Women in the UK are feeling more financially independent ahead of International Women’s Day

More than half of women in the UK (51%) feel financially independent in 2023, an increase compared to the 45% who felt the same last year. At the same time, over half of women are now not relying on any other person’s income to pay their bills. However, while financial independence is increasing, it appears that confidence is going down.

MoneyTransfers.com has studied the figures to reveal that just a shade over a third of women (34%) would call themselves financially confident. And while almost two thirds of women say they feel confident in their ability to manage their own money (61%), over 30% of women feel less confident compared to a year ago. At the same time, men have reported feeling slightly more confident in their finances - and 58% of men said they felt financially independent.

It speaks to the continued existence of the gender gap in the personal finance space, which has been present since time immemorial. These figures show that attitudes towards finances are still somewhat apart between men and women - but how does this manifest in their behaviour?

Women are still saving and investing less

After researching the numbers, uncovered figures that show a major gap in savings and investments between men and women. According to the data, there are over three million fewer women holding investments in the UK than men, and the average private pension for women is almost £40,000 less than their male counterparts.

Even more worrying is that men in the UK have almost £600 billion more in ISAs, investment accounts and private pensions. And according to research analysed by MoneyTransfers.com ahead of International Women’s Day, women have saved less than men in every age group - up to as much as 35% less for those aged 45-54.

The gap only continues to grow with age, peaking at 65 years plus where men have an average of £130,000 more in savings than women in the same age group. Equally, women are managing to put away just over £1,600 a year for unexpected emergencies compared to over £2,400 a year for men.

With International Women’s Day around the corner, it’s an important time to look at these numbers and think about what we could be doing better. While sometimes it might look like things are improving, the truth is the gender gap isn’t shrinking anywhere near as fast as it should. Corporations as well as government bodies need to take more responsibility in providing equal pay and opportunities for women.

Jonathan Merry, CEO of MoneyTransfers.com