Gender parity in financial services an economic imperative

Ultimum Financial Services financial adviser Manisha Bhudia* said migrants who come to Australia have hard-wired DNA around their cultural norms and expectations, whereby traditionally, it is women who work part-time and are the main carer while men are the ones who find a job.

"But nobody is factoring in the equation that if something happens to the man, for whatever reason, how is she going to pick herself up and the kids? For me, that's the equation I would like to solve – how do we help them think about these things in a [financial sense]?" she said.

"What are we doing to help uplift the financial literacy levels in women from a different cultural background who move to a Western country? Yes, they may know how to access programs offered by the government. But are they actually empowered?"