Women are taking action against financial stress, Fidelity finds

While an overwhelming number of women are living with financial anxiety, many are taking active steps to improve their situation and boost their financial confidence, according to new research from Fidelity.

The company’s latest annual research, marking Women’s History Month, draws from a national survey of roughly 3,000 adults and found more than nine in 10 women are confronted with financial stress.

“It’s not uncommon to feel stress when it comes to finances, so it's critical we support women by providing proven ways to help them combat this feeling and build financial confidence,” Sangeeta Moorjani, head of tax exempt markets at Fidelity Investments, said in a statement.

Based on its research on customers participating in workplace retirement plans, Fidelity highlighted three key actions for women to ease their stress:

• Setting aside emergency savings – compared to 81 percent of women without an emergency fund, only 26 percent of women who have one report feelings of financial stress;
• Saving for retirement – nearly three in five women (59 percent) who save up to 2 percent of their household income for retirement report high stress levels, compared to just one in three (32 percent) of those putting between 10 percent and 14 percent toward retirement; and
• Planning for the future – while three-fourths (73 percent) of women who plan out their financial goals and needs only a few days ahead say they feel stressed, that figure drops to 38 percent for those who plan for the next few months.

Even though four-fifths (78 percent) of women have taken financial actions in the past six months, Fidelity found only 19 percent feel confident about their financial situation, pointing to a significant financial confidence gap among women.

But encouragingly, the firm’s Women’s History Month 2024 survey report found more than a third of women – including 44 percent from Gen Z and 32 percent of millennials – are rejecting the stereotype of men being better at managing finances.

Additionally, nearly half of the women surveyed said they have become more open to discussing finances with family and friends over the past six months, or plan to do so in the next six months.

“Encouragingly, women today are debunking the financial stereotypes that have historically held us back,” said Lorna Kapusta, head of women and engagement at Fidelity Investments.