Films from the last 15 years, including Hollywood hits such as The Wolf of Wall Street and recent BBC show Industry were analysed by eToro and Boring Money to show the extent to which they influence the investment activities of women.
Of the 16 major most well-known productions about the world of finance released since 2009, three-quarters of screen time featured male financial experts.
Almost half (47%) of all male characters were CEOs, while not one female character had that job title in any movie or series.
Further, 85% of the parenting scenes in the productions were taken care of by mothers, while none of the female financial experts had children. Women were mostly portrayed as secondary characters, whether it was a love interest, administrative assistant or in a sexualised role including strippers or mistresses, the research led by Dr Ylva Baeckström found.
In the stock market-based fictitious movies Fair Play and Traders, when women did outperform men, they had to endure discrimination as part of their success.
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Where there were female financial experts, the TV series or movies leant on the common stereotypes of women and investments. The times the characters gained any financial reward, it was through ‘alpha’ characteristics like taking high-risk investments.
The stereotypes featured on the big screen are how women are less confident or knowledgeable about the market and more cautious than their male counterparts.
A separate study by Fidelity found that any difference in the behaviours of men and women in investments reduced the more experienced the fund managers were.
‘Potentially disastrous impact on society’
While there are other major factors that contribute to women investing less than men, like the gender pay gap and pensions gap – which is at least 20 years from closing – the influence of the media “has a potentially disastrous impact on society”, according to Dr Baeckström, who was the CEO of fintech start-up Avenir Registrars before becoming a senior lecturer in finance at King’s Business School.
She said: “We all know that women earn less, invest less, yet live longer than men and therefore have an even greater need to build wealth to secure their futures.
“It has been proven that what we watch on screen affects our attitudes and influences our behaviour. The misrepresentation of finance and investing as a pursuit for ‘alpha males’ and the lack of female role models are perpetuating the gender investment gap.”
Baeckström added: “We observed a slight improvement over the past 15 years, with films such as Fair Play and more recent episodes of Billions introducing stronger women in roles that highlight their capabilities, struggles and complexity.
“Movies have the power to demonstrate the reality that investing is for everyone, regardless of gender and background. Ordinary people, including women, need to be inspired and encouraged, not excluded and disrespected.”
Meanwhile, in the year up to January 2024, almost 10 million men were investors compared to just 6.8 million women, Boring Money’s research found.
As the total money invested by men increased in a year by £34bn to stand at just over £1bn, but the amount women invested dropped by £3bn to £450bn overall.
The gap was largest with younger investors, as almost a quarter (22%) of men had a portfolio of some kind, compared to only 9% of women.
‘Toxic depictions’
Lale Akoner, global markets analyst at eToro, said women were actively discouraged by the entertainment industry to become investors due to the “toxic depictions”.
She said: “We know that a lack of confidence and the perception that investing is too complicated hold women back from investing, yet we’re seeing films and TV series perpetuate these myths.”
Akoner added: “There is a need for female role models both on- and off-screen to encourage us all to talk more about money and to inspire the next generation of female investors.
“Equating women’s successful finance careers with the need to adopt ‘alpha’ characteristics and still be discriminated against is restrictive and disappointing.”
