Gender Pay Gap Among Financial Advisors

A survey of 312 financial advisors found large differences in pay by gender. The sample included 246 men and 66 women. Men reported a median total compensation of $300,000 in 2025; women reported a median of $169,125. Forty-nine percent of men earned $300,000 or more versus 29% of women. In the sample, women earned roughly 56 cents for every dollar earned by men.

Bureau of Labor Statistics data for personal financial advisors showed female advisors earned 68 cents on the dollar compared with male counterparts last year; the national median across all occupations was 82 cents on the dollar.

Pay differences appeared across age groups in 2025: median gaps were $33,000 for baby boomers, $162,000 for Generation X and $53,000 for millennials. Representation varied by generation; among boomers in the survey men outnumbered women by about 7 to 1. Overall the participant ratio was 246 men to 66 women, roughly 3.7 to 1.

At the top of the pay scale, two women reported $800,000 or more, including one who topped $1 million. Thirty-six men reported $800,000 or more, including 28 who earned at least $1 million. Fifty-one percent of female advisors fell into the lowest three pay bands, compared with 28% of male advisors.

Retired planner Laura Webb, a board member of the Women’s Alliance of Financial Advisors, described the compensation model as ‘an eat-what-you-kill kind of environment,’ adding that long-term client service has not always translated into pay increases.

Stephanie Gularte, CEO of the Women’s Alliance of Financial Advisors, highlighted the group’s focus on information, education and empowerment and called for faster change: ‘Change doesn’t happen overnight. It should.’

Some firms are investing in career and client development programs aimed at retaining and promoting female advisors. An advisor who is a director at a registered investment advisory firm advised newcomers: ‘As a woman, don’t be afraid to ask for more.’