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Every day at Summit, we support women, and ALL our members, build wealth and make good financial decisions. We’ve been helping women conquer the unique challenges they face on their financial journey for more than two decades. Women make up half of the U.S. population , yet for a variety of reasons they still make less, save less and are more likely to retire in poverty compared to men.
  • The lower average lifetime earnings for women roughly translates to $500,000 in lost income over the course of a 40-year career. That’s as much as $1.6 million less in retirement savings, with an even bigger impact for women of color.
  • The median 401k account balance for women is 65% lower than the balance for men.
  • Women receive 20% less in Social Security benefits, on average.
That’s why it’s our purpose to help women and their families avoid poverty in retirement. Equity in Money is about increasing financial security for everyone – and closing the retirement savings gap for women. It’s also about making the world better, together.
  1. Increasing women’s confidence in money to inspire action, by empowering them with information and support
  2. Building women’s wealth by helping them own homes and businesses
  3. Helping women create financial plans that balance paying down debt and increasing savings
  4. Supporting women in increasing lifetime earning power
  5. Openly sharing our pay practices and data
Overall, men and women take different approaches when it comes to their financial lives. Women tend to focus more on day-to-day financial management and living expenses, while men focus more on investments and saving for retirement. Women also say they’re less confident in making longer-term financial decisions. In fact, 46% say they don’t know how to invest their money and 43% aren’t confident in the decisions they do make. This can lead them to take actions that work against their long-term goals – or to not take any action at all. We empower members with financial information that gives them more confidence in their actions and decisions, including:
  • Award-winning financial wellness programs:
    • , designed to give women well-defined steps, encouragement and support as they take control of their money and achieve financial goals. One of our members said this about the program: “Every dollar I had was on a clear assignment. My money was working for me instead of running over me. And that sense of ownership started to ripple into every area of my life. I wasn’t just taking control of my finances. I was taking control of me.”
    • , which makes our financial education resources available at no charge to employers as a seamless addition to their corporate wellness programs.
    • Financial coaches who can help you set a budget, reduce debt and increase savings. A couple shared this after meeting with their coach for the first time: “We walked in unsure of what she'd offer us. We both consider ourselves fairly financially literate, so part of us thought, ‘What else could she really teach us?’ Boy, were we wrong!” After having this experience, they encourage everyone to meet with a financial coach to learn and discover new insights.
  • Blogs, calculators, checklists, worksheets, , , and other free .
  • Guidance and support from for investing and other options to meet any long-term financial goal.
Owning a home is one of the most important ways to build long-term wealth. Women have different needs and challenges than men when preparing for homeownership, as supported by these stats:
  • 80% of single-parent households are maintained by women.
  • Women buying a first home typically do it with $14,000 less in annual household income than single men, and make more financial and life sacrifices to make it happen.
  • Women wait longer to purchase a home
  • Women make smaller down payments than men. In one survey, more than half of women respondents said down payment and closing costs represented a very significant obstacle to homeownership.
As Wisconsin’s #1 Mortgage Lender*, we help thousands of people every year choose the right mortgage for their financial goals. We’re giving them peace of mind they’ve made the best decision for their long-term success through:
  • sessions and on the homebuying process, including how to save for a down payment and be ready for one of the most important financial steps anyone will take.
  • One-on-one coaching to create individual plans and support, including how to prioritize saving for both the unexpected and for the long-term.
  • One of our members shared how we made the homebuying process smooth and stress-free. She visited other financial institutions, and no one would meet face-to-face. She popped into Summit and met with a mortgage officer that same day.
More women are starting small businesses than ever – in fact, they’ve started about half of the country’s new small businesses since the pandemic (compared to 30% before). And while most new business owners get their main funding from personal savings, loans and private investments are important secondary sources. Women are generally less likely than men to borrow money to start and grow small businesses, instead tapping into retirement and other savings and personal credit cards. As the #1 SBA Lender Among Credit Unions in Wisconsin** for 12 years running, our expertise helps women small-business owners get started as well as plan for their future success. We go beyond offering easy, affordable funding to further empower our business communities through:
  • , , to empower local women with guidance and support to take their businesses to the next level. We go beyond their financial needs to include workspace, mentorship and training on essential business skills.
