“The catalyst was about mid-2024,” said Stephanie Wilks-Wiffen from eToro, an online broker. That was when she read the annual Boring Money report, which showed that the gender investment gap had widened in the United Kingdom, with men making up almost 60% of investors.
That inspired eToro to start developing its Loud Investing campaign, which aims to educate and empower women to invest. Launched in October 2025, it isn’t the only initiative targeting women investors, by far.
Wilks-Wiffen has noticed a rise in female-led initiatives over the past six to 12 months across the industry. Online brokers are launching new brand campaigns, producing “female finance” podcasts or sponsoring women’s sports teams.
“The more the merrier, in my opinion,” she said. “If our messaging doesn’t land with someone for whatever reason, maybe someone else’s in the industry does.”
Women have long been underrepresented in the world of investing.Today, men own about two-thirds of stocks issued on the stock market, and women still face many barriers to investing. They generally earn less than men, which leaves them with less money to invest in the first place. They don’t receive the same financial education in their childhoods, which leads to lower financial literacy in later life.
Women have also historically been excluded from the finance sector. In the UK, for example, women were barred from the trading floors of the London Stock Exchange and faced widespread discrimination in accessing financial services until the mid-1970s, with banks requiring the consent of a father or husband to even open an account.
Changing the narrative about women investors
“It’s a simple shift in rhetoric,” said Wilks-Wiffen. “We need to use language that celebrates women’s strengths, like patience and discipline, and create an environment where women feel comfortable.”
For example, eToro is featuring more female presenters in its online educational content and addressing the psychological hurdles faced by first-time investors.
Highlighting data on women being capable investors also increases their appetite for investing. The financial industry often echoes reports on how women’s risk aversion and lack of confidence are holding them back.
“If we treat people like stereotypes, eventually we risk them becoming the stereotype,” said Ylva Baeckstrom, a senior lecturer in finance at King’s College London. She said there is too much emphasis on women’s under-confidence, when really, “it’s overconfidence that kills performance.”
According to Baeckstrom, men are more likely to lose money through short-term trading and overconcentrated risk-taking than women. “When women do invest, they often outperform men,” she said. A 2018 study by Warwick Business School found that women outperform men at investing by 1.8 percentage points.
Women also have different investment priorities. They invest more sustainably than men and are more likely to consider environmental, social and governance factors. “Women just really think about their money in a very different way. Yet, we’re not seeing those needs being served,” said Christine Yu, co-founder of the financial education company Sophia.
Women are also more likely to seek financial advice than men, especially when entering a new life stage, like planning for children, divorce or widowhood.
Women’s wealth an ‘opportunity’ for financial service industry
Online brokers also have a financial interest in integrating women into their customer base.
“Increasing women’s investment participation rates is one of those win-win-win scenarios,” said Baeckstrom. According to the World Economic Forum, the financial service industry (which includes banks, brokerages and credit card companies, for example) could increase its revenue by $700 billion if it better catered to women.
Women’s wealth is also projected to experience rapid growth over the coming years, especially in Asia. One reason is that women are gaining assets through the ongoing intergenerational wealth transfer, as baby boomers pass on wealth to their children.
“This is an opportunity for the financial service industry,” Baeckstrom tells DW. “They need to improve their services to women, because otherwise women will walk away, and they often do when they inherit wealth.”
This only applies to a small segment of people who are already wealthy enough to invest. While around 60% of the US population claims to invest in stocks, many countries record a much lower participation in the stock market. In Germany, stock investors account for around 20% of the population, and in India around 5% of households invest in the stock market.
Finfluencers also targeting prospective female investors
Online brokers and investment platforms aren’t the only ones waking up to this opportunity. The last few years have also seen a rise in financial influencers, or finfluencers, and online investing communities, many of which target women specifically.
“What does that tell you? It tells you that there is a need that is not being met,” said Yu.
The spread of financial advice online also bears risks, given the lack of accountability and regulatory oversight. This makes people vulnerable to misinformation and scamming.
Steps towards bridging the gender investment gap
So how effective are online brokers in reaching out to female investors? And are women becoming more involved in the stock market?
The gender investment gap is indeed smaller among younger generations, said Leah Zimmerer, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Mannheim. The German Stock Institute confirms that this is the case in Germany. In fact, more women started investing in the stock market than men in Germany in 2025. But, in absolute terms, only 5.4 million women invest in Germany, compared to 8.7 million men.
Younger generations are also more receptive to online brokers. People between the ages of 18 and 30 are more likely to invest, Zimmerer said. According to the German Stock Institute, under-40-year-olds are the age group with the most investments in the stock market in Germany. And according to wealth management firm J.P. Morgan, participation in the stock market among American 25-year-olds rose from 6% in 2015 to 37% in 2024.
As young people grapple with inflation, the high cost of living and worries about the security of retirement benefits, they are increasingly taking matters into their own hands. Financial markets have also become more accessible through investment platforms and information online. Especially since the COVID pandemic, online trading apps like Robinhood, Webull and Fidelity Investments have experienced a surge in downloads.
Will Gen Z women continue to invest?
However, experts caution not to draw quick conclusions.
Even if younger women are choosing to invest more, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will continue to do so throughout their lives, Zimmerer said. She pointed out that the gender investment gap widens with age and is largest when women are between 40 and 50 years old, the period when women are tied into family life and are less likely to manage their own finances.
Later, when women experience divorce or widowhood, for example, the gender investment gap narrows again. It’s unclear whether Gen Z women will continue investing at higher rates as they get older, or if they will mirror the life-cycle pattern of previous generations.
Baeckstrom is equally skeptical. “We can’t be comfortable in the possibility of a short-term trend becoming a long-term phenomenon,” she said. “We need to make big improvements in order to level the playing field.”
Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru
