CHASM conference 2024
CHASM’s Annual Conference 2024 brought together academics, public, private sector, research centres and think tanks, third sector and interested individuals.
Entitled, 'The gender wealth gap: causes, consequences and solutions', this year’s conference focused on better understanding the causes and consequences of this longstanding inequality, and debated what more needs to be done to achieve sustainable improvement in women’s’ financial wellbeing
Typically, women end up with lower pay, income, wealth and retirement security than men. In order to bridge the gender pensions gap themselves, “women would have to work for an additional 19 years on average or contribute at a 6% higher rate than men (Pensions Policy Institute, 2024).
Starting with our keynotes speakers, and subsequently our presenters and panellists, the conference underlined the solid foundation of data and insight that exists, and from which we can move forward to develop policy ideas that foster inclusion of all genders.
Our first keynote speaker, Debora Price, Professor of Social Gerontology at Manchester University, explored the ‘gaps’ across the life course, highlighting gender pay gaps, gender pension gaps, gender wealth gaps.
Whilst the gender pay gap has decreased over the past twenty years, there remains a lifetime earnings gap that contributes to an eventual deficit in respect of pensions and overall wealth. One key statistic revealed that, as of 2022-23, pension sharing occurred in just 11% of divorces.
Alongside our subsequent panel sessions, Debbie’s keynote explored intersectional considerations, including how race, ethnicity, and other identities intersect with gender in influencing wealth gaps.
Her talk posed the question “Is women’s low economic status and power the result of systemic (and ongoing) violations of rights and freedoms? [to be equal, to have equal opportunities, to equally share family and household responsibilities]” and how we achieve an economic re-balancing, potentially taking a reparative approach.
We need a refreshed emboldened conversation about the role of the state in gendered redistribution of financial resources via benefits, state pensions and taxation
Our next keynote focused on accessible investing and the customer journey. Faith Reynolds is advisor to the board at TISA, an organisation whose ambition is to improve the financial wellbeing of all UK consumers. She presented the outputs of collaborative research on how technology can enhance financial inclusion.
Faith exposed some facts about investing and highlighted issues in marketing communications, including how the use of language impacts women’s propensity to invest. For example, men are 8% more likely than women to invest in a stocks and shares ISA than a cash ISA. Whilst women over-estimate the probability of loss, they do achieve success, outperforming men by 1.8% over a three-year period.
Some takeaways from Faith’s talk include the impact of hidden gendered language. Research shows that contextualised warnings increase preference for investing, particularly for women. The range of areas highlighted for future action, include workforce diversity, language, D&I (diversity and inclusion) at the heart of regulatory initiatives, and informal and formal regulatory disclosure along the consumer journey
Jonquil Lowe, Senior Lecturer in Economics and Personal Finance, The Open University, focused on pension wealth – a key source of financial security in later life. She questioned tax incentives to contribute to pensions and she put forward ideas to alleviate the pensions gap.
Fundamental to the pension wealth gap is the way society treats unpaid work in the economy, of which women do £1.4 trillion (ONS, 2024). Gender equal policies would consider the gender impact of changes to pension tax policies, accounting for the circumstances of women versus men.
When we look at social norms, we can both look at encouraging women to jobs traditionally dominated by men but also ceasing to undervalue the paid work traditionally done by women.
In breaking the stereotype of caring roles, an exemplar is Sweden, where maternity leave has been replaced by shared parental leave, and where the introduction of 90 days of non-transferable paid leave has resulted in around 30% of parental leave being taken by fathers.
Other ideas included employer-funded contributions to private pensions while doing unpaid caring work and, potentially for couples, a contribution from a working partner. Meanwhile, there needs to be increased flexibility for high-paid jobs, to fit around family needs; while subsidies to carers would enable them to top up their state or private pension pots.
The keynote session was concluded with a Q&A moderated by Professor Tom Shapiro, Brandeis University, Massachusetts. Our speakers’ asks for an incoming government included removing the two-child benefit cap; extending help to save; reducing the number of people waiting for debt advice; reducing the unclaimed benefits pot – to zero; and accessible financial advice for all.
The Centre on Household Assets and Savings Management's (CHASM) Dr Kris Fuzi chaired the Everyday Experiences panel with participants from a number of different research projects. The panel was an opportunity for our panellists and delegates to understand some realities of the Gender Wealth Gap and how the causes stretch across the life course and have significant everyday consequences. Following the candid, emotional testimonies of our panellists, it was also an opportunity for panellists to discuss solutions that can have an impact on women’s lives.
Hearing from experts and academics is great but it's no substitute for hearing from people with lived experiences. This is quite rare at conferences. In fact, I don't think I've seen this before.
Our Policy and Market Solutions Panel brought together industry practitioners to give their perspective on achieving sustainable improvement in women’s financial wellbeing.
Our experienced and knowledgeable panel members included Evey Tang, Policy Research and Public Affairs Manager, The Phoenix Group; Daniela Silcock, Head of Policy Research, Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) and Nick Eatock, CEO, intelliflo.
Chaired by CHASM’s professor of practice, Adele Atkinson, the panel explored further aspects of current financial exclusion. For example, in terms of representation, just 16 per cent of regulated financial advisers in the UK are women, according to the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) records.
People need ‘the right information, at the right time, at the right cost’, whilst the model of restricted advice limits the range of products that advisers can recommended to clients. A solution is the ‘people like you …’ approach, which would enable general, ‘simplified advice’ to be provided. The panel referred to the FCA’s Advice Guidance Boundary Review (AGBR) and its potential to deliver a solution. They also explored further the potential for state pensions solutions to overcome the motherhood and caring penalty.
A significant challenge for women and men employees is the limited available employers’ advice on parental leave options. The panel emphasised the need for HR departments to have the knowledge and tools to educate their workforce on optimising their use of the available options.
Our CHASM conference has revealed a wealth of data, insights and ideas that can contribute to our joint efforts in reducing the gender wealth gap and in achieving improved financial wellbeing for women.
Underlining the importance of the Annual Conference, CHASM Director, Louise Overton, concluded, ‘For the team at CHASM the conference represents a significant milestone as we continue to build on our established track record of contributing to financial inclusion and wellbeing, by conducting rigorous, policy-relevant research on the causes and consequences of financial insecurity and exclusion, and to working with non-academic partners to achieve impact.’