March is Women's History Month—traditionally a time set aside to look back throughout American history to observe and celebrate the ways in which women have made the arts, sciences, society, and our country better.

Today, however, as the month comes to a close, we'd like to explore women's progress through a financial lens—with less of a focus on the past, and instead more emphasis on where women are, and where they're going.

The Tea

Women make up a hair north of 50% of the U.S. population … and as far as equality in the U.S. goes, that's about the extent of it.

By now, you've surely heard about the gender pay gap (women's median income is 83% of men's median income) or the "pink tax" (a number of ways in which it's simply more expensive to be a woman). These are just some of the forces women have been fighting to get to financial equilibrium.

WealthUp Tip: When it comes to making these big-ticket purchases, don't skimp. Sometimes, it pays more to pay more.

This isn't a new fight. Far from it. Women have been trying to get on par for literally centuries (millennia?), and some of their breakthroughs, while sounding archaic, are more recent than most people might want to admit to themselves. For instance, the Equal Pay Act—mandating "equal pay for equal work"—wasn't passed until 1963. (And while it has improved women's compensation in the workforce, a sizable wealth gap remains.) Also, women weren't allowed to apply for credit cards in their own name until 1974, with the passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

Each year brings fresh progress, however. Women are indeed cutting into the pay gap. They're taking more leading roles as financial manager of the household. They're becoming more investing-literate. And these are just some of the many advances they've taken.

But don't just take our word for it.

The Take

Today, we're going to look at a number of statistics from banking giants, multinational financial institutions, and broker/dealers that speak to the improvements women have made to their financial situations, knowledge, and confidence.

Allianz Life

49%: Women are taking on more financial responsibility than ever before. In Allianz Life's recently published 2023 Women, Money and Power Study, nearly half of all women (49%) said they consider themselves to be "the chief financial officer of their household." This number is up from 41% in 2021. And while married women were on average less likely to say this, at 43%, that number is up significantly from the 34% of married women who felt the same way in 2021.

43%: The percentage of women in Allianz Life's study who say they are the primary breadwinner in their family. That's up considerably from 34% in 2021, and the figure includes more than half of Millennial women (51%).

WealthUp Tip: The "forgotten generation" might need a retirement wake-up call, at least according to these Gen X stats.

33%: The share of women who said they currently have a financial professional—33%—grew, from 26% in 2021. More than three-fourths (77%) of those who do have a financial pro call them their "go-to" source for information, and just under three-quarters (73%) say they wish they would have met with a pro sooner.

Mind you, these are all positive signs. Whatever negative notions you might have about asking anyone for help should be checked at the door when it comes to financial advice. Financial professionals are just that—professionals—far better trained and qualified than most of us to determine the best way to spend and save our money.

"The guidance of a financial professional is invaluable," says Heidi Vanderkloot, Head of FMO Distribution, Allianz Life. "A financial professional can help women establish their financial priorities and how to achieve them in the long run. With a long-term financial strategy, women may feel more secure knowing that they have prepared for the risks that may threaten their financial future."

Bank of America Institute

83%: That's the pay gap. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women's median earnings in 2022 were 83% of men's median earnings. But that gap should continue to narrow, given internal Bank of America data showing that the growth in women's median annual income has been more rapid than in men's median annual income for the past few years:

25%: While education itself isn't technically a financial category, it can obviously affect a person's ability to earn. On that front, BofA notes that as of 2022, the number of women enrolled in college full-time was 25% greater than the number of men. (For comparison's sake, in 1970, the number of men enrolled in college full-time was 30% greater than the number of women.)

WealthUp Tip: For those looking to still go to college, here are some of the best ways to save for tuition.

25-54: While women's labor force participation rate continues to trail men, women 25-54 have led the recent rebound in the broader labor force participation rate. "According to BofA Global Research, evidence supports the idea that a home/hybrid working lifestyle has helped women move from unpaid work in the home to the broader paid workforce," the Bank of America Institute adds. 

Commonwealth Financial Network

$30 trillion: As of right now, women currently control $10 trillion in assets, according to Sarah Hargreaves, Senior Investment Strategist for Commonwealth Financial Network. But, she says, shifting demographics and the pending generational wealth transfer from the Baby Boomer generation should send that figure up to $30 trillion by 2030. "Over the next decade, women will be well-positioned to control nearly $30 trillion—a figure close to the annual GDP of the U.S.—of the pending money in motion, per McKinsey," she says.

18.4%: Hargreaves notes that the financial industry continues to be "predominantly male-driven." But she says women have seen improvement in leadership roles across the financial services field. Between 2012 and 2023, the share of women in financial services C-suite positions has grown from 12.1% to 18.4%.

Riley & Kyle

WealthUp (Young and the Invested is now WealthUp)

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