“These issues can lead to permanent scars in terms of how their finances develop over time.”
Some, but not all, women have found themselves during the pandemic doing jobs remotely and don’t have to separate from work to take care of an infant or an infirm family member. That’s created inequalities among women.
“Not all careers take the same amount of time and focus, and not all women have to take the time of having to be caregivers and step away from their jobs,” says Thompson.
Long-Term Consequences
Because of the recurring obstacles, though, many women miss out on the opportunity to compound their wealth, and that problem is combined with the fact that they live longer and earn less. It gives American women a nearly impossible task to reach parity with men.
Thompson acknowledges that the financial services industry often fails its female clients. A common tactic of advisors, even female advisors, is to have both members of a couple come into client meetings so their concerns are addressed equally and both receive the same information and education. But that doesn’t seem to be working.
“What tends to happen is that eventually the female member of a couple drops out,” Thompson says. “They come in, interview us, and then we just end up talking to the male over the majority of the client relationship.”
She thinks this happens because most advisors are men and they’re not addressing the issues that women want to speak about.
Thompson has tried to create room for deeper conversations. She developed a particular specialization, helping women through divorce and working with clients who have lost a spouse. She also brings her own perspectives into the client meetings.
“Even though we work with high-net-worth clients, sentimentally, with female clients and female advisors, women share different things together,” she says. “One issue a male advisor might never hear or be able to address is that we have multiple women who are widowed who come to us and want to start dating. And they want to know what they should share, financially speaking, how they should approach dating again. Even whether they should split the checks. We’re having conversations around those topics.”
Unfriendly Industry
But a graying industry that remains stubbornly male-dominated perhaps isn’t well positioned to pivot to conversations like those. While Thompson thinks it would be preferable to solve the issue with more female advisors, she also acknowledges that “this industry is not good for women” because it does not make allowances for women’s career gaps.
She says the retirement wave in financial planning means the proportion of experienced and qualified female advisors is on a decline, even as the industry itself seems to be inching toward parity.
That may lead women to look elsewhere for financial education and services. They might look for help online instead—seeking out education, products, services and advice through financial technology, in a way that lets them self-direct their financial lives.
Thompson thinks the industry has an opportunity to better serve and communicate with women, if it is willing to listen and evolve.
“Think about our conversations about divorce and dating and the potential financial consequences,” she says. “That’s what women want—the services have to be the same and just as robust, but the conversations should be a little different. Women want more soft-touch conversations. I think the financial industry is making strides in addressing and providing content for women, but I’m not sure if it’s being accessed by the people who need it most.”