UK’s gender investment gap now bigger than the entire GDP of Argentina

The gap between the amount invested by men and women widened again this year to £567bn, £54bn more than last year and largely due to young men investing far more than young women.

Only nine per cent of women aged 18-24 invest, compared to 22 per cent of young men, research conducted by Boring Money that surveyed 6,486 adults found.

It persists throughout all age groups, reaching its widest between 25-34, with 18 per cent of women that age investing compared to 37 per cent of men.

The report from Boring Money also highlighted the importance of the gender pay gap ion creating the investment gap, noting that the average personal income in the UK is £24,000 for women and £32,000 for men.

Meanwhile, women’s risk-aversion might also be playing a part, as only 18 per cent of women said they would pick a higher risk pension compared to 33 per cent of men.

Women also report lower confidence levels, with 71 per cent of women rating their investing confidence as lower than five out of 10, compared to 54 per cent of men. This may be why 29 per cent of female investor assets are kept in cash, compared to 25 per cent of men.

Holly Mackay, CEO of Boring Money, said: “The gender investment gap remains stubbornly and frustratingly high and has got worse in 2024. Shockingly, it’s higher than the GDP of Poland or Argentina.”

“We see that fewer than half the number of young women under 24 choose to invest compared to men. And so, this gender gap comes into play at an early age, even before the typical culprits of childcare and pay gaps appear.

“Our research has found that with this younger group, this is all about confidence, brand awareness and social norms and expectations of what an investor looks like”.