South African women may often earn less than men, and have to cope single-handedly with family responsibilities, but that doesn’t stop them leading the stakes when it comes to saving money.
So says John Manyike, Head of Financial Education at Old Mutual, who points out that recent research results emerging from the 2022 Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor (OMSIM) show that many women face significant socio-economic disadvantages. Despite being less likely to take chances with money to increase income than men, they generally put more money away for the future than the men in their lives.
“The OMSIM results showed that 38% of mothers consider themselves to be single parents. Despite carrying the responsibilities related to supporting families, only 25% of respondents said they could rely on their children’s fathers to provide regular financial support. A total of 52% said they got only some financial support from their families.”
“Unsurprisingly, due to being breadwinners without any additional support, women are less likely than men (46% versus 49%) to have unbanked cash savings on hand. They are also significantly less likely (22% against 35%) to go high-tech and invest in cryptocurrencies.”
The OMSIM research also revealed that:
- 41% of women said they would take significant or above average financial risks in favour of higher returns (men 56%). This suggest that women are more risk averse than men where investing is concerned
- Only 22% of women (men 35%) held investments in cryptocurrencies
- 25%of women stated that they would not take any risk at all with the money they were putting aside
- 34% of women (27% of men) said they had cut down on domestic help to reduce household costs
- 41% of women (28% of men) said they were now buying cheaper brands. Women are more agile when it comes to spending.
- Women are more likely to give up the luxury of gym membership (34% versus 24%)
- 75% of female respondents said that they were taking advantage of loyalty programme points to help make ends meet.
The Covid-19 pandemic brought fundamental changes to places of work. The world of the polyjobbers came to the fore, with people working from home taking advantage of the change to a digitally based workplace to take on second jobs. For women the change has been significant with 44% taking up freelance or contract work in addition to their permanent job in 2021 escalating to 53% in only a year.
Despite the move to all things digital, stokvels have been increasing their membership levels. When it comes to these community-driven savings clubs, women are by far the largest investors, with 57% of the estimated total national membership of 11 million who have about R44 billion saved in Stokvel groups. Of these members, the top savers are found mainly in Gauteng, Limpopo, the North West Province, and KwaZulu-Natal.
“Stokvels create a community for women, especially those living in rural areas, and are used for the opportunities they offer to save, invest, and learn from each other’s experiences. Independent research shows that Stokvels are seen by women as tools to be used to help break out of the circle of poverty and reduce their levels of financial dependency,” adds Manyike.
“Stokvels empower women by enabling them to take control of the financial affairs of their families. They also act as a foundation for entry into the formal world of banking with some societies using banks to earn interest on accounts and others even investing in JSE listed companies.”
“Although women are more responsible savers than men and are shouldering an increasingly large portion of family financial commitments, they are still less confident than men when making financial decisions,” says Manyike.
“However, this is changing. When age is used as a measure to examine this gap between men and women, it shows that in Generation Z consumers that financial confidence is higher among women than males,” concludes Manyike. It appears that time will eventually create the financial changes and bring the financial equality that many have been seeking for years.
For more visit: www.oldmutual.co.za
