What Women Want

Understanding women is a persistent challenge for the average male, but for businesses there are many more nuances that  must be appreciated that help to understand why women behave the way they do.

New research from CoreData has found that women adopt a more conservative approach to managing their finances than men.

While men are concerned about investing and tax, women express a higher level of concern about super, saving, paying off loans and family financial matters.

Women are also significantly less likely to own their home outright and are more likely to be paying off a mortgage than men.

This latter finding may be more a function of affordability and pay than conservatism; the number one reason given by women for not owning a home is that they don’t think they can afford it.

But the finding that is perhaps most concerning is the revelation that women in general are considerably less knowledgeable and confident about money matters than men.

Men are almost three times more likely to have good financial literacy and confidence than women, and are twice as likely as women to have a high level of financial control in their household.

And when it comes to funding expectations for retirement, women are less confident that they will have the level of wealth they require to finance their lifestyle.

Some women may find the research confronting – particularly strong, independent women who don’t fit the stereotype. But the reality is that while the gender equality gap is closing; on average men still have a higher level of financial control of and confidence about their finances.

This lack of confidence could explain why many women tend to play it safe when managing their finances, choosing to focus on saving and debt management over investing.

But this conservative attitude does not ring true for all females. Indeed the research revealed that less than two thirds of women pay off the full balance on their credit card each month, compared to three quarters of men.

It seems there is a small group of women – one third of the respondents in this case – who carry credit card debt in order to afford to live the lifestyle they want to live.

These women tend to be younger, and also tend to earn less, giving them a lesser capacity to service their debt.

If women are indeed the invisible sex – or true ruling power of our country – in the sense that Edward L. Bernays wrote about an invisible government (the media), then it’s important that they’re given the appropriate tools and education to make the right decisions.

*Data sourced from CoreData’s 2010 Invisible Sex Report