Women are earning a lower retirement income when compared to men. Ellevest is closing this gender pension-gap by helping women choose an investment plan that best suits their needs.

Men are from Mars, women are from Venus! Rightly so!

Only that the investments industry does not seem to pay attention to this adage. The two sexes are clearly distinct and they need specialized investment options for themselves.

Women are almost twice as likely as men to face a financial crisis during retirement. According to a report released by the National Institute on Retirement Security in 2010 women received 33 percent less in median retirement income from a pension.

How’s that, exactly?

Our economic system doesn’t treat women as fairly as it can. Women typically earn less in the form of salaries, bonuses, and rewards they receive at workplaces. There are quite a few reasons for that.

One reason, for example, is that women’s role as primary caregivers has an impact on their careers and income.

Due to their personal responsibilities, women are more likely to drop out of the workforce and experience career breaks. Consequently, women earn less money during their work years leaving them with lower income and savings for retirement.

Check out the graph below.

PC: Vox. The statistics show how childbirth is a major cause of lower income levels of women.

Let’s not forget longer life spans!

Women live longer than men. The average lifespan of men is 84 years whereas the average lifespan of women is 87 years. Women need higher retirement savings as they are likely to live 3 to 5 years longer.

The wage gap increases with age. In the age range of 75 to 79 years, women are more likely to be impoverished than men.

Traditional investment industry fails to take into consideration the above-stated factors and more. Even though the investment industry is ‘gender-neutral,’ it largely caters to men’s average salary range, career paths, and lifespans.

What can women do?

For starters, stop investing like men!

Women have carved a niche for themselves in various fields then why not in the investment industry? Find investment products and portfolios that factorize gender wage disparity, longer life spans and additional personal responsibilities held by women. You need to calculate your worth and invest in stocks, companies, and plans that serve your requirements.

Now if that sounds too intimidating, I have good news for you. Ellevest is building a tool to help women navigate the gender investing gap.

Sallie Krawcheck talks about the gender investing gap

Tell me more about Ellevest

A lot of investment firms say that they work towards your goals. But they don’t really follow that up too well. Ellevest does.

Ellevest provides personalized one-on-one guidance from financial professionals on how to navigate your money through various transitions of life. The company asks you about your income level and personal goals right at the start.

Depending on your economic status, salary curve, and goals you need Ellevest calculates your financial targets and suggests how much you should invest into retirement funds. Its team then creates the right portfolio of investment that will help you achieve those goals.

Ellevest has an extremely credible team. Sallie Krawcheck has been in the industry ‘as long as anyone else’. The Chief Investment Officer, Sylvia Kwan has a Ph.D. in Engineering economic systems from Stanford. The product and design leaders in the team have equally stellar backgrounds.

Apart from providing investment solutions, Ellevest’s team of professionals are also training women on how to break the glass ceiling.

Their concierge service includes educating women on how to leverage employee benefits and stock options, negotiate compensation packages, learn when to switch industries etc. Be it consolidating IRAs and 401(k)s to gain maximize benefits, choosing the right retirement options and timelines, or managing money, Ellevest has all the answers.

Sallie Krawcheck talks about the 5 things women must know about investing.

Empower yourself and other women like you

Ellevest offers a unique feature called Ellevest Impact to empower women while gaining profits from your investments.

Ellevest Impact allows you to invest in companies with women leaders, and with policies that support women in the workplace. You can also invest in organizations that lead their peers in sustainability and ethical practices. Your funds can also be used to extend loans to women-owned businesses that offer community services like performing arts, homecare for seniors, child education etc.

Tune in with Ellevest to empower and be empowered!

Here’s your chance to power social change by investing in funds that provide loans to women-owned businesses and independent organizations such as preschools, daycare centers etc.

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