International Women’s Day: Top financial challenges facing women in 2026 – and how to overcome them

International Women’s Day is celebrated annually on 8 March. It recognises women’s social, economic, political and cultural achievements while calling for further action to promote gender equality.

While women have made significant strides in financial independence, persistent barriers remain. These challenges can make it harder for women to build and preserve the wealth they need to achieve their goals and establish long-term security.

Indeed, a recent survey commissioned by the charity StepChange shows that women in the UK are more likely to feel financial strain than men. The findings, published in January 2026, show that 47% of women worry more about money than they did a year ago, compared to just 39% of men.

Keep reading to learn about women’s top financial challenges in 2026 and discover five practical ways you could overcome these obstacles and face your future with confidence.

Financial challenges you might face as a woman in 2026

Of course, every woman’s financial situation is unique. However, there are some common barriers they may share, including:

Women typically earn less than men (the gender pay gap)

In October 2025, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the gender pay gap stood at 6.9% across full and part-time employees. This means that the average hourly earnings for women are 6.9% lower than for men.

The gender pay gap persists because women are more likely to:

• Work part-time
• Be under-represented in high-paying sectors or senior roles
• Take career breaks to care for children or other family members

Studies suggest that women may also be more cautious about negotiating starting salaries and requesting promotions.

According to the Guardian, the UK’s gender pay gap won’t close until 2056 at the current rate of progress.

On average, women have smaller pension pots than men when they retire (the gender pension gap)

The most recent government data shows that the gender pension gap is 35%, rising to 37% for employees eligible for auto-enrolment.

This represents the average difference in private pension wealth between men and women around the normal minimum pension age (55 rising to 57 on 6 April 2028), which is the earliest you can usually access these funds.

Factors such as lower lifetime earnings and career breaks contribute to the gender pension gap, which can make it harder for women to build a sustainable retirement income.

Divorce can have a disproportionately negative effect on women’s finances

Legal & General has revealed that women see their household income cut in half in the year following divorce, while men’s incomes fall by just 30% over the same period.

What’s more, divorce may exacerbate pension inequality.

A 2021 study by the University of Manchester found that only 12% of divorces involved some form of pension sharing arrangement. Additionally, in around half of couples, one partner held 90% of the pension wealth, usually the man.

As such, if pensions are overlooked during a divorce or a woman waives her right to these funds (for example, in exchange for keeping the family home), this could significantly reduce her potential retirement income.

Women are less likely than men to invest (the gender investment gap)

Investing can be a powerful part of long-term financial planning. It allows money to grow through compounding, where returns generate further returns, and it could help your wealth outpace inflation over time. In contrast, cash savings may be gradually eroded by inflation.

Unfortunately, research suggests that women are typically less confident about investing in the stock market than men. According to research by King’s College London, in the UK, men have £567 billion more invested than women, and men are twice as likely as women to have stocks and shares.

There are encouraging signs that women are becoming more proactive about investing – HSBC has revealed that nearly half of women who earn more than £100,000 a year are investing regularly. However, among the general population, only 13% of women hold investments.

Women have longer average life expectancies than men

Women tend to live several years longer than men. For example, the ONS’s life expectancy calculator shows that a 50-year-old man has an average life expectancy of 84 years, compared to 87 years for a woman. Moreover, a woman who is 50 today is almost twice as likely to live to 100 as a man of the same age.

While a longer life might seem like a good thing, it can increase women’s ‘longevity risk’. In other words, they are more likely to outlive their retirement wealth than men.

Women may also face higher later-life care costs, because the likelihood of developing certain health conditions increases with age, and they may need to fund more years of residential support.

5 practical ways to overcome these financial obstacles and take control of your wealth

Fortunately, it’s not all doom and gloom. While women continue to face unique financial challenges in 2026, there are steps you can take to overcome these obstacles, including:

1. Improve your financial literacy – Educating yourself and working closely with your financial planner could provide the knowledge and confidence you need to take control of your wealth, for example, by investing more and negotiating better
2. Build and maintain an emergency fund – Setting aside sufficient funds to cover at least three to six months’ worth of essential living expenses could provide a valuable safety net if unexpected events or financial shocks occur. This could prevent expensive borrowing or dipping into savings, which might hamper your progress towards your long-term goals.
3. Prioritise pension contributions early and consistently – The longer your money remains invested, the more time it has to benefit from compounding. Even modest contributions made consistently could grow significantly over many years or decades. Where possible, consider keeping payments going during career breaks, coordinating pension planning as a couple to make the most of available tax allowances, and increasing contributions if your income rises.
4. Consider investing some of your wealth – Investing in line with your risk tolerance and long-term goals could potentially deliver higher returns than cash savings. This might help you build and grow wealth, helping to close some of the persistent gender financial gaps discussed previously.
5. Check in regularly with your financial planner – At Francis Clark Financial Planning, we use sophisticated cashflow modelling software to help you visualise how the financial strategies you put in place today could affect your wealth over the long term. Regular reviews allow us to stress-test your plans against different scenarios, so that you can make informed decisions and adapt to life’s changes.

Francis Clark Financial Planning has a strong commitment to supporting women’s professional and financial success. Around 40% of our financial planners are women – in comparison, just 18% of financial advisers and planners in the UK are female. We were also shortlisted for a Professional Adviser Women in Finance Award for our Contribution to Gender Diversity at the end of last year.

Read more about our commitment to supporting women in finance.

Please note

This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.

Please do not act based on anything you might read in this article. All contents are based on our understanding of HMRC legislation, which is subject to change.

The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate cashflow planning.

A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). The fund value may fluctuate and can go down, which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

The tax implications of pension withdrawals will be based on your individual circumstances. Thresholds, percentage rates, and tax legislation may change in subsequent Finance Acts.

Workplace pensions are regulated by The Pensions Regulator.

The value of your investments (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Investments should be considered over the longer term and should fit in with your overall attitude to risk and financial circumstances.