What does female finance actually mean?

Half of the population is female. Nevertheless, the gender ratio is not reflected in many areas. This is also the case when it comes to finances, as there are significantly fewer assets in female hands than in male hands. In Germany, women have

24% fewer assets than men (gender wealth gap).¹ The fact that women usually earn less than men (gender pay gap) and that many people go on parental leave or work part time (gender care and time gap) depends on the lifetime earnings gap and pension gap, i.e. how many women earn over their entire working life and how much their pension is in the end. Overall earnings and pensions are generally significantly lower than for men. Women are therefore at higher than average risk of poverty in old age.² Accordingly, it is extremely important that women make private provisions. Unfortunately, there is a lack of suitable offers. This is partly due to the financial service gender gap: financial products and services were and are often developed and marketed by men for men. Women's needs are not considered enough. On the one hand, this leads to dissatisfied customers and, on the other hand, to women using some financial products and services less frequently or not at all, such as when investing.³ This in turn worsens certain gender gaps. It's a vicious cycle.

Within the framework of Female Finance, it is important to break this and incorporate the needs of women in the provision and development of financial services. Women are not a target group but, as half of the population, are of course also heterogeneous within themselves. So you could say that female finance not only brings a more feminine perspective, but also ensures more individuality and user-centricity in the financial world. Ultimately, this is also important for a generally diverse approach and provision of offers — both for different living conditions and differentiating from binary gender thinking. Of course, not every financial product has to be redesigned; a different approach, different information preparation and needs-oriented product presentation can also make a contribution. Here, it is important to talk to customers and, depending on the situation, to analyse what is needed and, if necessary, needs to be adapted or even rethought.² 

Female finance is relevant:

It promotes a more diverse, user-centered development and marketing of financial offerings.

Female finance increases equality and closes gender gaps, strengthening society socially and economically.

Female finance is lucrative for the financial industry. According to projections, financial institutions worldwide miss out on 700-800 billion US dollars in turnover every year because they do not sufficiently appeal to women with their offerings.^4.5

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sources:
1st WTW & WEF (2022): 2022 Global Gender Wealth Equity Report
2. Sparkassen Innovation Hub (2021): Female Finance — Women in the Financial World. Gender gaps and unrecognized needs 3. Financial Alliance for Women (o.J.): The Opportunity
4. Oliver Wyman (2020): Serving Women as Financial Services Customers
5th EWPN (2020): Female Finance. Digital, mobile, networked