What Women Need to Know Now
Emma Hardisty, Gary Walker Wealth Management
Perfect. So hi, guys. I’m Emma. Thank you, Wendy, for the introduction. Today I really want to touch on something that’s affected more than half the population but isn’t spoke about enough, and that is financial inequality, and that’s where I came up with What Women Need to Know Now. So, let’s start with some real occupational truths in the room. Women are tied with significantly less than men, and I’m not talking about pennies. On average, women have £100,000 less in their pension quotes at retirement. That gap is life-changing, and yet many people don’t even realize it’s happening. We also hear about that pay gap at the top there, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface are the hidden factors: unpaid care work, part-time roles, lack of investment confidence, and systemic bias backed into our financial systems. Here’s the kicker. Women are actually living longer, and on average five years longer than a man and more likely to spend time in care.
So, not only are we retiring with less. We need that money to last us even longer. That gap isn’t just unfair. It’s quite unsustainable. Then, please don’t get me started on this motherhood penalty that we all know about in the room, but taking a career break for children means losing pay, promotions, pension contributions, and when women like myself come back to the workplace, we’re often sidelined, and that gap follows us around for the rest of our working life. There’s also a part-time trap now, so three out of four part-time goals are filled by women. These jobs often come without pensions, benefits, or a clear path to progress. The workload is real, but the recognition is not. My opinion, it’s structural setback disguised as flexibility. In my opinion, women aren’t risk averse, we’re underrepresented, so most financial content is created with one person in mind, and that’s the male in the room, so leaving women out of the narrative.
When we hesitate to engage, it’s not that we’re not confident. It’s that we don’t see ourselves within that conversation. The fragile world, it’s not built for women. So, from investment ads to pension policy, we’ve always been that afterthought, and that makes it harder for women to access good, honest advice and actually trust it, as could be seen by that skating stat. Like I said, our pension system was built in an era when men worked and women stayed to home. For decades, it awarded one income, but it was his or your guys over there, but it wasn’t until 1975, the same year women were allowed to open a bank account without a man’s signature, that we got equal access. So, it’s also very bleak from me, but here’s the thing; We can change this. It’s not a life sentence. It’s a result of systems, and systems can be reworked, but it starts with awareness, bold conversations, and refusing to stay silent. So, how are we actually going to tackle this?
We need to know our worth, so let’s start with that. Know your salary, know your market rates, and ask for it. Negotiate like your future depends on it, because it truly does. Every pay rise you get is a pension boost in disguise. Then, we also have compound growth, so compound growth turns time into money. Start early, stay consistent. It’s not about timing the market. It’s time in the market that builds real wealth, so if you take anything from my talk today, let it be that your time is your greatest asset. Then, what else? Women, we’re also told to prioritise everything, so bills, dropping kids to school, everything apart from ourselves, but your future self deserves to seat at that table too, so your pension is the self-care for tomorrow. It’s not extra. Pay it like it’s your most important bill, because one day it will be. Money talk is still so taboo, especially for women, but silence feeds inequality. Start the conversation with your friends, your neighbors, the women sitting next to you in the room.
Start that conversation, because what we don’t talk about holds power over us, but also employers in the room, please step up. This isn’t just a people’s issue. It’s a performance look. Financial inequality costs you talent, engagement, and trust. Fair pay and financial education aren’t perks. They’re power, so stet up, because when women thrive, workplace is due too. At the end of the day, it is affecting your bottom line, so with 13 million days of work being lost last year due to working, saving time off due to poor financial well-being, and the cost to employers be £182 pounds per day, I think we can all see just how quickly that can up. But most people in this room, like myself, I especially wasn’t in school, we were never taught how to manage and fact start plan for retirement, but it’s never too late to learn. It’s definitely not too late to teach. So, we all have, as employers in the room, a powerful opportunity here. Financial education workshops.
You already invest in training, so invest in your people’s not choose to. This, for me, is not about numbers. This is about freedom, the freedom to walk away from a bad job or a bad relationship, the freedom to choose your career path, start again, take a break, retire early. Financial security gives us women options, and with that comes a future we get to shape on our terms. This isn’t just a talk. This is a call to action. We’ve seen the gaps, the pay, the pension, full representation, but we are not powerless. We are not stuck, and we’re standing on the edge of change, and we all have a role to play. So, I’m asking you, everyone in this room, join me, challenge our data systems, start conversation that feels so awkward, but are so, so necessary. Empower the women around you with knowledge, support, and opportunity because this isn’t just about money. It’s about the quality, dignity of future generations. We owe it to ourselves and we owe it to our daughters. Thanks.
Watch Emma delivering her session over on Vimeo >>>>> DisruptHR Glasgow 6.0 – June 19 2025 on Vimeo
