June 05, 2026

Focus On... Women in Wealth Segment 3

In our latest segment of “Focus On… Women in Wealth,” Wendy Hartman, Division President of Focus, led a panel discussion exploring the distinct financial realities women face and what advisors can do to better support them in building long-term financial security.

Understanding the Gap

Women and men often face different financial opportunities and realities due to a number of factors including longevity, career patterns, systemic inequities, and more.

Adrienne Penta, National Head of Wealth Management at SCS, underscored the importance of recognizing and addressing those differences: “Women have a very different financial life experience, and that means that they need to get more out of the wealth management industry, and the wealth management industry needs to do better for them.”

Structural factors continue to drive differences in financial outcomes between women and men, in part through how they invest.

“Even though women are just as competent as men are in making financial decisions, they tend to have about five percent less of their wealth invested in equities,” Adrienne explained.[1]

That investment gap is compounded by broader financial realities. Women typically live longer, face higher healthcare costs, spend fewer years in the workforce, and continue to experience a pay gap.

“When you take all of that into consideration, women actually have to do more, and they have to put their money to work for them,” Adrienne said.

The Role of Advisors

The implications of these differences are stark when it comes to retirement readiness. As Wendy noted, “To retire securely, women need to save eighteen percent of their income, compared to men, who need to save ten percent.”[2]

For Adrienne, the path forward centers on both strategy and support. Increasing exposure to equity markets is an important step, but so is guidance. “Having a financial advisor that’s trusted and engaged with you can help in that process,” she said.

Looking Ahead

In our next segment, Building Confidence Beyond Education, the panel explores how advisors can shift from a one-size-fits-all approach to a more personalized, relationship-driven model that helps close the confidence gap and better support women as capable, engaged financial decision-makers.

[1] TIAA (2016), Income Insights: Gender Retirement Gap.

[2] Ibid.