A new report has laid bare the gender wealth differential at retirement, with women in Ireland expected to finish working with just 80% of the wealth of men.
This, however, is higher than the average globally, where women retire with 74% of the wealth that men have.
The Gender Wealth Equity report was compiled by WTW.
It found that the range of difference between the retirement wealth of women and men varied from 60% in the worst performing economies to 90% in the best.
"These research findings are very informative and an important benchmark," said Maria Quinlan, Head of DC Services at WTW Ireland.
"While Ireland compares favourably to the global average and the majority of other European countries, there is still work to be done and it is important to understand the drivers of such inequality."
The analysis also found that the gender wealth disparities grew with seniority.
Here women in senior expert and leadership roles had about 70% of wealth of their male peers when they finished work.
However, those women working in professions and technical positions had 77% of the wealth of their male comparators.
Among the areas with the lowest disparity was operational and frontline jobs, where women left employment with 93% of their male counterparts.
WTW said there are many factors that can influence the differences between male and female wealth at retirement, including delayed careers due to family care and gaps in financial literacy.
"Through our work with businesses across Ireland, we would advise employers to look at a range of measures," said Ms Quinlan.
"These would include reducing their gender pay gap, encouraging financial literacy and confidence, ensuring pension contributions for women, enhancing caregiving support and promoting flexibility in the workplace."
"Overall, employers in Ireland need to consider a holistic range of policies and supports that address existing inequalities and promotes parity in the future".
Across Europe, women in Ireland had the fifth largest overall figure at retirement versus men, lagging Spain at 86%, Austria at 84%, Denmark with 81% and Norway at 81%.
Despite the challenges, the report also finds that there has been an increased focus on reversing the trend of gender discrimination through the recent environmental, social and governance (ESG).
