-1-trillion-dollar-opportunity-to-improve-lives-and-economies.
Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. “The Daily — Intersectional Gender Wage Gap in Canada, 2007 to 2022.” Www150.Statcan.gc.ca, 21 Sept. 2023, www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230921/dq230921b-eng.htm.
Government of Canada strengthens women’s sector capacity to reduce barriers and advance gender equality. (n.d.). Government of Canada. Retrieved March 6, 2025, from https://www.canada.ca/en/women-gender-equality/news/2025/01/government-of-canada-strengthens-womens-sector-capacity-to-reduce-barriers-and-advance-gender-equality.html
Aziz, Saba. “Canadians Facing “Pervasive Motherhood Penalty” at Work, Report Says – National | Globalnews.ca.” Global News, 15 Mar. 2024, globalnews.ca/news/10362944/motherhood-penalty-maternity-leave-report-canada/.
Canada. “Empowering Futures: Boosting Girls’ Financial Confidence through Gamified Learning – a Gender Equality Research Brief – Canada.ca.” Canada.ca, 2022, www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/programs/research/girls-financial-confidence.html.
Cbc. (2019, March 4). Canadian women control financial assets of $2.2T, CIBC says. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/cibc-study-women-wealth-1.5039784
“New Research from Fidelity® Shows 71% of Women Own Investments in the Stock Market.” The NewsMarket, 2024, newsroom.fidelity.com/pressreleases/new-research-from-fidelity–shows-71–of-women-own-investments-in-the-stock-market/s/db3a5765-9b69-4e51-a315-66ecc51e0066.
“New Research from Fidelity® Shows 71% of Women Own Investments in the Stock Market.” The NewsMarket, 2024, newsroom.fidelity.com/pressreleases/new-research-from-fidelity–shows-71–of-women-own-investments-in-the-stock-market/s/db3a5765-9b69-4e51-a315-66ecc51e0066.
Theglobeandmail.com, 2025, www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/WFC-N/pressreleases/28194149/women-outperform-men-as-investors-statistics-show-here-are-3-possible-reasons/. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.
