Ellevest Launches New Index and Research That Finds Women's Financial Health Is at a 5-Year Low

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Sep 22, 2022, 09:00 ET

Research shows that financial progress women have made post-pandemic is being undone, with 86% of women feeling financially unprepared for a recession.

NEW YORK, Sept. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ellevest, the wealthtech company built by women for women, is marking the second annual Financial Wellness Day by unveiling new insights into women's financial health. The data released comes from the first-of-its-kind Ellevest Women's Financial Health Index ("EWFHI") and the second annual Ellevest Financial Wellness Survey.

"Our goal is to comprehensively capture the state of women's financial health, through both survey insights and quantifiable data from our new Ellevest Women's Financial Health Index," said Sallie Krawcheck, CEO and Co-Founder of Ellevest. "The truth is that it's difficult to change what you don't measure. This work places gender-based financial inequities squarely in focus, as well as shows a path forward."

"We have long known that money is women's #1 source of stress. This issue has only become more acute as women's financial health has deteriorated. In fact, the EWFHI shows that women's financial health is currently the worst it's been in the last five years," said Ellevest Head Data Scientist Dr. Kate Sullivan, who constructed the proprietary index. "Women's financial health worsened during the pandemic, primarily due to employment levels, but it rebounded relatively quickly as the labor market recovered and access to paid family leave began to expand. Since then, however, it's been driven further down, as high inflation impacts her spending power and the overturning of Roe v. Wade clouds her economic future. No wonder consumer confidence has been falling, even as women return to the workforce."

The Ellevest Financial Wellness Survey 2022 gives further insights into women's money mindsets. Highlights from the findings show:

Money is women's #1 source of stress: More than half (59%) of women worry about money at least once a week. And a mere 14% feel prepared for a recession.
Women are prioritizing their financial goals differently than men: There are stark differences between men and women's top financial priorities. The top priority for men? Growing retirement savings (supporting family was #4). The top financial priority for women? Supporting their family (retirement was #4).
Women are worried about climate change: 62% of respondents cited climate change as one of their top financial concerns, more than retirement planning (51%), credit card debt (46%), the stock market (38%), and child care costs (30%).
Women are less likely to invest, but when they do they keep their cool: Women are roughly half as likely to invest as men are. And just 30% of women have met with a financial advisor or planner. That said, when women do invest, they make many of the right moves. Only 38% of women reported feeling concerned about market volatility vs 58% of men — which explains why more men than women have paused their retirement contributions and withdrawn money from the stock market.
Women expect more from their employers: 44% of women (and 56% of millennial women) would leave their current company if its values on reproductive rights did not align with their own.
A higher salary does not mean less financial stress: Surprisingly, wealthy women are feeling financial stress just as much as non-wealthy women: Some 75% of women making more than $250,000 in annual income report that they do not feel in control of their money.

"We've seen again and again that taking stock of your financial health — and then taking concrete actions to improve it — can turn money from a source of stress to a source of strength for women," said Ms. Krawcheck. "That's why Ellevest is providing a guide to improving your financial wellness and a package of actionable, customizable financial health workbooks to help guide our community toward stability and control. We will continue to update and publish the Ellevest Women's Financial Health Index, monitor women's relationship with money, and provide best-in-class resources in the months and years to come."

Ellevest is the financial company built by women, for women, providing solutions for all stages of women's financial lives to help them invest their money and take control of their finances. Ellevest's offerings include personalized investing, financial planning, and education, as well as private wealth management for high net worth clients who want a bespoke financial strategy that may include impact investing. Named 2021 Best Robo-Advisory for IRA Investing by NerdWallet ¹ and Best App for Social Responsible Investing,² Ellevest has built an online community of more than 3 million women working toward financial equality. Learn more at ellevest.com.

^1. As of January 5, 2021. Rating based on research and data collected by Nerdwallet. Nerdwallet and Ellevest are not affiliated with one another. Ellevest was a Nerdwallet Partner at the time the rating was given, however Nerdwallet's opinions are their own.

^2. As of January 4, 2022, rating based on research and data collected by Bankrate between Oct. 4 and Nov. 30, 2021. Bankrate and Ellevest are not affiliated with one another and have no formal relationship. Bankrate is not compensated by Ellevest and Bankrate's opinions are their own.

The Ellevest Women's Financial Health Index is constructed from a number of quantifiable factors that impact women's financial health; these include the gender pay gap, inflation, student loan debt, paid family leave, reproductive rights, women in leadership, consumer confidence and student loan debt. It also includes proprietary insights from Ellevest's business, including trends in recurring deposits by women and share of investments going into impact investing.

Ellevest Censuswide Study 2022 Methodology
Censuswide conducted research on behalf of Ellevest, between August 5, 2022 and August 15, 2022 among 2,487 people ages 18+, in the US.

SOURCE Ellevest