This article appears courtesy of Global Investor.
The report, the second of a series examining the changing dynamics in the sector, concludes that globally women carry greater economic and financial weight than ever before, raising questions about how they think and act financially, how their attitudes differ from those of male clients and what organisations can do to capture the new source of business.
"A Question of Gender" says the commercial world is now taking notice of women's growing spending power. "The challenge for financial institutions is to take notice of these differences and recognise that a one-size-fits-all approach to how they communicate with their clients doesn't work."
Aware of the different approaches and requirement of the genders, private banks and other financial services providers are now paying considerable attention towards making their products and services more female-focused.
The BWI study found that marriage is a significant source of wealth for around one-quarter of women, compared with just one in 10 men. Globally, men still make most of the financial decisions in a marriage or partnership, but this is changing for younger generations as the Internet, newspapers and specialist publications help women become better informed.