Investing Is a Right, Not a Privilege

Every year, International Women’s Day gives us a moment to stop and ask whether we’re making progress or just talking about it. This year’s theme of rights, justice, and action feels particularly pointed. And for me, it keeps coming back to one thing: financial independence.

Fewer than 30% of retail investors in the UK are women. And yet when women do invest, the evidence points in one direction: they tend to think longer term and make more considered decisions. So the gap isn’t about capability; it isn’t about appetite either; it’s about access, confidence, and if I’m being straight about it, an industry that needs to make more women feel like they belong at the table.

Encouraging more women to invest has been a personal priority for me since joining ShareSoc. Not as a tick-box exercise — I have no patience for that — but because I genuinely believe that economic participation sits at the heart of financial independence. And financial independence is not a luxury; it matters enormously.

A savings account can feel like the safe choice. But while your money sits there, inflation is quietly doing its work. Investing literacy isn’t a nice-to-have. In my view, it’s a fundamental right, which is exactly why this year’s IWD theme lands the way it does.

There’s no single fix. But better financial education reaching women earlier, an industry that communicates in plain English, and platforms willing to ask honestly who they’re serving and who they’re missing would be a start.

The conversation is shifting. But conversation alone isn’t enough. Action is needed.

So what am I doing to raise the profile of women in UK investing? I am delighted to be part of Mark Austin’s Dematerialisation Market Action Taskforce (DEMAT) for the abolition of paper share certificates and establishment of digital share registers. This taskforce enables the retail investors’ “voice” to be heard and their rights protected.

ShareSoc is planning to build on last year’s wonderful panel of female investors and will be running a further survey to see if the gender balance dial is moving towards female investors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heather, chair of ShareSoc

One comment
  1. I agree that this is a serious issue. Since there are no actual barriers to more women becoming investors, the challenge is achieving cultural change amongst women themselves.

    The power of example has to be an important part of this. ShareSoc should publish more stories where women write about their investing lives etc.

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