More women enter wealth management, but few in advisory roles: study

Key Points:

• More women are entering the wealth management industry, particularly younger professionals, but they remain underrepresented in client-facing, revenue-generating advisory roles, which are typically higher paid and lead to leadership opportunities.
• Women constitute 37.6% of registered professionals aged 20-30 but their share drops below 27% in older age brackets, and only about 20% of producing advisors across all age groups are women.
• Female representation in C-suite roles at wealth management firms is 21.5%, with women more likely to hold COO or CFO positions rather than CEO or chief investment roles, highlighting a leadership gap.
• The industry’s gender disparities impact women’s earnings and long-term career advancement, prompting some female advisors to establish their own firms, with new female-founded advisory firms increasing from 30 in 2021 to 39 in 2025.
• As women's wealth is projected to grow significantly due to generational wealth transfers, addressing these gaps is critical for the industry to better serve and reflect its evolving client base.