Participation of Women in the Stock Market
Author: Shriya Bhatkhande
Give a woman a dollar, and she can put it to good use. Teach her about how money really works, and she can change the world,” - Linda Davis Taylor
Introduction
Stock market investment in India is plagued by an enormous gender divide. When it comes to investors who have made riches from stock market investment, the most renowned names that are likely to come across one’s mind are Rakesh Jhunjunwala, Warren Buffet, Benjamin Graham, Charlie Munger, and Peter Lynch.[1]All these are men. Today women are giving tough competition to men in almost all realms of life. Kalpana Chawla, Indira Gandhi, Mary Kom, Mithali Raj, Sania Mirza, and Indra Nooyiare are some examples of women who have torn gender hurdles and exceeded in the respective fields such as aerospace, business, politics, and sports. However when it comes to stock market investment, how many such names can one recall?
As per the audit run by Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL), male investors compose the dominant chunk of investors (75%) in Indian equity markets, while the percentage of women investors settles at a mere 25%[2]. Male Investors dictate Stock Market Investment In India. Having a preference for Liquid Investments, women tend to invest in gold, FD’s, and real estate. Women adopt financial assets with a high rate of liquidity. On the contrary, men are amenable to sacrifice financial asset liquidity to bring in higher, risk-adjusted total investment returns.
There may be two potential reasons, first fear due to risk factors related to stock market investment. It is risky over the short term and many investors have lost money due to unusual investment technique. Secondly, little is known about financial awareness.Although stock markets in India have constantly outperformed right from the beginning, women still opt for investing in gold, FDs, and real estate because they find stock market investment to be very perplexing and difficult to grasp.
The participation of women in the economy is required to augment and lead towards lifting the economic potential of a country. Abiding inequalities have forestalled women from engaging and benefiting from stock markets. They are prejudiced which thwarts them from exploring certain occupations, principally male-dominated ones. Furthermore, they are skeptical and hesitant to charter financial professionals unless they are highly prescribed by someone they trust.
There's never been a better time for women to take their seat at the proverbial table. By learning about investing, women can attain both the confidence and competence to become financial change agents. With a dynamic scenario, women have initiated active engagement in investing their surplus money, though it all depends upon the varied frameworks such as the intensity of their risk-taking capacity, the family influence, and the dare to get unmasked to contemporary and inventive investment channels. The involvement of women in business and finance has proliferated in the past few decades. The present woman is equally employed and knows various aspects of business and finance.
Women’s Participation in the Stock Market
Women invest in the stock market because of high liquidity, great return, income stability, and range of profits linked with the stock market. As the investment choice of women depends upon several behavioral forms like their insight, perception, attitude, and priorities which compose their behavior. Based on these behavioral components, women reach a conclusive decision such as whether to invest or not in a particular investment avenue. The basic aspect that forms the logical behavior of investors is the investor's attributes such as age, occupation, income level, and investment experience of investors. [3]
The engagement of women in business and finance has increased speedily in the past few decades. Women these days are not only corporate directors and officers but also investors in firms. As women become colossal players in the corporate sector, it may not be delighting to know that women investors experience prejudices being new, limited participants in the securities market. Disadvantages that are chiefly due to gender-dependent or sex-based inequalities, the lack of access to investment knowledge hampers women from investing in the stock market.
Women are essentially half of the entire population and women are self-sufficient, educated, and get a generous salary. Nowadays, women not only take home-oriented choices but also take financial decisions freely, which makes them financially independent and ready to pool their savings in a profitable avenue to maximize their prosperity.
Conclusion
Although women have made a lot of improvement in all spheres of life, their presence in the stock market is reserved because they have insufficient knowledge of stocks. Women require to be equipped with precise information, services, and products to assure their active market participation. An investment educational program for women is also required to grant investment strategies that are responsive to their interests and appreciative of the high demands they experience in their lifestyle. The informational programs must make women mindful of the accessible financial investment media and should help them in shaping their morale about money matters and investment settlements.
To conclude, with women seizing most realms of life, stock market investors should be no different. The participation of women investors in India can increase if precise financial awareness is given to women, tutoring them about the perks of investing in equity.
REFERENCES:
https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P4-2367731418/perception-of-women-towards-indian-stock-market-with
[1]Tim Parker, 6 Rules from 6 of the World’s Top Investor, https://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial-theory/11/6-lessons-top-6-investors.asp [2]Central Depository Services Limited, https://www.cdslindia.com/downloads/DP/HowToBecomeaDP/Compliance.pdf [3]John Ameriks, Emotional Intelligence and Investor Behavior,https://www.cfainstitute.org/-/media/documents/book/rf-publication/2009/rfv2009n1.ashxx