2026
A report summarizing the situation and the progress achieved in the first year of the Women Invest initiative. The report reviews the state of affairs at the beginning of 2024, the main challenges, and presents statistical data showing where we need to step up our efforts in order to level the playing field.
Women Invest - report 2024
(in Icelandic)
2024
The number of women with fund subscriptions increased by 19%, compared with 7% for men, and women now represent 46% of the total.
Source: Stefnir
2024
The number of women who have invested in funds has increased by 19%, compared with 11% for men.
Source: Stefnir
2024
The number of fund transactions by women increased by 11%, compared with 6% for men.
Source: Stefnir
2024
Women’s total assets in custody portfolios have increased by 8.5%, compared with 2.9% for men.
Source: Arion Bank
2024
More than 4,000 women attended events as part of Arion’s Women Invest initiative throughout Iceland in 2024.
Source: Arion Bank
Investments by women have been on the increase, and in recent years women's financial income, especially in younger age groups, has been growing. Women's financial income surged in 2022, rising by 23% from the previous year. At the same time, men’s financial income grew by 13%. The biggest increase was among women aged 16-19, where financial income rose by 103%.
Source: Statistics Iceland
The number of women with securities portfolios at Arion has increased by 45% in three years, and women now make up around 42% of the individuals who own securities portfolios at the Bank.
Source: Arion Bank
Women have been increasing their investments in securities, but the split is still 70/30 in favor of men.
If things continue at the same rate it will be 70 years before women and men have the same amount invested in securities.
Source: Arion Bank
Women who invest in Stefnir funds have historically had a higher average age than men, and in 2020 this figure was 56. However, the average age of women has been decreasing and is today the same as men, or 52.
Source: Stefnir
About 43% of the people who save in Stefnir funds are women and 57% are men. However, women own only 36% of the total assets in Stefnir funds.
Source: Stefnir
A survey conducted by Gallup in 2023 on pensions indicated that women generally believe they know less about their pensions than men do. According to the survey, 44% of women believe they have limited knowledge of their pensions, while 34% of men believe they have limited knowledge of their pensions.
Source: Gallup
The proportion of female chairpersons has been roughly the same as that of female managing directors. The figure increased by only one percentage point between 2012 and 2022.
Source: Statistics Iceland
Women own around 42% of assets in Arion's supplementary pension savings, and the figure has increased slightly in recent years. The biggest increase has been in women aged 19-30, up 3 percentage points since 2019
Source: Arion Bank
Women take 26 years longer than men to accumulate sufficient pension savings so they don’t have to rely on payments from the Social Insurance Administration at retirement. According to a survey by the consultancy Talnakönnun, women born in 1984 will not need to rely on pension payments from the Social Insurance Administration. However, men reach this point much earlier, or those born in 1958..
Source: Survey by Talnakönnun, conducted for the National Association of Pension Funds
From 2016 to 2021, not a single listed company in Iceland was managed by a woman. Today, three listed companies are managed by women, compared with 27 managed by men.
Source: Keldan
The proportion of female managers in Iceland is currently 24% according to the register of limited companies. In 2010, the percentage was 20%. The trend has therefore been positive but progress is slow.
Source: Statistics Iceland
It is good to see an equal gender balance in terms of personal insurance at Vörður.
Source: Vörður
Men generally have higher average assets in Stefnir funds than women. However, women under 30 have higher average assets in Stefnir funds than men of the same age.
Source: Stefnir
The uncorrected gender pay gap has decreased by 6 percentage points in 5 years, from 15% in 2017 to 9% in 2022.
Source: Statistics Iceland
In terms of stock market participation, the gender split in the Iceland Stock Exchange is about 70/30 in favor of men. This figure has changed little in recent years.
Source: Iceland Stock Exchange
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