  • Our ongoing partnership with the to help strengthen communities through education, innovation, and collaboration.
  • on topics such as separating personal and business finances, planning for, and funding, your business and more.
  • in the Urban League of Greater Madison's . The Black Business Hub will be a center for inspiring, accelerating and networking Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs.
The goal of paying down debt can compete with the goal of saving for retirement. This is especially true for women, who carry more debt than men in most types of loans – plus more medical debt  and two-thirds of the $1.7 trillion in student loan debt. It IS possible to pay down debt and save for the future at the same time. We help members do it every day through our financial educator approach that includes:
  • to help members find opportunities to restructure and refinance debt, freeing up money for future savings.
    • One of our members said, “Summit has helped me save THOUSANDS of dollars and purchase things that have enhanced my life.”
  • Our long-running annual , which pairs 4 teams with a financial coach to create plans that help them pay down debt and increase savings.
    • Participants have increased their savings by $657,257 and decreased their debt by $635,663 since the program started 16 years ago.
    • Their stories and insights are covered in , so the community can follow along and learn from their progress.
  • Blogs, calculators, worksheets, , and more free resources for paying down debt and building savings.
On average, women earn less over their lifetimes and a lot of factors go into that – but one of the biggest is fewer women in higher-paying fields and roles. Only 9% of Fortune 1000 companies have a female CEO,  and women make up just 27% of workers in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). We’re helping empower women to take action to increase their earnings through:
  • Free education sessions on salary negotiation and knowing your worth, including how to factor in a stay-at-home parent’s financial contributions. This is especially important for women, who are:
    • More likely than men to leave the workforce or reduce their hours to take on caregiving responsibilities for children or parents.
    • Less likely than men to be able to re-enter the workforce at salary levels comparable to when they left.
    • More likely to experience a decrease in inflation-adjusted hourly wages if they are caregivers for their aging parents.
    • While women are negotiating more, they are less successful when they do and often ask for less when compared to men.
  • We partner with local non-profits to offer employment training initiatives focused on the financial sector. Summit provides employment advice including resume writing and job interview techniques.
When more women fill leadership roles, it doesn’t just benefit women and their lifetime earning power. Research shows that healthy companies with a variety of perspectives, experiences and leadership styles perform better than those with less well-rounded leadership teams.Unfortunately, women in financial services firms make up just 24% of leadership roles and 9% of senior leadership and C-Suite (or "Chief" titled) roles, according to a Within Reach study by Deloitte. We can do better with women representation in leadership, and we do better at Summit. Data is as of 11/1/25 and reviewed annually. Data for non-binary employees is not included due to small sample size; less than 1% of Summit employees self-identified as non-binary. Women are less likely to negotiate starting salary, which can affect lifetime earning potential. Even a small difference in earnings at the start of a career really adds up over time – just think of the raises, bonuses and retirement plan contributions that are tied to a salary percentage.This is one of the reasons we have an established Pay Practices Policy that includes things like:
  • Not negotiating starting salary. Again, women are statistically less likely to negotiate, so this policy means they won’t be put at a disadvantage. (If a market shift demands negotiation, we also review other employees with the same role, experience and performance to ensure fairness.)
  • Not asking candidates for pay history. This common practice can unintentionally continue pay differences that aren’t based on education, experience, qualifications or performance.
  • Considering candidates’ prior experience. We factor in work experience leading up to any candidate’s time away from the workforce to care for family members.
  • Annual assessments to ensure women's performance increases align with men's on a large scale.
  • Annual reviews of compensation within each of Summit's pay levels, ensuring fair pay for similar work. This review includes an assessment of “compa-ratios,” which measure an employee’s pay based on how close it is to the midpoint of the position’s salary range. There are variations in pay due to time in the role, experience, education and overall performance.
Data is as of 11/1/25 and reviewed annually. A compa-ratio of 100% means pay is at the midpoint of market pay range. 
We believe sharing this information leads to more fair outcomes for everyone. Just look at the bigger impact if women increased their lifetime earning power to be comparable to men’s.