Women left with greater financial anxiety post-pandemic

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Almost half of female employees (45%) say they now feel a greater level of financial anxiety than before the pandemic, compared to 38% of men, research has shown, suggesting targeted financial wellbeing approaches could pay dividends for employers.

The research by asset management firm Close Brothers also found that three in five women (59%) either had already or now planned to make changes to their financial preparedness.

Managing day-to day spending more effectively (73%) and building up an emergency pot (65%) were their key priorities.

However, less positively, female employees were often focusing on shoring up their immediate finances at the expense of their longer-term saving, risking a further widening of the pension gap, Close Brothers argued.

The survey of 2,000 employees, ‘Expecting the unexpected: a spotlight on preparing for a crisis’, concluded that nearly a quarter of female employees (24%) felt financially unprepared for the coronavirus crisis and subsequent lockdowns. This compared to 14% of men.

Just 28% of women said they had not experienced any financial consequences from the pandemic, against 37% of men who said they had been untouched financially.

The findings also showed a significant disparity regarding financial, mental, and physical health. More than two in five of the women polled (44%) said they worried more about their financial health as a result of the pandemic compared to a third (34%) of men.

More than half (56%) also worried about their mental health, versus 45% of men, and half were concerned about their physical health, again higher than the 40% of men