Women lose out financially due to lack of confidence, according to new report
Only one in three women describe themselves as very or extremely confident when it comes to their finances, according to a new survey by ISA provider Scottish Friendly.
Their latest Disposable Income Index (DII) has revealed that while nearly half of men were confident handling their financial affairs the number of women who felt the same was far lower.
As a result, it found that a far higher proportion of men (25 per cent) invest into stocks and shares ISAs than women (12 per cent), with men also more likely to be saving or investing for their retirement.
When asked by Scottish Friendly, a large proportion of female respondents said they were not investing in stocks and shares because they are afraid of losing money (20 per cent) and/or don’t fully understand them (18 per cent).
The report also shows that, for men, the most likely reason for not investing was because they were waiting until they earned more money (20 per cent), followed by a preference for the security of cash ISAs and bank/building society products (17 per cent).
The quarterly report, compiled by Scottish Friendly and leading think-tank the Social Market Foundation, also revealed that the median UK household disposable income after paying for absolute essentials was £1,105 each month.
Experts say the report suggests that there is too much focus only on unequal pay in the workplace when issues outside of employment mean that women save and invest less.