On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2024, there are numerous studies, findings and opinions available. KSV1870, DataScientest, McKinsey, Mastercard, PwC, EY, Erste Bank and many more highlight in their reports where women will stand in the Austrian economy in 2024. These illustrate in which areas there is still a need to catch up in Austria in order to achieve gender equality. If developments progress at the same pace as before, according to UN Women, equal pay between men and women will not be achieved until 2069 – and the gender pay gap is not the only problem. The good news: the situation is not hopeless.
KSV1870: The proportion of “female founders” in Austria is declining
On the occasion of International Women’s Day on March 8th, the Austrian Credit Protection Association published an analysis that shows: The number of female founders in Austria has been declining since 2019. While in that year 26 percent of newly founded registered companies were founded or co-founded by women, in 2023 it was only 25 percent. Twelve percent were founded exclusively by women, another thirteen percent by women and men together. The proportion of female managers in top management is also stagnating. There is at least a slight increase in the number of female supervisory board members – they have increased from 19 to 23 percent.
DataScientest and McKinsey: Women in Tech still underrepresented
A current analysis by McKinsey 2023 shows that the tech industry could use even more women: The proportion of women in tech roles in Europe is 22 percent overall. In the area of DevOps and cloud, women currently only make up eight percent. But according to the educational institute DataScientest, there is hope for improvement soon, at least in the area of data science. The gender ratio of four leading data science courses from the DataScientest institute in Germany was examined. The proportion of women is more balanced than in other European countries with the same courses. The Data Analytics course is even attended by 50 percent of women. According to McKinsey, doubling the proportion of women in the tech industry from the current 22 to 45 percent by 2027 would increase the gross domestic product (GDP) in Europe by up to 600 billion euros.
Techworld with Nana: Österreichs Tech-Influencerin No. 1
Mastercard financial study: Only a quarter of Austrians feel they are fairly paid
12,000 women and men from European countries were surveyed on the topic of financial inclusion: Only 26 percent of women in Austria think that they receive the same pay and pension provisions as their male colleagues. More than one in four Austrians feel their financial independence is limited by the gender-specific income gap. They are not alone in Europe, as 28 percent of European women feel the same way. According to UN Women, given current developments, global pay equality will not be achieved until 2069. Mastercard itself wants to have already closed the gender pay gap in its own company because, according to a press release, women and men earn the same amount for the same job at the same career level. Also exciting: 28 percent of women use social media for their financial education – TikTok is viewed skeptically as a source of financial information. Artificial intelligence does not seem to have reached the topic of financial advice yet, as only four percent use digital or AI wealth advisors. For men it is eight percent.
PwC Women in Work Index: Women earn 19 percent less than men
Management consultancy PwC has examined global progress in achieving gender equality in the workplace. The conclusion: As in the previous year, Austria only ranks 26th in an international comparison and is therefore one of the last placed. From the Women in Work Index 2024, Luxembourg, Iceland and Slovenia emerge as frontrunners, while progress is slow here. Women in Austria earn 19 percent less than men. The issue of child care is cited as a central factor for the gender pay gap. Men were also surveyed: Overall, 68 percent of Austrians are of the opinion that men and women are not paid equally for work of equal value. According to the results, it will take more than 50 years for the gender pay gap to be closed in all 33 OECD countries.
Trade Republic and saint sass: “RETIRE RICH” campaign to draw attention to the gender pension gap
Trade Republic and the Berlin tights label saint sass are cooperating on International Women’s Day and want to draw attention to private pension provision and encourage women to invest. Because: Around every fourth single woman in Austria over the age of 65 is at risk of having to live in poverty in old age. The Trade Republic data shows that women will achieve an average of 2 percent higher annual returns on the capital market than men in 2023. The reason for this is a diverse portfolio and a 23 percent greater weighting of ETFs. And although women invest more long-term, more diversified and more regularly than men and even achieve higher returns, there is a downside: women start investing on average two years later and start with 30 percent less capital than male investors.
