At Path we think that women need to talk about money.
By not talking about money and by not asking the right questions about what our money is doing we are inadvertently giving up control.
This can affect women in all sorts of ways and at every stage of their life journey – from being poorer at retirement or after another significant life event such as having children, splitting up with their partner or leaving their job.
We believe that money is one of the last big taboos still facing women. But us not speaking about it is not making the problem go away – and in fact in many cases it is just storing up problems for the future – both our own and the planet’s.
At Path, we know that women are twice as likely to want to invest their money in line with their values.
Yet paradoxically, at the same time women are giving up their ability to do more of what they want to in the future by not giving the financial aspects of their lives as much attention as they could – either as a deliberate choice – or more often, even without realising it.
Not actively taking an interest also means that many women (and men!) don’t know that their investments are propping up industries that are damaging the planet.
We’re on a mission to start the conversation by actively talking to more women about their finances. From discussing ceding control to seeding change – we want to engage women in discussions that allow them to regain or retain financial choice, freedom, power and purpose.
Because purpose is one of Path’s key missions – we help people to align their money with their values.
At Path more than 50% of our customers and 30% of our adviser qualified staff are women. As well as shaping the general conversation of women and finance, we are also committed to changing the landscape for women in the financial industry – supporting and encouraging the best female talent in the industry to gain recognition and career success.
We are passionate about empowering women in regards to their finances and their choices about where their money goes and what impact it can have. That’s why you’ll see us at events such as the Women of the World festival talking about money and asking more women to start a conversation with us – but also with their female friends – about their finances.
Will you join us?
Path Women – Our thoughts & journey within finance
Seeding Change
Click on the boxes below for more about what women have been telling us they want to know more about – and think we need to talk to each other about – on the different stages of their financial life journey:
Bright Beginnings
Forging a Path
Finding Balance
Time to Thrive
Independence
Sowing the Seed
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During our attendance at the WoW – Women of the World Festival, London, we had the pleasure of having the visual minute artist, Julia Miranda capture some of the thoughts, concerns and feelings of women regarding their relationship with money.
Many spoke to Julia or the Path women on our stand, others attended and participated in the Money & Me finance panel discussion hosted by Jude Kelly, and others simply noted down their pledges to themselves, the planet and future generations on our UN SDG tree’s seed paper leaves. This beautiful piece of artwork encapsulates the different journeys that many women go on with their finances and the factors that they have to consider along the way. It’s a conversation we are proud to have started and look forward to continuing… #seedingchange
Latest news and blogs from Path Women
Protecting your money and mental wellbeing: our expert advice
If you’re struggling with your mental health, finding the motivation to look at your finances can feel like a step too far. But, taking control of your money is a very positive thing.
No-fault divorce: our tips for a financially fair settlement
It’s the biggest shake-up in divorce law in half a century. Changes will make the divorce process simpler, and bring many benefits. However, speedier divorces could also lead to rushed financial settlements and an unfair sharing of overall wealth – in particular of pensions, ISAs and other investments.
Three big takeaways from the Women of the World Festival
Earlier this month, we had the pleasure of attending the Women of the World (WOW) Festival 2022, which celebrates the achievements of women, girls and non-binary people, and confronts gender injustice across the globe.
Top financial tips for couples splitting up this Divorce Month
Getting legal support for yourself during a divorce is vital, but many are unaware of the importance of financial help during this period, especially with new rules they may be unfamiliar with. At a time when traditionally divorce is at its highest, it’s important that people understand the financial implications and receive the best help they can.
Additional resources
Women in Finance Charter
As part of our commitment to the Women in Finance Charter, we have signed up to the following actions to promote gender diversity and inclusion:
- Having a senior management team member who is responsible and accountable for gender diversity and inclusion
- Setting a target for female representation in our Senior Management team; (as well as aiming for fair female representation across all levels and areas in the business).
- Publishing progress annually against these targets
- Ensuring any senior management bonus scheme is linked to delivery against these internal targets on gender diversity
Our target is to achieve or exceed 40% female representation at Senior Management level by 2025.
In addition to our Senior Management target, we are aiming for 50% of our workforce across the business to be female as well as 50% of our management staff.
How are we doing?
Since signing up to the Charter we have already seen commitment to our pledged targets, with 50% of staff across the business being female (an increase of 2%), we have maintained the 43% of management positions being held by women and have made our first major step into achieving our longer term of goal of 40% female representation at senior management level with an increase to 25%.
Path is committed to a culture of inclusion and whilst our Women in Finance targets are an essential metric to understand performance and keep our ‘feet to the fire’, we also aim to instil good working practice through recruitment, training & career progression programmes and policies which support the development of female talent within the business.
2 keys elements are:
- Ensuring we support staff through flexible working and professional development.
- Ensuring we support female progression into senior roles, through training, supervision and mentoring.
We believe a diverse organisation results in more diverse views and is more representative of our clients, which will ultimately lead to more success in our shared goals.
RISK WARNING:
As always with investments, your capital is at risk. The value of your investment can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. This information should not be regarded as financial advice.
Path Financial are leading ethical financial advisers based in the UK.
The Path Financial Limited. Registered in England. Company No. 11583740. Registered office address: The Path Financial Limited, Watch Oak, Battle, TN33 0YD.
Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The Path Financial Limited is entered on the Financial Services Register https://register.fca.org.uk under reference 827270.
The guidance and/or advice contained within this website is subject to the UK regulatory regime, and is therefore targeted at consumers based in the UK.
© 2024 The Path Financial Limited. All rights reserved.
[1] https://ig.ft.com/gender-pay-gap-UK
[2] https://www.unbiased.co.uk/news/financial-adviser/women-and-investing
[3] https://www.carersuk.org/news-and-campaigns/press-releases/facts-and-figures
[4] https://www.canadalife.co.uk/news/31-million-uk-adults-don-t-have-a-will-in-place/
[5] https://www.ftadviser.com/investments/2019/11/20/more-daves-than-women-running-funds/
[6] https://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/news/210141/(still)-more-funds-run-by-daves-than-women.aspx
[7] https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/research/research-note-gender-diversity-in-uk-financial-services.pdf
