Women’s financial resilience is shaped by unique life patterns, responsibilities, and challenges that differ markedly from those of the wider population. At the IPTF, we recognise that understanding these differences is essential to creating effective protection strategies. This area explores the realities behind women’s financial wellbeing and highlights the role our industry can play in supporting lasting financial security.
Why Women Struggle to Protect Their Income: Insights and Solutions
In our recent podcast episode, we tackle the pressing issue of the gender gap in income protection, shedding light on why women remain underserved in this vital aspect of financial security. With insightful discussions from industry experts Rose St Louis of Scottish Widows and Joanna Streams of Velvet Mortgages, we delved into the research revealing how women are drastically underinsured when compared to their male counterparts.
The episode advocates for ongoing education and training for financial advisers, emphasising the need for industry-wide collaboration to create meaningful solutions that address the unique challenges women face in the workforce. Product design should also evolve, taking into account career breaks, part-time roles, and flexible necessities that appeal to women’s lifestyles and professional landscapes.
Women, Wealth and the Workplace
Commissioned by the Women’s Wealth Alliance (WWA), a working group of independent professional body the Consumer Duty Alliance, the white paper -Women, Wealth and the Workplace – highlights barriers facing women in personal finance and calls for greater female visibility, leadership, and structural support to improve representation.
The research in the paper was managed independently by YouGov, with the support of IBOSS, LV=, Royal London and Quilter.
Women's Health, Work and Income Protection
Monica Garcia highlights how research on occupational health remains heavily male-focused, creating blind spots in understanding women’s health risks and long-term work sustainability.
She explores the implications for income protection, noting that current products and claims models may not fully capture women’s occupational risks, and highlights opportunities to improve gender-informed approaches and develop solutions that better reflect the realities of women’s work.
Research and insight
In their Income Protection Gender Gap report, Scottish Widow’s research delves into women’s awareness and attitudes towards income protection, underlining a need for tailored communication and support to boost female uptake.
In our Profile of an Income Protection Customer report, we explore women’s participation, needs, and challenges within the income protection market and highlight the need for gender-aware product design and engagement strategies.
