Women’s role in the Retirement Industry

On the 9th August 1956 women in South Africa marched and demonstrated against the extension of Pass Laws to African women and showed solidarity against discrimination. As we celebrate women’s month in August, twenty-three years into our new-found democracy, gender equality and the role that women play particularly in the financial sector, is still a concern.

Geraldine Fowler is the Deputy President of the Institute Retirement Fund Africa (IRFA), who will be hosting the annual conference at the ICC in Durban from the 10th -12th September and she maintain that empowering women in the retirement industry and the art of retirement saving, is of utmost importance.

According to a Grant Thornton report on women in business in 2015, about 39% of local businesses do not have any women in leadership positions and women hold only 23% of senior positions in SA – down from 27%.

“Highlighting the role of female participation in the retirement industry is key for us. In conjunction with the goal of attracting more women into an executive position in the industry we also want to empower women to acknowledge retirement as a safety net for themselves and their families. It becomes imperative for financial and retirement institutions to offer women information and awareness about the importance of saving for retirement at an early age through workshops and seminars”, says Fowler.

Research shows that compared to men, women are saving far less for retirement and see retirement saving as a lower financial priority although more women continue to make great strides financially.

Fowler says, “Information in retirement saving is critical to lessen the socioeconomic reliance on the state. But we know that saving for retirement is continuing to be tough for some women who have not yet begun to save for their retirement and by empowering them through forums such as our conference, we believe it could give them the edge

The role of the annual IRFA conference is to assist in educating and informing retirement institutions about the important trends and how investing in a retirement fund at an early stage especially for women can assist in financial freedom.

“Women month recognizes excellence in women empowerment and taking control of their financial planning options. We call on women to take up the baton from the women of 1956 and engage in propelling gender equity in the retirement industry,” Fowler concluded.