Women’s history with money is relatively short. Canada’s first bank was established in 1817, but women couldn’t open a bank account or obtain a mortgage without a male co-signer until 1964. It is only now that we have a generation of adults who were raised by mothers who had their own bank accounts, the ability to own property and accumulate wealth of their own.

Although banks were not deliberately excluding women, failing to differentiate gender differences in financial needs has created a systemic default-male bias. Women are trying, yet failing, to navigate a system which was fundamentally not built for them.

As a result of our differing lived experiences, women experience gaps in the way we spend, save, and borrow money.

When we layer the impact of lower earnings (gender pay gap) and a stalled career progression (promotion gap), the wealth gap (disparity in overall value of assets) is compounded.

Women represent the world’s largest and fastest-growing financial market — a bigger growth market than China and India combined. More than twice as big, in fact.

90% of women will be required to play the role of sole financial decision maker at some point in their life.

Financial services firms can capture more than $700 billion in additional annual revenue by serving women better. “Women are arguably the single largest underserved group of customers in financial services.”

(Oliver Wyman 2020 Women in Financial Services report)