Women save more than men and those who invest tend to be more successful. But in a relationship, women tend to leave investing to men. Why? Because they believe men are better at math.

Such gender-specific survey data helped propel discussion at the Financial Women's Association's first National Broadcast to Address Advancing Women, Confidence Gap and Customer Engagement. Headlining the event was Fidelity Investments' Kathleen Murphy, president of personal investing, who drew a 100-plus crowd that packed a large Manhattan  room last night despite dropping temperatures and rising winds. In a well-condensed hour, she offered advice from her own experiences and cautioned that society is not doing enough to spread financial knowledge and confidence.

The listening crowd represented a wide swatch of financial professionals, from lawyers to advisors, all there to hear tips from Murphy, who in just six years with Fidelity now oversees nationwide more than 12,000 employees and 15 million customer accounts with $1.7 trillion in assets under administration  -- and she's raising a 12-year-old son. Even after the session closed, women waited in lines to speak to her one-on-one. She chatted unhurried for another 40 minutes before rushing past the buffet table to make another commitment.

Murphy specifically singled out millennials several times. “We must do more to reach this generation of investors,” she says. Some 43 percent are saving with 401(k) accounts, she notes. But, financial advisors can serve this group by counseling them in their two weakest areas: debt and cash management. The advice, she says,  is “basically fundamental things; so, it doesn't take much time.”

An Influencer on LinkedIn, for which she blogs on leadership or financial services issues, Murphy had both praise and jovial jabs for social media in general. A blizzard of resumes she received when first joining LinkedIn forced her to close down her account. Noting that millennials have moved on from Facebook -- “grandparents are on there now” -- she says, the digital world is one financial services must keep ahead of. Murphy also gave a quick nod to Fidelity's latest effort, a digital service model. Indexed investments may be the basis of some robo-advising platforms, she says, but they will be tested when phone calls start pouring in if they don't have phone customer service in their model.

FWA, www.FWA.org, an organization for women who work in the financial services industry, offers such events, it says, to help members move “from the middle suite to the C-suite.”  Financial Advisor magazine co-sponsored last night's presentation.

The woman's touch was evident in FWA's fireside-like setting, in which CNBC's Sharon Epperson, in the role of interviewer, swept the evening along, prompting Murphy by proposing issues (such as, have you had bad mentors?) in a velvety flow that blended well with Murphy's relaxed, candid style. Both the comfy set and Epperson's approach played counter to the magnitude of Murphy's obviously high-pressure job.

Murphy recalled how she had joined Fidelity during the financial crisis in January 2009. Her manager had handed her an iPod with customer calls on it. Back then, she proposed that customer input might provide some direction for the company. The information now informs the company's thrice-weekly “View Points” for clients. She still listens to some 20 hours of customer calls a month. “It keeps me really in-tune with the pulse of our organization,” she says.

She also finds time for mentoring through the U.S. State Department's mentoring program. Murphy brings her son, Jack, to the annual meetings of mentees from a range of countries, so he can see how women struggle in a variety of ways throughout the world. “I do it as an obligation,” says Murphy, who was on her way to Wall Street with her law degree, when she veered off to Aetna to focus on health care instead. “But you get a lot out of it, too,” she says.