EY Female Startup Funding Index: Women receive fewer investments
While the volume invested in startups decreased in 2023 compared to the previous two years, there was little change in the diversity of founding teams with completed financing rounds. According to EY, investments in Austria mainly flow into startups founded by men. In other words: nine out of ten euros invested in Austria go to all-male founding teams. Only 16 percent of the financing rounds have at least one woman represented in the founding team – that is fewer than in the previous year. There were only three rounds of financing for all-female founding teams in the first half of 2023, which corresponds to around two percent. And although the proportion of female startups in Austria is 36 percent, only 16 percent of them received investments in 2023. According to Florian Haas, Head of Startup at EY Austria, there are many studies that show that mixed teams are more economically successful, achieve higher sales and have happier employees.
Stock barometer 2024: Women show a large gap in private provision
Financial education is an issue in which society as a whole needs to catch up, but according to the study by the Aktienforum, the Association of Industrialists and the Vienna Stock Exchange, women have a particularly high deficit. They rate their existing financial knowledge significantly lower than men do. 77 percent said they refrained from investing in securities due to a lack of financial knowledge. The practical figures speak for themselves: 19 percent of women invest in securities, while the figure for men is almost twice as high at 36 percent. The fact is, it is not just a lack of financial knowledge that is the reason for the differences in long-term provision. Women often do not have enough financial resources to invest money. According to the 2024 Stock Barometer, this is the second most common reason for not investing for 73 percent of women.
Erste Bank sees outdated role models in finance and relationships
Erste Bank and Sparkasse continues to see large financial differences between men and women. Outdated role models when it comes to finances in relationships but also in general are highlighted. 70 percent of the 1,000 respondents of both genders said that doing everyday things was a woman’s job. According to the survey, only just under a third of women plan for old age. On the savings behavior of Austrians: Savings accounts are equally popular with women and men, but men are increasingly using alternative forms of investment such as securities, gold or cryptocurrencies. “The income difference also plays a role here. “If you have more at your disposal, you can invest in a more diversified way,” said the CEO of Erste Bank Austria, Gerda Holzinger-Burgstaller. To counteract this situation, Erste Bank has launched the financial education initiative “she invests”, in which women receive tips from experts on topics such as budgeting, saving, investing and provision.
Conclusion: Gender equality as a multidimensional challenge
So. And what does all this negative news tell us on International Women’s Day? What should you do with it? Well, first of all, grievances will never change if they are not pointed out. Issues like these must continue to be present in the media, find recognition in politics, in the economy and in people’s minds – and even more importantly: solutions are required. CEO of KSV1870 Holding AG Ricardo-José Vybiral says about the analysis results of his credit protection association presented at the top: “There is a lot of talk, but operationally everything seems to remain the same.” He is convinced that the lack of women at the top -Management valuable know-how is lost. In addition, technical careers must be made even more attractive for women. The educational institute DataScientest emphasizes the career opportunities that arise within and outside the tech industry for women if they acquire knowledge in disciplines such as data science (even at an advanced age). According to the Mastercard financial study, 32 percent of women in Austria are afraid to talk openly about their finances. This is something that can easily be changed – but only by women themselves, because talking about your own finances is the first step in expanding your own financial horizons. Agatha Kalandra, board member and markets lead at PwC Austria, describes the 26th place in the international comparison of gender equality in the workplace as “not encouraging” and emphasizes that other countries are taking action against it more quickly and efficiently. “The results make it very clear that progress in this country is insufficient,” she says.
Since the issue of childcare is also a central factor for the gender pay gap, political solutions are required in this area, such as lower-threshold access to care options. Vybiral from KSV1870 finds further suitable words: “What I hear is that women with children in particular are dependent on a support system within and outside the family. If there are gaps in it, women are quickly thwarted.” Sometimes one problem leads to another, but the same is often the case with solutions. Women do 40 percent more unpaid care work – if we counteract this, we will also see more female leadership positions with (hopefully) higher salaries. These in turn can be invested (alternatively), and who knows, perhaps more women will start their businesses thanks to better financial conditions and who will in turn receive investments for their businesses from other women. Because Valerie Hengl, CEO at Female Founders, knows: “Male investors are also inclined to invest in male startup teams – simply because they can identify with them better.” One thing is certain: real change can only succeed if the framework conditions are questioned and actually adapted.
Female Founders Leadership Change: Valerie Hengl’s focus is on startups in the pre-seed and seed phase