India has the widest gender wealth gap in the APAC region: WTW report

• Only 3% of women in the workforce occupy senior positions in India.
  
• Globally, women in senior expert and leadership roles had less than 62% of the accumulated wealth that their male counterparts enjoyed at retirement.
  
• South Korea was found to be the best performing country in the APAC region in terms of gender wealth gap.

A new study report by WTW revealed that India has the widest gender wealth gap (64%) as compared to other APAC countries. This is largely due to the higher burden of caregiving responsibilities.

The 2022 WTW Global Gender Wealth Equity report found that opportunities for women in leadership positions are also limited, with only 3% of women in the workforce occupying senior positions in India.

“Women also tend to assume childcare responsibilities at a young age for the region, resulting in financial impacts from which women have limited capacity to recover. Compounding this is that long term financial decisions generally rest with men and financial literacy for working women tends to be lower,” stated the report.

Globally, women in senior expert and leadership roles were found to have less than 62% of the accumulated wealth that their male counterparts enjoyed at retirement.

Moreover, at 69%, a substantial gap exists in mid-level professional and technical roles globally, narrowing significantly to 89% in frontline operational roles.

“Given the variety of cultures, traditions and differences in the relative prosperity and social equality across the region, it’s unsurprising that the results are mixed. However, wealth equity for women in senior expert and leadership roles remains a particular challenge for Asia,” said Clare Muhiudeen, head of Asia, WTW.

South Korea has been found as the best performing country in the APAC region in terms of gender wealth gap.

“In South Korea, the earnings limits embedded in social security benefits limit the accumulation of male relative to female wealth,” the report said.

There has been an increase in the number of measures taken by corporates to reverse the trend of gender discrimination through the recent environmental, social and governance (ESG) awakening. However, more steps need to be taken to further narrow the gap, says the report.

“By focusing on accumulated wealth at retirement, the disparity can be quantified, and actions can be taken through broader society, government and organisations to equalise wealth outcomes,” Manjit Basi, senior director, Integrated & Global Solutions, WTW, said.

In the APAC region, women are expected to accumulate 76% of the men’s wealth levels, which is only two points above the global average.

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