WEALTH MANAGEMENT
women assess based on whether they have reached their goals with a high success rate . As an industry , we ’ re not there yet in terms of positioning products and services in this way .” Gupta agrees and says education must form part of the continued solution . “ Studies show that women are less likely to receive a lesson on credit by the time they reach high school , and that financial services companies are spending 13 times more in advertising to men versus women . Women enter the credit game in an unequal playing field – through no fault of their own !”
Redressing the balance According to McCruden , every investor and VC should have a portion of their portfolio dedicated to addressing the structural reasons standing in the way of women and equitable access to financial services . That means spending dollars to define new markets that may not be as well understood and to dig into the root causes of why we see such huge differences in the way women engage in financial products and services .
She says , “ I am an admirer of Melinda French Gates . She is a great example of an investor creating clarity around a new market through her company , Pivotal Ventures , which has been working to advance our understanding of the care economy . The financial value of the US care market , which is $ 648bn , is astounding ($ 138bn larger than the US pharmaceutical industry . However , it ’ s not a market that has historically been well defined or understood , in spite of its importance .”
There is a long way to go though , says Gupta , who points out that although much has improved , further change is essential . “ The financial system truly was never designed with women in mind . Women could even be denied a credit card without a male co-signer until 1974 , which wasn ’ t that long ago !”
“WOMEN COULD EVEN BE DENIED A CREDIT CARD WITHOUT A MALE CO-SIGNER UNTIL 1974 , WHICH WASN ’ T THAT LONG AGO ”
VRINDA GUPTA SEQUIN
Financial tools , she says , need to be intentionally reimagined to center with women , to ensure systemic biases don ’ t steep into access to credit like they do today .
“ At Visa , I spotted a huge opportunity to better serve women ’ s financial needs because I was one of the only women in a male-dominated financial industry , in addition to identifying as a first-generation immigrant and person of color . I was uniquely impacted by the products I was building , in a way those before me weren ’ t .”
Catering better to the female market Change , according to the latest data , says McCruden , must happen for the benefit of
84 March 2022