As part of our focus on women and finance in celebration of International Women’s Day on Sunday, Linda Johnstone, Head of Investment Proposition at Novia Global reflects on how platforms could help when it comes to closing the gender gap in financial advice.

It is increasingly rare for a year to get under way without renewed scrutiny of how well the advice industry serves women. 2026 has proved no exception.

Scottish Widows and Boring Money stepped up to the plate on this occasion. Published in the first week of January, their Women and Wealth report revealed that women are twice as likely as men to be dissatisfied with an adviser[1].

Specifically, of a thousand advised clients questioned, 30% of women said their advisers were “not as knowledgeable as expected”. Just 15% of men declared themselves similarly disappointed.

Many women expressed particular frustration with an adviser’s inability to “think outside the box”. They were often especially dismayed to be offered advice or suggestions that they had already come up with themselves and also felt communication was generally lacking.

These findings raise several familiar and difficult questions. For me – working within the advised platform space – the most pressing is this: what can platforms do to help?

An industry struggling to reflect reality

This issue matters now because the advice industry stands accused of letting women down at a time when they are set to gain the bulk of the greatest wealth transfer in history.

It is more than 20 years since the Centre for Economic and Business Research calculated that women would hold 60% of the UK’s wealth by the end of 2025. Although the prediction might not have been fully realised just yet[2], the direction of travel is clear.

This is part of a broader shift. In the US, for example, an estimated $124 trillion is expected to change hands by 2048, with women set to receive 70% of it.

Wherever in the world the phenomenon might unfold, the explanation is straightforward. Women tend to live longer than men, which means they are likely to inherit more of the wealth that older generations hand down.

All of this underscores a clear need for more women advisers. Yet the financial services arena as a whole remains conspicuously male-dominated. Even in recent years, despite a succession of initiatives, growth in the number of women joining the advice community has barely exceeded a trickle[3].

A forum for multiple perspectives

Realistically, platforms cannot swell the ranks of women advisers – at least not directly. They cannot fix overnight a structural issue decades in the making.

Yet what they can do is encourage diversity of thought. This requires platforms to utilise their position at the heart of networks capable of contributing to a system better able to meet every client’s needs.

The key here is that diversity of thought is fundamentally about listening. It demands dialogue, critical scrutiny and a willingness to embrace the insights, opinions and ideas of all stakeholders.

Platforms are inherently well-placed in this regard. They serve advisers and clients alike. They answer to regulators and policymakers. They are inextricably linked with technology providers.

In effect, they are a linchpin in the broader conception and delivery of financial services and products. Used well, this makes platforms an important forum for open-minded, multi-perspective, constructive dialogue.

From diversity of thought to co-creation

Crucially, diversity of thought lends itself to co-creation. This can be a powerful response where a stakeholder group feels marginalised or let down.

Co-creation is about meeting unmet needs. It is about understanding what stakeholders want and keeping them informed as products and services take shape.

Perhaps above all, it is about welcoming and responding to criticism. This means working collectively to address issues such as gaps in knowledge, limited choice, poor communication and the lack of women advisers.

It does not automatically follow that diversity of thought and co-creation will resolve every concern at a stroke. Addressing an issue as entrenched as the underrepresentation of women advisers inevitably takes time.

But diversity of thought and co-creation can help accelerate progress. By contrast, operating in silos – or doing nothing – can only slow it down. Ultimately, we all have a role to play, and platforms’ capacity to support positive, lasting change should not be underestimated.

---

[1] See, for example, Boring Money Insights and Scottish Widows: Women and Wealth: Building Better Adviser Relationships, 2025 – https://platform.scottishwidows.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Women-and-Wealth-Building-Better-Advice-Relationships.pdf.

[2] See, for example, Times: “Women were supposed to be richer than men by now. Why aren’t they?”, September 18 2025 – https://www.thetimes.com/money/family-finances/article/why-women-arent-as-wealthy-as-they-should-be-8brx55nbl.

[3] See, for example, Financial Times: “Number of female advisers grows by just 2%”, February 20 2025 – https://www.ftadviser.com/content/ad5e56e4-c49d-47df-a4ca-e7bf953b874d.