Private economy

8 financial facts about women

Did you know that women... 

1) Are not paid equally. 

There are still gender pay gaps across the EU, averaging 11,1% in 2024. In the Nordics, Sweden has a 12% gap, Denmark is at 14%, and Finland has the highest at over 15%, according to 2024 figures.

2) Have lower pensions. 

The pension gap has declined last years in the OECD countries, but is still actually 23% in Sweden, 21% in Finland, 18% in Norway, but only 10% in Denmark. 

3) Are not as confident.

Our survey, the Nordic Pulse, shows that men and women are equally likely to set clear personal economic goals, with the same proportion answering: "Yes, I have a clear goal for my economy." However, it also reveals that slightly more men than women feel they are in control of their monthly expenses. Additionally, men are slightly more confident that they have the necessary means to manage their private economy well. Although the differences are small, they indicate a gender disparity.

4) Don't steer capital. 

What about running financial funds in different financial institutions? Only 11% of investment trust managers are female in the US, for example. This situation is more or less the same globally.

5) Don't start as many companies. 

World Bank statistics by gender show that women in Norway and Denmark, for example, account for 21-25,5% of all business owners, while men stands for 74-78%. In Sweden, our own survey from 2022 with Sifo showed that only 8 percent of companies are run by women,. However, the same study shows that 6 out of 10 women dream of starting their own business.

6) Don't get as much funding to grow ideas as start-ups. 

A World Bank survey from 2024 stated that women "were about half as likely as men to report that they have borrowed funds from a bank to start, operate or expand their business".

7) Do more unpaid work. 

Lastly, a concerning statistic from the UN shows that globally, women will still do 2.5 hours more unpaid work per day by 2050.

8) At the same time ... 

More women than men see sustainability as important. Our Nordic Pulse results show year after year that women are the group that ranks sustainability as significantly more important than men do. Investing in products with a sustainable focus is one way of supporting one's own financial goals, and here women also believe the return is larger with these kinds of investments than men do.

Private economy
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