Financial Surveys Turn Up Gender-Specific Challenges

While few surveyed women investors reported being disrespected by a financial adviser, many reported frictions in day-to-day communication. A recently published study from Nationwide Retirement Institute found that nearly three in 10 women investors (29%) said their advisers sometimes “mansplain” financial concepts—giving explanations that could be unhelpful or dismissive.

However, 95% of female respondents agreed that their adviser treated them the same as male investors, and 68% strongly agreed. Yet 34% of responding women said their advisers could come across as condescending when explaining recommendations or answering questions, and 32% believed their advisers assumed they had less financial knowledge.

“I believe advisers have the best intentions when they are trying to break down financial topics with their women clients—however, it’s important to recognize that what may be intended as a helpful explanation can land as dismissive or condescending,” said Suzanne Ricklin, a senior vice president of Nationwide Retirement Solutions Distribution, in a statement.

Those communication concerns were compounded by broader anxieties about the economy and retirement readiness. More than three-quarters (77%) of women respondents were concerned about a potential U.S. recession. Among nonretired women, only 39% believed they were on track to retire when originally planned, while 14% said they did not know whether they would ever be able to retire.

In response, many surveyed women reported they had sought greater involvement in and clarity about financial decisionmaking. Forty-four percent said they preferred to fully understand all options before making decisions, while 34% said they prefer working with a financial professional to guide planning. Another 21% actively sought educational resources to better understand financial strategies.

Nationwide Retirement Institute’s survey from January 15 through February 6 included 882 women with at least $10,000 in investable assets—of whom 421 worked with a financial professional—and 119 women advisers.

Lonely, ‘Failing’ Providers

Men described a different emotional burden in a survey by debt consolidation company Beyond Finance: financial expectations tied to their sense of self. More than half of male respondents said financial struggles made them feel they were falling short of “being a man.” Nearly two-thirds (65%) said financial concerns negatively affected their mood or mental health on a weekly basis.

That pressure was especially pronounced among younger generations. Nearly half of Generation Z respondents reported daily mental health effects from money stress, compared with 17% of Baby Boomers. Overall, 42% of male respondents said they were not currently making ends meet or barely getting by.

“Financial stress isn’t just a money problem for men. It’s an identity crisis,” said Nathan Astle, a Beyond Finance client financial therapist, in a statement. “For a lot of men, income has become the measuring stick for whether they are succeeding at being a man.”

That identity pressure is rooted in deeply ingrained cultural expectations. Seventy-seven percent of men surveyed said they were raised to believe a man’s primary role is to provide financially for his family. Eighty-two percent believed society still expects men to be the primary earners, while nearly 70% said that expectation is harder to meet today than it was for previous generations.

Many cited rising costs, housing affordability and economic uncertainty as contributing factors. “A man can be showing up in every way that matters—present, engaged, contributing—but if he isn’t hitting some perceived income benchmark, he feels like he’s failing,” Astle said.

Adding to that weight is an expectation that men should handle it without asking for help. Seventy-two percent said society expects them to manage financial challenges without talking about them. More than half (56%) said they had avoided discussing money problems because they felt they should already “have it handled,” while 58% reported feeling isolated by financial pressure.

When describing how debt made them feel, surveyed men most commonly reported frustration (43%), being overwhelmed (32%), anxiety (32%), hopelessness (24%) and embarrassment (22%).

“What stands out to me in this data is the silence,” Astle said. “Men are carrying enormous financial and emotional weight, and most of them are carrying it completely alone.”

Despite that strain, male respondents’ own definitions of success suggested a broader shift in values. More than half (53%) said good mental health is a top indicator of success, followed by strong relationships (45%) and a sense of purpose (44%). Only 31% cited high income.

The Beyond Finance survey conducted in May included 2,000 U.S. adult men evenly split between Generation Z, Millennial, Generation X and Baby Boomer subgroups.

Couples Avoiding Financial Conversations

The individual pressures experienced by women or men often play out within marriages as well. A survey of married Americans by Western & Southern Financial Group, “Married, Yet Misaligned: The Financial Conversations Couples Avoid,” found that while most couples believed they were financially aligned, many avoided key money conversations and disagreed on major long-term issues.

Nearly one-quarter (24%) of respondents had never discussed debt with their spouse, and 40% avoided talking about long-term financial goals early in their relationship. Spending habits and impulse purchases were the leading sources of financial conflict, with only 10% of married respondents saying they never argued about money.

Only 27% of respondents entered marriage with a formal financial plan, yet couples who did were more likely to report being satisfied in their marriage. The findings suggested that even among generally happy couples, significant gaps remain in relation to debt, retirement, family obligations and financial expectations, which can impact financial and emotional stability.

Western & Southern Financial Group surveyed 1,008 married U.S. adults in February, of which 56% were women and 43% men, with a generational breakdown of 10% Baby Boomers, 29% Gen X, 56% Millennials and 5% Gen Z.