A century of struggle for women’s rights has finally shaped an almost gender-neutral world: these women can now make similar career and life choices, with a few exceptions, to those of men. However, trading and investing in stock market ventures remain a “male” market, with only a small percentage of women. How is it possible? The myths that keep women from success in the trading market might surprise you.
What keeps women from successful investing in stock market trades
Let’s look at some common myths that can explain the phenomenon of trading as a male profession.
Women are not good with numbers
It’s absolutely wrong, which we can see from the recent survey statistics, which indicate the ratio of men to women for different jobs. Cashiers: 73.5%; Financial clerks – 63.9%; Accountants and auditors – 62.2%; Specialists in business operations – 60.9%; Financial specialists – 56.1%; Budget analysts – 51.4%. It is clear that the numbers do not bother women and they are comfortable doing calculations. However, they are only 20% when it comes to forex.
Women think trading is dangerous
Still wrong. Women tend to be more careful about money and take less risk, but these qualities are really great for trading. In reality, women make better traders than men – they avoid the most common mistakes due to a very responsible approach to money management and earn more. Greed and impulsiveness are not friends of anyone in the global marketplace, and women are perfectly capable of taking reasonable risks without losing control. After all, they can handle the kids, chores, and work at the same time, which brings us to the next myth.
They can’t do proper research
If you want to trade successfully, you ought to learn more about the technical aspects first. Some people think that the average woman would not invest her time in tasks like technical analysis. Forex is an attractive market for so many people precisely because it does not require an economics degree and is understandable even to newcomers. On top of that, you can find free educational materials offered by any forex broker and learn forex fundamentals in just a few weeks. Having said that, it is clear that none of these suggestions is legitimate enough as to why trading is not popular with women.
The unexpected truth
Gone are the days when forex trading was a prerogative reserved exclusively for businessmen.. Today the barriers have collapsed, and trading is open to everyone, even though Forex is still dominated by very masculine culture.
Women have a different mindset about money. They prefer to seek a stable and predictable source of income and plan for the long term, but the diversity of trading strategies also provides suitable options. It seems that women’s trading needs to be reconsidered for the future … However, there is room to speed up this process.
How to introduce more women to the market?
Old stereotypes die hard. But the winds of change are blowing in the market, which has seen the female presence increase in recent years. In addition, for this trend to materialize, women also need to learn some notions about forex trading for successful investing in stock market trades. Finally, forex is not a scary place. Simple risk management tools help you protect your funds and reduce stress. Basic trading psychology advice will also help you stay calm and confident. Other than that, FX is a legitimate market where millions of people make money every day — just like with any other job, but with better terms and better prospects.
Working mothers, students, women from areas with high employment rates, or any girl aiming to be financially independent — there is a list of types of women who could benefit from the idea of earning money at home and thus have flexible working hours.
But women should also be brave about this. Men are fearless and do not shy away from risk, while women act more cautiously and rely on safety. There are also differences in terms of investment that cannot be dismissed out of hand. But does gender really have an impact on success on the stock market?
On the stock market, more risk also means more returns. As a result, men should do better than women. But they don’t – at least not always. Depending on which period you are looking at, sometimes women’s portfolios perform better and sometimes men’s portfolios. The gentlemen who tend to be more willing to take risks were able to generate noticeably higher returns in 2009 and 2010. They benefited from the general stock market upswing immediately after the financial market crisis. However, her more aggressive investment strategy had cost her significantly more during the crisis. The typically female strategy of cautious diversification paid off here, so that women got through the crisis with fewer losses.
Incidentally, women are only more cautious in the stock market as long as their wealth is less than that of men. A scientific study was able to prove that women and men accept equally high risks with the same budget. The following applies to both genders: the more money is available, the greater the willingness to invest in risky financial products.