Up to $80 trillion is expected change hands over the next two decades, and a new study from Ellevest, an investment and financial literacy platform, believes it will be millennial women who will see the biggest financial boost.
“By 2030, American women will manage at least $30 trillion, more than the national GDP,” wrote Ellevest financial advisor Emily Green. “We’ve never seen this kind of change in our lives, or in our grandmothers’ lives.”
The wealth gap between men and women, or the discrepancy between what men own and what women own, is much bigger than the pay gap, the comparison between the amount of money men make versus women. It’s affected by societal challenges women face in the workforce, such as lower salaries, childcare needs, the pink tax, less investing infrastructure and systemic inequalities.
The expected gains are allowing many of the women interviewed to feel more confident on financial matters and investment plans, and this could have a net positive on the economy overall. The survey found that women are more likely to hire other women and pay higher salaries to those women, as well as donate and invest in charities more often than men.
“A world where women control more wealth could look very different,” researchers said.
