Despite more women becoming financial advisors, they’re still much less likely than their male counterparts to reach the upper echelons of the industry’s compensation.
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Out of more than 300 advisors participating in the Financial Planning Compensation Survey, nearly half of the men, 49%, reported earning $300,000 or more in total pay last year — compared to just 29% of the women.
Substantial gender pay gaps were evident in the 2025 median total compensation across all age cohorts:
Baby boomers: $33,000 difference Generation X: $162,000 difference Millennials: $53,000 difference
Overall, the numbers reflect a field that is changing over time, as women comprise a much larger share of younger advisors and forge professional networks. But the statistics, along with all-too-common reports of discrimination, indicate the industry hasn’t shed its historic legacy as a boys club.
“We hear stories all the time of women who feel they were passed over for opportunities to rise in their firms,” said Stephanie Gularte, the CEO of the Women’s Alliance of Financial Advisors, a networking and mentorship organization. “Our work is about information, education and empowerment. Change doesn’t happen overnight. It should.”
READ MORE: Merrill boasts of 75% graduation rate for its advisor training program
The overarching numbers on compensation
Across the industry, fewer than a quarter of certified financial planners are women. Part of the disparity in representation and pay stems from the industry’s traditional sales practices, which compensate the biggest generators of revenue and often turn women away from pursuing careers in the field in the first place, according to retired planner Laura Webb, who is a board member of the Women’s Alliance. Those models do not always put clients’ best interests above the financial incentives.
“It was such an eat-what-you-kill kind of environment, and you were measured solely on production,” she said. “You’ve served your client well, you’ve helped them achieve their goals and you are not rewarded for that.”
Those kinds of experiences add up to some grim numbers. While the sample size in FP’s survey included only 246 men and 66 women, the male advisors reported median total compensation of $300,000 last year and their female peers said they earned a median of $169,125. But the finding that women financial advisors are receiving 56 cents on every dollar earned by men in the same field looks similar to other stark gender statistics about wealth management.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests that female “personal financial advisors” made 68 cents on each dollar earned by their male counterparts last year. That’s far below the national gender pay gap of 82 cents on the dollar across all U.S. occupations.
READ MORE: ‘Brutal, then better, then great’ — how advisors’ tenures tie into pay
Pay equity has a long way to go
With women’s wealth set to grow at an unprecedented rate, those numbers show why many firms in the industry have been investing in career and client development programs geared toward them. That is helping more women in the field to connect with each other and find benefits from collective networks that support their professional advancement.
“As a woman, don’t be afraid to ask for more,” one advisor who is a director or senior director at a registered investment advisory firm said in response to FP’s question asking their advice on compensation for young people or career changers coming into the field.
A highly competitive recruiting market for top advisor talent will likely make the industry more receptive to those demands in coming years, as the women in younger generations advance in the profession. Out of the boomers participating in the survey, the number of men surpassed that of women by a 7 to 1 ratio, compared to a lower ratio of 3 to 1 among all participants.
But women have a long way to go to catch up to men’s pay. At the highest level, only two women reported earning $800,000 or more last year, including one who topped $1 million; 36 men said they got $800,000 or more in total compensation, including 28 who earned at least $1 million. Meanwhile, 51% of the women earned within the lowest three pay bands, compared to just 28% of the men.
