We’ve always known what we’re doing
Let me say this loud for the people in the back: women understand finance. For centuries, we’ve managed households, businesses, budgets, and entire lives. Yet somehow, we’re still asked to prove it.
As someone who has spent over a decade in marketing – yes, the field often reduced to “pretty pictures” – I’ve lost count of the times I’ve had to explain that my work is not fluff. It’s commercial. It’s data. It’s strategy. It’s what drives revenue for a business.
Redefining financial success
Marketing is frequently dismissed as non-essential, as though customer acquisition, margins, and growth are accidental outcomes. In reality, marketing is all about numbers: ROI, budgets, CAC, CLV. The same misunderstanding persists in how we view women and money.
Finance isn’t just about market cycles or investment portfolios. It’s cash flow, risk management, and long-term thinking, whether in a boardroom, a family business, or a side hustle. And women are accomplishing all of it.
According to analysis by BCG, the financial wealth controlled by women globally has grown at a striking pace in recent years, outpacing overall global wealth growth. In Australia, JBWere estimates that women are set to inherit a significant share – as much as 65% – of the nation’s multitrillion-dollar intergenerational wealth transfer in the coming years. These aren’t just social trends; they are significant economic realities.
What gets measured gets managed
ASIC’s Financial Attitudes and Behaviour Tracker reports that that 63% of men and 48% of women meet basic financial literacy benchmarks. But this gap often says more about how the tests are constructed than about actual financial capability. Standard measurements focus on textbook concepts while overlooking the everyday ways women manage money – from budgeting and decision-making to running households and businesses.
These quieter forms of financial capability might not always appear in surveys, but they absolutely show up in the results.
I know this firsthand. As a first-generation immigrant and a woman, I didn’t have generational wealth or industry connections to rely on. I learned to handle money, advance my career, and grow confidence by building businesses and taking initiative.
And I’m far from alone. Millions of women, across backgrounds and industries, are quietly building, managing, investing, and leading, whether or not anyone is keeping official score.
Markets reward results. So fund them
Why make this about gender? Because if our society truly values performance, the numbers speak for themselves. According to BCG’s analysis of U.S. startups, female-founded companies generated 10% more cumulative revenue over five years than their male-founded counterparts and delivered $0.78 in revenue per dollar invested compared to just $0.31 by male-led teams. First Round Capital’s study found companies with at least one female founder delivered 63% higher returns than all-male teams. In the tech sector, research cited by Kauffman Fellows indicates that women-led startups can see up to 35% higher ROI compared to all-male teams.
Despite these results, SBE Australia reports that only 2% of venture capital in Australia went to women-only founding teams – a decrease from the prior year. Globally, women still receive just a fraction of total VC funding. This isn’t simply a gender gap; it represents a market inefficiency.
This discussion isn’t about ideology. It’s about business performance. Financial institutions are starting to recognise this, developing tools and products tailored to women’s needs and ambitions. Nonetheless, access remains starkly unequal, especially for First Nations women, recent migrants, and those outside traditional power networks.
Expanding financial inclusion isn’t just a matter of fairness. It increases the economy’s overall potential.
We are already here
Women aren’t waiting for inclusion. We’re already doing the work. What’s lacking is recognition. Financial capability isn’t about confidence or charisma; it’s about results. And women are consistently delivering them.
By Anja Barisic
About the author
Anja Barisic is a senior marketing consultant with 13 years’ experience building brands across both corporate and startup environments. She is passionate about redefining how we talk about money, value, and power – especially as it relates to women and migrants.
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