The gender investment gap: What’s holding women back from investing?

In 2026, women in the UK continue to face a number of financial disadvantages compared to men.

As the Pension Policy Institute reports, not only are women paid less on average, but they also generally have smaller pension savings at retirement.

What’s more, fewer women in the UK are choosing to invest compared to men, instead commonly placing their excess funds in savings. With investing often delivering higher returns than saving, this reluctance to invest could be placing many women at a financial disadvantage by limiting their wealth’s long-term growth.

International Women’s Day is celebrated on 8^th March 2026, and this year’s theme is “give to gain”, championing generosity and collaboration to forge gender equality.

To mark the day, keep reading to learn what the gender investment gap is, what’s causing the trend, and how we can all work together to ensure women aren’t held back from investing in future.

The gender investment gap is growing in the UK

In 2025, a study by Boring Money found there were 6.7 million female investors in the UK, compared to 10 million male investors. In the 12 months prior, this disparity had grown by 200,000.

And it’s not just the investor headcount creating a gap. The study also found that women are likely to have smaller amounts invested, with average portfolio sizes sitting at £17,000 for women and £45,000 for men.

Ultimately, having grown for the second consecutive year, the UK’s gender investment gap reached £678 billion in 2025.

There are a number of factors driving this trend, with the specific reasons for not investing varying from woman to woman.

Here are just three reasons women may be deterred from investing and what action is needed to help close the gap.

1. Women may be more financially risk-averse than men

Inherently, investing comes with an element of risk. There’s no guarantee that you’ll get back more than you paid in. In fact, you could end up with less, depending on how your investments perform.

As reported by Reuters, a survey of 2,000 people found that 45% of women felt the stock market was too risky for them.

This could be one factor driving women towards saving, rather than investing. Although interest earnings in a savings account may be more limited than market growth, funds are typically more secure in savings than investments. Indeed, the same survey found that 41% of women would choose to save £1,000, whilst just 30% would opt to invest it.

Although investing always carries a level of risk, with the right strategy, investors can mitigate these risks by tailoring their portfolio to their own risk appetite. So, by seeking support to make informed, strategic investing decisions, women may feel more empowered to invest rather than save.

2. Women may feel they lack the knowledge or confidence needed to invest

In some cases, women may feel they’re not knowledgeable or confident enough to start investing, steering them towards the more straightforward option of saving.

Indeed, research cited by Reuters found that just 1 in 10 women globally feel they fully understand investing, and just 28% feel confident investing.

This trend may go hand-in-hand with the risk aversion described above. If a woman has a lower risk appetite, she might feel she needs more information to invest confidently.

As such, encouraging women to learn more about how investing works and the potential gains and risks, and supporting them to get started, could help make significant strides towards closing the gender investment gap.

3. The gender pay gap could be limiting some women’s investment opportunities

Of course, with women in the UK paid less on average than men, it stands to reason that they may have less income left over for investing.

According to Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures, men earn an average of 12.8% more than women across full- and part-time work. As such, investing for the long term may be less feasible for many women, causing them to focus on saving for their short-term needs instead.

Interestingly, HSBC reports that the gender investment gap is closing among higher earners. Whilst just 13% of women across the whole population hold investments, of those earning more than £100,000 a year, 48% invest regularly.

So, to close the gender investment gap, the UK needs to address pay disparities between men and women.

“Give to gain”: How we can work together to close the gender investment gap

Addressing the disparity in investment habits between men and women is unlikely to have a quick fix. Rather, it will require sustained collaboration and support to get more women feeling comfortable with investing.

Here are just a few ways we can work together to close the gap:

• Encourage non-investors to get started: According to Boring Money, if every investor (male and female) talked to a female non-investor, and just 10% of them chose to start investing each year, the gap would be closed by 2032.
• Educate young women about investing: In the UK, financial education is still a work-in-progress, with a survey cited by UK parliament showing that just 33% of children and young people recall learning about money in school. By teaching young people about investing at home, you could help encourage the next generation to grow their wealth through investments.
• Encourage women to seek professional guidance: Even with support from family and friends, many people may still feel uncomfortable putting their money at risk through investing. A Financial Planner can help you define an investment strategy tailored to your unique preferences, goals, and risk appetite, helping to build confidence for new investors.

Of course, these steps won’t address every factor behind the gender investment gap. But by working together – not just on International Women’s Day, but all year round – we could help reverse the trend of a growing gender investment gap.

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For support with managing a new or existing investment portfolio, get in touch with our Financial Planners. Or, if you know a budding investor looking to get started, feel free to send them our way.

Email us at enquiries@pen-life.co.uk or call 01904 661140.

Please note

This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at individuals only.

All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.

The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.