The UK has one of the higher wealth gaps in Europe, and is below the global average, for gender wealth equity at retirement, according to WTW.
According to the WTW Global Gender Wealth Equity report, which was released today, women are predicted to have only acquired 74 per cent of the wealth that men have, with the gap between the sexes across all the countries analysed ranging from 60 per cent at the worst to 90 per cent at the best.
The study also shows that as one gets older, the gender wealth gap at retirement widens. Less than two-thirds or 62 per cent of the retirement wealth that their male colleagues experienced was found to be accumulated by women in senior expert and leadership posts. The disparity was still wide at 69 per cent for mid-level professional and technical occupations, but it was much less with 89 per cent for front-line operational roles.
WTW senior director, integrated & global solutions Manjit Basi says: “The results from our global analysis are startling. It shows that there is a gender wealth gap consistently across the 39 countries that we studied. The primary drivers contributing to the gender-based wealth gap include gender pay gaps and delayed career trajectories. Additionally, gaps in financial literacy and family caregiving responsibilities outside the workplace influence women’s participation in paid employment and therefore their ability to build wealth.
“It’s imperative that activities around gender diversity, equity and inclusion broaden to look at economic wealth at the end of women’s working careers. Pay is a fundamental factor that underlies the gender wealth gap and while addressing the gender pay gap will partially close the wealth gap, it won’t eliminate it entirely.”
Women were predicted to have just over three-quarters or 77 per cent of men’s retirement wealth levels in Europe, which had the least extreme average gender wealth difference of any area. The UK has one of the largest gender wealth inequalities in the world at 71 per cent, three percentage points below the average globally.
WTW head of great Britain John Ball says: “In the UK, the lack of affordable and accessible childcare and disproportionate share of unpaid care work that women assume adds to the challenges of generating equitable retirement wealth. Although there is shared parental leave, this is not well utilised by men, and this needs to change to realise more equitable wealth outcomes.”
Globally, the gender wealth gap between men and women was 75 per cent in the USA, which was slightly higher than the average, and 78 per cent in Canada. The study’s gender wealth gap is 60 per cent in Nigeria, with Argentina, Mexico, and Turkey following closely behind at 61 per cent and 63 per cent respectively.
The study shows that the recent environmental, social, and governance (ESG) awakening has increased attention on correcting the trend of gender inequality. Additionally, the gender pay gap and the underrepresentation of women in board and leadership positions have been reduced as a result of corporate efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. However, there is still work to be done.
Basi says: “Gender inequity in wealth accumulation is under-researched and overlooked. The reality is that the wealth inequity issue and its causes and effects are multidimensional and should be studied and addressed as such. By focusing on accumulated wealth at retirement, the disparity can be quantified, and actions can be taken through broader society, government and organisations to equalise wealth outcomes.
“While no single solution alone will solve the gender wealth gap, effective leaders need to employ a range of approaches to narrow it.”
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