Study: Women's financial confidence is dropping

Many women feel less financially secure today than they did three years ago, and it’s partially due to a lack of confidence in their financial decision-making skills, a new study found. 

According to the 2019 Women, Money and Power Study from Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, 62% of women feel financially secure, down from 68% in 2016. 

And more than half, 57%, said they wish they were more confident when making financial decisions. 

The study found that millennial women feel the most financially empowered and reported they have more earning power than ever before. They are the most comfortable of any age group with current market conditions (49%, vs. 29% of Gen Xers and 37% of baby boomers) and are more likely to have asked for a promotion or raise at work.

Fewer women overall said they had asked for a promotion or a raise — 27% in 2019 compared with 44% in 2016. 

Although 90% of women said they are either the primary financial manager for their family or share the responsibilities, fewer said they were their household's CFO, down from 53% in 2013 to 47% in 2019.

Twenty-four percent of women said they either have a professional advisor or have used one in the past, but 60% of them feel the advisor treats their spouse as the primary decision-maker. 

The study also noted that fewer women are the primary breadwinner in their household, down from 60% in 2013 to 38% in 2019. But the study also found that more divorced women feel more financially secure (65% in 2019 versus 50% in 2016), and that the longer they have been divorced, the better they understand financial matters.