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9 Mar 2020 – Articles

Women, it’s time to start investing!

In 2020, there is still a big difference between men and women when it comes to earnings and wealth. To mark International Women’s Day, Danske Bank is celebrating its female leaders and is focusing on women and finance in a podcast with Senior Analyst Louise Aggerstrøm Hansen.

When it comes to investing, for example, men continue to dominate. Today, men account for two-thirds of all investments made, and part of the reason for this is simple: women earn significantly less than men and consequently have fewer assets to invest.


Due partly to long periods of maternity leave and lower wages in general, there is today a wide gap between the incomes of men and the incomes of women. This is can also be seen when it comes to personal assets in general. Women simply have less money than men, which is why it’s so important for women to make the most of their money. And here’s where investment comes into the picture. Over time, women’s assets will gradually lose their value unless efforts are made to try to make them grow – whereas men, partly through investing, continue to increase their already sizeable incomes. The result is even greater economic inequality.

Louise Aggerstrøm Hansen

Senior Analyst, Danske Bank




Men’s incomes surpass women’s already from the time men and women are in their 20s, and it continues from there – and this disparity continues throughout the entire career lifespans of men and women. In fact, wage inequality even continues after retirement, primarily due to the fact that men’s higher wages result in much higher retirement savings accumulated over time. Because women typically retire a little earlier than men – and tend to live longer – the income gap becomes even more evident in retirement years.


Gap in income




Source: Danmarks Statistik

“To put it bluntly, men invest to increase their wealth whereas women invest to maintain their wealth. It is a general trend that women’s appetite for financial risk is limited, and this also helps to explain why women are less interested than men are in buying shares,” explains Louise Aggerstrøm Hansen.

Four tips

  • Talk about finance. Understanding you salary, your investments, your private debt and your pension savings is important in accelerating financial equality.
  • Think carefully about your personal finances and consider if this is a topic worth discussing with your family and friends, along the same lines as you talk about topics such children, career, marriage etc.
  • Establish an investment strategy for your savings in line with your goal. Are you doing it for the fun of it and are prepared for any possible outcome? Are you investing for the long-term? Or are you chasing the big win – and therefore willing to accept potentially large losses along the way?
  • Start small. Investing does not require much money to get started. In June – Danske Bank’s online investment offering - you can get started with an investment of just DKK 100.

Podcast on women and investment

To mark International Women's Day Senior Analyst Louise Aggerstrøm Hansen and investment specialist Kathrine Madsen visited our podcast, 'Pengetanker' to talk about women and investment. The podcast is available in Danish. 
Listen to podcast