The research is clear that women need a different approach when it comes to language. They need access to the tools which will help them build their confidence and reassure them along the way. Typically women are:
> More likely to worry about finances
> More likely to think and plan for the future
> Less likely to believe in their own financial ability
> Less likely to be responsible for household finances
What does that mean for pensions communications? Automatic enrolment has made a huge difference to get women saving, but the gender pay gap along with a higher chance of a career break mean it’s not a level playing field. Women actually have to be more engaged with their finances.
As a rule of thumb women approach decision making in a different way to men; they often shy away from any decision where they feel they lack understanding, they like to take time to think of how one decision impacts another and they like to talk things through. Offering shared experiences, examples or even a conversation is likely to be much more impactful than a ‘don’t delay – contribute today!’ message.
To move towards equality there are standard, practical approaches to use in your communications:
- > Remove jargon and use plain English – even for your compliance caveats
- > Use bitesize pieces of information – information is key to establishing intent
- > Make next steps clear
- > Don’t remove the human element – in a digital drive to self-service it’s easy to forget the importance of a human interaction
- > Use different channels and media to convey the same message and aid understanding
There are also far more subtle nudges that will make finance and pensions more appealing to women. It’s important to understand the impact of the unconscious when choosing things like icons, voice overs, images and social media posts. Think about breaking gender typical role models and making women represented, knowledgeable and relevant.
Then develop your communications:
- > Define your goal
- > Understand your customers
- > Design your nudges
- > Test, test, test
Nudges really do work – here’s an example of my favourite nudge – in Canada all parents have 40 weeks of parental leave – 5 of which are specifically designed for dads to take. Quebec renamed this section ‘daddy days’ which led to 84% of dads taking parental leave compared to 11% across the rest of Canada. A fantastic illustration of the power of words and nudges and how they really can change behaviour.