The £574 Billion Question: What’s Really Stopping Women from Investing? | Dr Ylva Baeckström

Episode Summary In this episode of The Cashflow Show, host Clayton M Coke speaks with Dr Ylva Baeckström, Behavioural Finance Expert at King’s Business School. They explore the UK’s £574 billion gender investment gap, the non-financial barriers holding women back, the power of short structured education, the role of early messaging and role models, and practical ways to close the gap. Chapters 00:00 – Introduction and welcome 00:26 – Dr Baeckström’s background and journey 02:23 – The £574 billion gender investment gap 02:51 – Financial capability as the key barrier 03:20 – How the gap starts in childhood 04:18 – Perception vs reality of investing 05:12 – Time commitment myths 06:33 – Investing is simpler than people think 07:28 – The importance of parental encouragement 09:21 – How 20 minutes a day for 7 days changes perceptions 10:47 – Class, exclusion and complexity 12:14 – Better ways of teaching financial education 13:11 – How eToro’s approach works 15:06 – Fear of getting it wrong 16:33 – Just starting the journey 17:03 – Vision for the future of women and investing 18:28 – Resources and the 7-Day Loud Investing Challenge  Key Discussion Points The UK gender investment gap stands at £574 billion  73% of non-investing women believe they need to know a lot before starting  67% think investing requires a major time commitment  Gender differences in financial confidence appear by age 16  Financial gifts and messaging differ for boys and girls from babyhood  Short, practical learning (20 minutes a day for 7 days) significantly shifts perceptions and willingness to invest  Fear of getting it wrong is largely based on lack of knowledge  The real risk is not investing at all Key Takeaways Investing feels complex until people start learning — then the barrier drops quickly  Short, accessible education is highly effective at changing attitudes and behaviour  Early encouragement, especially from parents and role models, has lasting impact  Exclusion (by gender, class or background) makes finance feel more complicated than it is  The biggest risk for many women is remaining in cash and missing long-term growth Notable Quotes “The real risk for women and other under-invested groups is not investing at all.” – Dr Ylva Baeckström  “Just starting the journey means that you’re taking control of your situation.” – Dr Ylva Baeckström  “It’s not that complex. Absolutely everyone can learn about investing.” – Dr Ylva Baeckström  Actionable Insights for Businesses Design financial education in short, practical sessions rather than long traditional courses  Use plain language and remove unnecessary jargon  Encourage early positive messaging about money and investing for girls and under-represented groups  Support employees and customers with simple, confidence-building investment learning  Focus on getting people started rather than aiming for perfect knowledge first Resources Money and Pensions Service: maps.org.uk  eToro 7-Day Loud Investing Challenge (free, 20 minutes a day) – search “Loud Investing”  Book: Gender and Finance: Addressing Inequality in the Financial Services Industry by Dr Ylva Baeckström The Cashflow Show can be reached here: Website: www.thecashflowshowpodcast.com  Email: [email protected] Twitter: https://twitter.com/thecashflowshow  Instagram: https://instagram.com/thecashflowshowpodcast To sponsor or advertise on The Cashflow Show Podcast, contact us at [email protected] Clayton M Coke can be found here: LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/claytoncoke Email: [email protected] Twitter: https://twitter.com/prmsltd Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prmsltd/ Our theme music is called "The Mediator - aka Theme from The Cashflow Show" [PRS] and "Better Call Clayton" [PRS]  “What are YOU like?”, “60 Second Shoot-Out” &"What About The Tech?" are all intellectual properties of Dialogue [London] Ltd (c) Clayton M Coke/PRMS Ltd/Dialogue [London] Ltd | All Rights Reserved  ★ Support this podcast ★