The Conversation

This Is the Sexist Reason Young Women Aren't Investing

If you have a little extra dough, what do you do with it? According to the results of a new survey, as long as you're a millennial woman, you don't invest it. In fact, a full 79 percent of millennial women don't play the stock market—and we know why. You can probably guess: sexism. It's not the weight of student debt, like you might think. Only 13 percent of women say school loans keep them from investing their money. Rather, the Harris Poll survey, commissioned by investment app Stash, found that 76 percent millennial women think investing is confusing, while 60 percent think investing is an old white man's game—and gain, apparently. (A separate recent survey shows 10 percent of women believe Wall Street pays more attention to men than women.) What's more, even if millennial women could move past the mental barriers keeping them from investing, they don't think they have the money to do so. Almost half—41 percent—of millennial women feel they don't have enough cash to invest in the stock market. And even more think they need beaucoup bucks to get started. According to the survey, 70 percent of millennial women think they need at least

If you have a little extra dough, what do you do with it? According to the results of a new survey, as long as you're a millennial woman, you don't invest it. In fact, a full 79 percent of millennial women don't play the stock market—and we know why. You can probably guess: sexism.

It's not the weight of student debt, like you might think. Only 13 percent of women say school loans keep them from investing their money. Rather, the Harris Poll survey, commissioned by investment app Stash, found that 76 percent millennial women think investing is confusing, while 60 percent think investing is an old white man's game—and gain, apparently. (A separate recent survey shows 10 percent of women believe Wall Street pays more attention to men than women.)

What's more, even if millennial women could move past the mental barriers keeping them from investing, they don't think they have the money to do so. Almost half—41 percent—of millennial women feel they don't have enough cash to invest in the stock market. And even more think they need beaucoup bucks to get started. According to the survey, 70 percent of millennial women think they need at least $100 to invest, while 38 percent think they need at least $1,000 to get started.

"It's crystal clear millennials still desperately need, and want, education around how to start investing," Stash's CEO David Ronick said in a press release. As much as the market can appear to be a rigged game, ignorance of it can hurt you in a big way. If you've ever given yourself a headache poring over your workplace's 401(k) plan brochure, you know that investing is a crucial part of long-term financial security.

If you'd like to invest but don't know where to start—or how much it takes—there are several easy-to-digest online resources ready to help. For example, Investopedia offers an eight-part comprehensive guide for the novice investor that answers the question, "what is investing," and moves on to explain types of investments, portfolios, and diversification. Or, if podcasts are more your speed, you can check out The Money Tree, a show featuring four expert panelists and a special guest who tackle a new money topic—related to investing, passive income, and personal finance—each week.