Private economy

8 financial facts about women

07-03-2025

Did you know that women...

1) Are not paid equally.

There are still gender pay gaps across the EU, averaging 13% . In the Nordics, Sweden has a 12% gap, Denmark is at 14%, and Finland has the highest at over 15%, according to 2022 figures.

2) Have lower pensions.

The pension gap is actually 28% in Sweden, 24% in Finland, 23% in Norway, but only 8% in Denmark. This is calculated based on the total gap for those aged 65 and above.

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 12% 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 20-25% of all business owners. In Sweden, our own 2022 survey with Sifo showed that only 3 out of 10 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.

The World Economic Forum reports that in 2023, women had access to only 2% or less of venture capital funding invested in Europe and the USA.

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 slightly 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.

Women's day activities driven by Nordea

On International Women's Day, we will highlight gender inequalities across our markets in different ways:

In Demark we run two open events around the topics "Women and investments - from knowledge to action" and second topic "What are we fighting for" with focus on financial opportunities.
In Sweden and Finland we are sending flower bouquets to a selected group of female thought leaders, celebrating the work they do to put focus on these questions.
In Norway we have had webinars to highlight private financial equality all over the country .
Also a webinar about equality between men and women in Poland (13 March).
And a panel discussion with female financial professionals in Sweden (7 March).

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