A new paper commissioned by AIB, ‘The Future is Female’ forecasts a serious growth in female influence in finance and financial planning in Ireland…
AIB partnered with trend forecaster, The Future Laboratory, to develop ‘The Future Is Female’ paper which looks at the current economic landscape and maps the trends that will inform the future for female finance and financial planning in Ireland. The paper showcases the increasing impact of Irish women in the economy, and outlines how women are pioneering change in work cultures and business practices, leading to a forecasted shift in female economic influence. The author of the paper, Miriam Rayman of The Future Laboratory (pictured above), said: “While there is quite rightly a huge focus recently on the gender pay gap, gender pension gap and obstacles facing women in the Irish economy, there is also so much momentum and progress being led by women in Ireland today. Taking global trends into consideration with this progress, there is a definite shift in the economic influence of Irish women emerging.”
The paper importantly explains that women are forecast to hold 45% of assets under management by 2030 and that female entrepreneurship is on the rise in Ireland with female founders securing €234m in funding for tech start-ups in 2022, and the third-highest rate for early-stage female entrepreneurs across all European countries. While women are more risk averse when it comes to investing generally, when they do invest, they are more likely than men to place ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) at the heart of their investment portfolio, with 52% of women claiming a preference to invest in businesses that have a beneficial social or environmental impact compared to 44% of men. The paper also showcases that, incredibly, there is a new generation of Gen Z and millennial female businesspeople who are now responsible for starting one third of businesses globally. The paper documents that there has been a 21% point increase in female representation on ISEQ listed companies in the last 5 years; women across other listed boards exceeding the 25% target for 2023 at 28%.
Globally, it remains, that childcare, and familial care stand out as two of the key areas that prevent women from fulfilling their ambitions, with a move away from ‘Greedy Jobs’ that require people to prioritise their work commitments over all other aspects of their life on the horizon. ‘The Future is Female’ paper was commissioned by AIB as part of its focus on the importance of financial planning to support women continuing to do what matters to them.
Image above: Pictured at the launch of ‘The Future is Female’, a paper developed by AIB with The Future Lab is Miriam Rayman, Cultural Strategist at The Future Lab. Photographer: Andres Poveda