design thinking exercise
How Might We Shrink the Gender Investment Gap?
Browser Extension Tool Concept
Role
Ideation
User Research
Design Thinking
Wireframing
Tools
Figma
Graph paper, pen
Timeframe
8 hours
Understanding the Problem
Investing in the stock market is a primary driver of personal wealth and retirement savings. Women make up just over half of the US population, and live longer than men. However, less than half of women currently have money invested in the stock market, compared to two-thirds of men.
Women on average earn 17% less than men, putting them at further disadvantage over the course of their lifetimes. Further data shows that only about 28% of women feel confident about investing their money, 18% think the risk is too high, 10% say it’s too complicated and 6% don’t know where to start.
How would we employ the design thinking process to encourage women to invest more of their savings in the stock market?
design thinking
Design thinking is an iterative, human-centric process we can use to understand users’ needs and desires, challenge assumptions, creatively approach complex problems and devise potential solutions.
1. Empathize
I came up with a list of possible inquiries that might lead to insights:
What are the key challenges women face when it comes to saving and investing?
Of the women that currently invest, what tools do they use successfully?
What kinds of features would most benefit women investors?
persona development
Here, I utilized existing research by listening to in-depth podcast interviews with women who were interested in growing their financial knowledge. I aimed to identify where users’ pain points were, but also where they gained confidence and found success.
Source: Coffee & Coin Podcast
Sarah B.
Based in Arlington, VA
Currently making $105k at a large consulting firm
Investing Challenges
Felt that investing was an uncomfortable topic of conversation where she was reliant on others’ opinions
DIdn’t feel confident about investing
Interested in maximizing her paper assets but not sure where to start
Investing Successes
Learning the tax advantages of both Roth 401ks and IRAs and how this could positively impact her retirement goals
Setting up individual savings accounts for different goals and automating deposits into those buckets was a game changer for her
Takes joy in sharing what she’s learned about investing with other women in her life so she’s empowering others
Lexi P.
Based in Denver, CO
Currently making $72k at a small non-profit
Investing Challenges
Lower salary than she would like
Currently renting, rather than owning and building equity
Lacking knowledge on the whys and hows of investing
Investing Successes
Set up a robo-investing account with small amount to start
Doubling down on her investing while her expenses are low, knowing that she wants to buy property down the road
Automating retirement contributions has helped build 401k
2. Define
Researching led me to ask a few defining questions, and come up with a potential solution.
What’s a simple way we could improve women’s investing rates?
Robo-investor tools are an easy, entry level way to get into the stock market with a small amount of money. Encouraging more women to use these would help to shrink the investment gender gap.
Additionally, Round-up investing might be an accessible way for women to participate in low-stakes starter investing, while growing their investments. Round-up investing is a simple concept based on rounding up a purchase to the nearest dollar, or adding a percentage, similar to leaving a tip.
Is there an add-on feature we could create to provide incremental investing options within an existing platform?
I wondered if we could create a Browser Extension tool that would allow for roundup investing when purchasing items on the internet, similar to extension tools that search for coupons.
For the purposes of this exercise, I identified Ellevest, a robo-advisor service that specifically focuses on the needs of women, as a relevant existing platform.
3. Ideate
What would a browser extension tool for round-up investing look like? How might it function?
browser extension
After installation, a pop-up module would be triggered by the shopping cart page load
on e-commerce website:
landing page
A landing page would be a helpful tool to educate potential users about the product and set the stage for installing the tool.
4. Prototype
how it could work
What are the specific wording or features of the tool?
What steps would help users accomplish their goal?
A simple flow sketch walks the user through the choices they might need to make:
5. Testing
Next steps
Test with users
Is this an idea that users would want? What challenges would they face in employing this type of tool?
Consult experts
Validate the idea with financial professionals, money managers, security experts and engineers.
High fidelity wireframes and a working prototype would be developed.
Conclusion
There are many steps we can take to improve the investing climate for women, and building financial tools with women users in mind is a key part of this solution. With combined efforts, we can work to close the investment gender gap and help women achieve their investment goals with confidence.