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HE phrase "mind the gap" is one most Londoners are all too familiar with, but for women, 'the gap' has a deeper, financial significance, and it's one we shouldn't just mind - but need to take action to bridge right now. The oncoming train many women are facing is poverty in retirement caused by gender pay, pensions and investment gap. The root causes of this have been well documented, from the motherhood penalty to the debilitating cost of childcare in the UK and the disparity in what women hold in their pensions. But we can't just blame structural inequalities, plenty of women have the means to start on an investing journey, but simply don't.

The Hargreaves Lansdown 'Why Women Invest' report published this week shows that only a small fraction of women invest; just 16 per cent have stocks and shares ISA. Despite 59 per cent of women saying they feel financially confident, many still aren't taking the leap. It may be the jargon that's a barrier, or an old-fashioned view of what an 'investor' looks like.

Two-fifths of women say investing is presented as something for men and more than a fifth say they don't know anything about investing. But when we asked a series of questions about investment, a large majority of women got the answers right. It shows that it's the feeling we don't know enough - rather than lacking the knowledge, which is holding women back.

We're trying to change that with our Financially Fearless Campaign to help more people find the confidence to boost investments and financial resilience.

We've heard a lot about how we should 'lean in' to a career - but not enough about leaning into investing. Let's use International Women's Day as a prompt to take the first step on this important journey.

(c) 2024 City A.M., source Newspaper