Overcoming Gender Biases in Wealth Succession and Governance: Breaking Barriers for the Next Generation of Female UHNW Leaders
Published by Ryan Gollan / 11 Feb 2025
For centuries, wealth and power have been passed down through patriarchal structures, leaving women on the periphery of succession conversations.
Even today, when women are leading global corporations, creating their own wealth, and reshaping industries, gender biases in wealth succession and governance persist. However, we are witnessing a remarkable shift ~ a new generation of UHNW women who are challenging outdated norms and redefining their legacy.
So, how do we overcome the deep-seated biases in wealth succession and ensure that female leaders are given equal footing in the governance of family offices, investments, and philanthropic efforts? Let’s explore.
The Persistent Gender Wealth Gap: Why It Starts Early
It’s no surprise that the gender pay gap exists, but what about the gender wealth gap? Research shows that wealth disparities between men and women begin as early as their teenage years and widen significantly over time.
By their early twenties, women are already financially behind.
By retirement, men have an average of 42% more wealth than women.
Women invest less and hesitate to take financial risks, often due to societal conditioning that wealth management is a “male domain.”
This early discrepancy translates into a systemic issue in family wealth succession and governance - where daughters, wives, and female entrepreneurs often struggle to be recognised as rightful wealth stewards.
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Women in Family Offices & Succession Planning
Despite the historical biases, there’s a quiet revolution happening in family offices worldwide:
🌎 15% of global family offices are now led by women.
🇪🇺 Europe leads the way, with 20% of family offices having female principals.
🌏 Asia-Pacific is catching up, with 18% female leadership in family offices.
🇺🇸 North America still lags behind, at just 12%.
Yet, even with these promising numbers, women often face scepticism when stepping into leadership roles. They are questioned more about their financial expertise, asked to "prove themselves" in ways that their male counterparts are not, and frequently excluded from key succession discussions.
So, what needs to change?
The Invisible Barriers: How Gender Bias Manifests in Wealth Succession
💼 Bias in Decision-Making
Many patriarchs still prefer passing wealth and leadership roles to sons rather than daughters, regardless of merit.
📉 Underestimation of Female Leadership
Even when women are involved, their leadership is often seen as secondary, limited to “soft” roles like philanthropy rather than investment strategy or asset management.
🗂 Legal & Structural Hurdles
In some jurisdictions, inheritance laws still favour male heirs, creating additional obstacles for women to inherit and control family wealth.
🧩 Lack of Inclusion in Early Education
Sons are often groomed from a young age to take over family wealth, while daughters are kept out of financial discussions, leading to a late start in leadership exposure.
A New Playbook: Overcoming Gender Bias in Wealth Succession & Governance
1. The Family Constitution: Embedding Gender Equity in Governance
A family constitution can serve as a formalised document that ensures merit-based leadership succession, rather than defaulting to gender-based decision-making.
Key Elements:
✅ A transparent succession roadmap that includes both male and female heirs.
✅ Defined roles for women in governance and investment beyond philanthropy.
✅ Regular family governance meetings where all voices, especially female members, are heard.
2. Next-Gen Financial & Leadership Training for Women
💡 Empowering women through early exposure to wealth management is key to closing the leadership gap.
Successful families are:
📌 Encouraging daughters to study finance, investment, and governance early.
📌 Providing mentorship opportunities with female UHNW leaders.
📌 Ensuring women have boardroom experience before wealth transitions occur.
3. Female-Driven Philanthropy & Impact Investing
Women are transforming the philanthropy and impact investing space, using their wealth to fund gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability.
🌱 Women-led venture capital & impact funds are growing, focusing on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing.
💰 More UHNW women are using donor-advised funds and social impact investments to align their wealth with their values.
We need to recognise and elevate these women, not just as philanthropists, but as powerful stewards of financial capital.
4. Policy & Legal Reforms: Ensuring Equal Wealth Succession Rights
🌍 Jurisdictions like Singapore, the UK, and parts of the U.S. are leading in gender-equal succession laws.
However, many legal systems still need reform to:
✔ Guarantee equal inheritance rights for female heirs.
✔ Allow women to challenge unfair succession decisions in court.
✔ Facilitate female-friendly investment & tax structures for UHNW women.
The Future of Women in Wealth Governance: What’s Next?
The landscape is shifting. While biases still exist, the momentum toward gender-equitable wealth succession and governance is undeniable.
🔹 More women than ever are taking leadership in family offices.
🔹 Philanthropy and impact investing are increasingly women-led.
🔹 Next-gen UHNW women are challenging old paradigms and stepping up as key decision-makers.
But the work is far from over.
💎 It’s time for families, advisors, and wealth managers to actively support female UHNW leaders, not just as a diversity initiative, but because their leadership is essential for a stronger, more sustainable future.
Let’s break the cycle. The next generation of female wealth leaders is here. Are we ready to support them?
