Lexi Balmuth and Lauren Cerino Present at Morgan Stanley Women's Leadership Summit

Lexi Balmuth and Lauren Cerino presented on a panel at the Morgan Stanley's Women's Leadership Summit in Purchase, NY, to an audience of women financial advisors.

The researchers gave a presentation titled “The Future is Female,” focusing on how demographic and social changes have led to increased economic power among women in households. Women are often the “chief consumer officer” in the household, responsible for 70-80% of consumer spending decisions - driving the majority new home, car, and electronics purchases, for example, as well as making the majority of healthcare decisions.

Women are also more highly educated than ever before, and the number of women entering the workforce has steadily increased, along with representation of women in leadership roles in organizations. U.S. women today are more likely to receive a college degree than men. With these changes, women are increasingly contributing financially to their households and even being primary breadwinners, with their career decisions having a significant impact on financial planning for their families.

Finally, women tend to be the most heavily involved in decision-making and labor related to childcare and care for older adults. As our population ages, family caregiving will become an increasingly prevalent role in the life course. Women take on these care roles more often than men, in addition to bearing more responsibility for caring for younger children. When these roles are dealt with together, women are said to be “sandwiched” between care responsibilities for both children and parents. Providing care is a demanding and burdensome task that women disproportionately bear; this responsibility also means that women have outsized influence in some of the most important and intimate decision-making at happens within families.

Having experiences with all these roles not only makes women better prepared for later life; it may be a reason to expect that women make for strong financial advisors. Leaning into these experiences - and the ability to juggle career, finances, and caregiving - gives woman advisors an opportunity to connect with clients on a deeper level, and better relate to what they need to plan for.

Cerino and Balmuth presented and answered questions alongside Brian Briggs, Director of the Applied Insights Team at Hartford Funds and Dr. Kim Henderson, Managing Director and Associate Medical Director at Morgan Stanley.