More than half of women are leaving all of their savings, other than what is in retirement accounts, in cash rather than investing it, a new Fidelity study showed.

But the Fidelity “Women and Investing Study,” released Thursday, revealed 72 percent of women, including those already investing and those not investing, plan to take steps to make their money work harder within the next six months.

The current lack of investing on the part of many may be due to the fact that only 24 percent of women said they are comfortable with their knowledge about the subject.

While only 44 percent of women said they invested savings outside retirement accounts, 59 percent of men said they did.

Female millennials are the most likely to already be investing, at 48 percent, while only 40 percent of Gen X and baby boomers are.

“Women need to demand more from their money, so they can control their financial futures,” said Kathleen Murphy, president of Fidelity Investments’ personal investing business.

Women will need more education on financial matters in order to take steps toward investing, Fidelity said. Only 44 percent of women said they would know what to do if they were given $25,000 to invest. Two-thirds believe they need to learn more about picking individual stocks before they can get started investing. Fidelity noted that there are many options for getting started and numerous sources of support are available.

More than one-third, 35 percent, of women reported they have $50,000 or more sitting in savings.

Sixty-three percent of women said developing a financial plan for their short- and long-term goals made them feel more confident about the future. Fidelity recommends women take an inventory of what they own and what they owe to start this plan.

Fidelity has developed a website, Fidelity.com/DemandMore, to provide more clarity about investing and help women build a financial road map to reach their goals. A plan should be created as soon as possible so that money can be invested and grow, Fidelity said. Potential investors should use a financial professional to help make a plan and define strategies.

The survey included 1,172 women and 300 men, who are employed and making $50,000 or more a year and are enrolled in an employer retirement plan.