1963 and counting…
Do you know what was happening 59 years ago? The Beach Boys were crooning at the top of the pops with “Surfin’ USA.” The internet was a good three decades away from popular adoption; the average Australian house cost less than $10,000; and a litre of petrol cost around $0.65. JFK got assassinated; the world’s first measles vaccine got approved; and US Congress passed the Equal Pay Act.
I know you’ll agree that we don’t want to wait this long again for women to catch up to the guys. But the Financy Women’s Index showed us that in 2022, the timeframe for women to to reach financial equality with men is 59 years… take it backwards and we’re back in 1963 with measles, JFK, and the very first conversations about equal pay.
Financial services has more potential than almost any other industry to address the gender gap. As fintech professionals, there is so much can we do – and are already doing – to secure better financial outcomes for women all over the world. This week we celebrate the successes we see today, and encourage everyone to participate in the amazing potential we see for the future.
The facts.
Nearly 2.4 billion women do not have the same economic rights as men (World Bank, 2022). According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2020 by the World Economic Forum: “The gender gap in Economic Participation and Opportunity remains the second-largest of the four key gaps tracked by the index (including economic opportunity, political power, health, and education).”
Women all over the world remain unbanked or underbanked. They also have lower likelihood of owning a bank account, participating in the stock market, or managing their own household finances.
What about Australia?
Australia is highly developed in terms of education equality and here, women have some of the highest rates of education attainment. But at the same time, Australia is a sour 70th in the ranking of womens’ participation in the economy.
How can this be?
According to the Australian Government’s report: Women’s Economic Security Statement, a woman’s average weekly full-time earnings are $253.60 per week less than men. And it will come as no surprise to many that mothers, in particular, do most of the unpaid housework and childcare with an average of 57 hours per week (that’s almost 1.5 times a 9-to-5 job), compared to the 29 hours of the average father.
What can fintech do?
Some innovative fintech companies are already acting to contribute to changing the status quo, and we are proud that some of them are part of our Seed Space Venture Capital portfolio.
Fairvine.
The superannuation savings gap between men and women is massive – mostly due to the unpaid work women take on to create and care for their families. This became an opportunity for Fairvine to help.
Farvine is all about women’s financial power and freedom. Founded by Sangeeta Ventakasan, one of fintech’s most innovative leaders, Farvine is a super fund that gives women the right financial tools to seize control of their futures.
“No one else is doing what we’re doing. We’re not just paying lip service to the issue of the gender super gap – we’re providing real solutions that everyday people can take advantage of.” Sangeeta says. “Advocating for fundamental change is important, absolutely, but it’s also crucial to offer financial solutions that help people in the here-and-now.”
Fairvine offers women a wide variety of different methods to save for their retirement; does not charge members fees when they take maternity leave or career breaks to care for their families (children or elderly parents); and gives members access to ‘FairRewards’ – a cash-back program adding 15% of the purchase price of thousands of products directly into their Fairvine accounts, when shopping with more than 500 associated brands.
Super Fierce.
This digital superannuation comparison service founded by Trenna Probert, a gifted entrepreneur with more than 25 years in the financial industry, helps women understand the power of their super and shows them how to get the most out of it by switching a few numbers.
“Women retire with 47 percent less super than men,” Trenna laments. But the savings alone are not the answer. Trenna knew that the secret was in the fees.
“The average saving in unnecessary super fees for a woman in Australia is $103,000 over her lifetime,” she says. “For a man it's $166,000. So that was where the journey started. When it comes to super, small changes mean on average, women can retire with $100,000+ more.”
Based on this vision, Super Fierce has encouraged thousands of women who take control of their financial lives and stop paying away the fees that chip away at their well-paid and well-deserved retirement.
Companies like Super Fierce and Fairvine show us that a new social revolution is possible, through innovative ideas that help not just women, but society overall. When more women particpate in the real economy, real benefits in terms of stability and growth follow. Advancing this cause is a no-brainer – and we can all do our part.
Become a signatory of the Financy Economic Pact 2030. Financy is committed to seeing Australia achieve economic gender equality.
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