Driving Markets
Women are driving financial markets in two major ways. Demographics like this dictate what products are bought and how they are distributed. These underlying themes are very important when reviewing what types of companies emerge at a later date. These two ways include leadership and purchasing patterns.
Leadership
If you go back to 1970, not a single company in the Fortune 500 had a single female CEO. Now, there are 33. If you look at Boards of Directors in 1970 there wasn’t a single female serving. Now, every single company on the S&P 500 have at least one female director. On the leadership side, you have a lot more companies being ran by women. Not only is the CEO level more controlled by women than 35-40 years ago, but now you have a plethora of senior leadership that is increasing those numbers.
Purchasing Patterns
The second and major way that women are driving financial markets is by purchasing patterns. In 1970, 50% of women from the ages of 25-54 were part of the workforce. Now, that number has risen to 75%. It’s been a major absolute increase. Another point to make is pay disparity. In 1970, women made $0.59 for every $1.00 that a male made. Now, women make $0.80 for every $1.00 that a male makes. So, we still have pay inequality but the gap is starting to close and gives women much more buying power.
Workforce
A final thing to look at is that there are now as many women with a 4-year degree as men. In 2020 and 2021 that is going to increase even higher. There will be more women in the workforce with college degrees than men. Why is this important? This is shifting an increase in the home of major purchases. In 1980, only about 18% of women in a household made more than their husband did. That number has now risen to 31%, according to the Pew Research Center. Women are having a major impact on both a leadership level and consumer level. This type of demographic shift is something we are very intrigued by and will continue to follow to see how this will affect both our markets and economy.
Ashley Page, JD, MBA
Senior Vice President
Wealth Consultant
Email Ashley Page here
Fi Plan Partners is an independent investment firm in Birmingham, AL, serving clients across the nation through financial planning, wealth management and business consulting. Fi Plan Partners creates strategies in the best interest of their clients using both fee based investing and transactional investing.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.
Economic forecasts set forth in this presentation may not develop as predicted.
No strategy can ensure success or protect against a loss.
Stock investing involves risk including potential loss of principal.
Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC and a registered investment advisor.
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