Women's financial confidence lag their rise as family CFOs, finds Primerica

Women are playing a growing role as the primary financial decision-makers in their households, yet they still harbor lingering uncertainties in reaching their financial goals.

That's according to a new Primerica report titled Empowering Middle-Income Women’s Financial Decisions: Navigating Confidence, Opportunity and Representation in the Financial Services Industry. 

The report published Monday draws on data from Primerica's Financial Security Monitor, a quarterly survey that has collected responses from over 7,800 women since 2020.

The findings of the report reveal that, despite significant advancements in education, employment, and financial security over the past half-century, women continue to face challenges in financial confidence and representation within the financial services industry.

“Women are increasingly taking a lead role in the financial welfare of their families. But data suggests they lack confidence to achieve financial security, despite women proving they can adeptly manage their household budget,” Tracy Tan, chief financial officer of Primerica, said in a statement.

The survey shows women feel somewhat or very confident in basic financial tasks such as debt management (including 83 percent who feel competent at building good credit and 81 percent who feel the same about paying down credit card debt), budgeting (78 percent) and saving (72 percent).

However, that confidence drops when it comes to investing. Despite other studies suggesting that women tend to outperform men in terms of investment returns, Primerica found just one-third of women (34 percent) were confident in their ability to invest in stocks, bonds or mutual funds.

Read more: How to invest in stocks in Canada: a guide for beginners

The report indicates around half of women may be setting themselves up for challenges in retirement. Just around one in two women in Primerica's polling reported confidence in repaying all their outstanding debt before retiring (57 percent) or setting up a retirement account like a 401(k) or an IRA (57 percent).

The study also highlights a preference among women for seeking financial advice from professionals rather than relying on AI-powered tools. Seventy-five percent of women expressed a preference for human advisors over robo-advisors. However, more than half (56 percent) indicated they value financial professionals who can relate to their backgrounds and life experiences – a potential roadblock in an industry where women continue to be underrepresented.

“We see that, although nearly half of all women surveyed feel confident in their ability to select a financial professional, less than one-fifth currently use one,” said Amy Crews Cutts, economic consultant to Primerica.