Donahe said it isn't unusual for men to think they know more than they do about personal finance and make mistakes as a result. Women tend to lack confidence, rather than having too much of it, and typically seek more information before they make a decision, he said.
According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute's 2010 Retirement Confidence Survey, men "tend to feel very confident that they are doing a good job of preparing financially for retirement" and think they will have saved enough to live comfortably through retirement even if they haven't.
Some advisors said they have seen a significant uptick in business in the last six months, especially from women.
"It's better to know [your financial situation] even if the news is bad," said Jennifer M. Murray, a financial advisor in Morristown, N.J. Employed women, she said, want "an objective opinion of where they are falling short."
Many financial firms are trying to get more women to consider entering the field. Wells Fargo Advisors, for example, is targeting women with a number of efforts. Among other things, it is developing a "Financial Advisor Career Track" for women in its bank-brokerage channel, assigning a full-time "coach" to new financial advisers and providing more networking and training.
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