Women's lack of appetite for investment risk is one of the factors that's likely leaving them worse off in retirement than men.
The finding comes from National Australia Bank's (NAB) research into more than 100,000 people who receive advice on their superannuation from the bank.
The percentage of women with a high-risk allocation in their superannuation is 30 per cent; 7.5 percentage points below that of men.
"This lower preference for risk could negatively impact women's savings balances over multiple decades," says NAB Asset Management portfolio specialist, Kajanga Kulatunga.
Some investments, such as shares, tend to be riskier in that their prices can fall below the purchase price – sometimes for extended periods.
However, over long time horizons, such as when accumulating retirement savings, there's enough time to recover from set-backs.
And those with bigger tilts to shares in the early and middle parts of their working lives are likely to have higher balances at the point of retirement than those with higher allocations to "defensive" assets, such as cash and fixed interest.
What the NAB research does not say is whether women's lower risk-taking actually results in them having lower superannuation account balances than men.
There's little doubt that being overly cautious can mean missing out on investment opportunities.
On the other hand, over-confidence is also usually costly.
Studies on the differences between men and women in investing suggest women have less over-confidence than testosterone-driven males and are more likely to admit mistakes than men. Research also suggests men are more likely to have an unrealistic view of their abilities than women; not just in investing but in all facets of life.
Women probably do need to take on more risk, at least when it comes to their super.
However, the amount of risk should be controlled. Taking too much risk could leave you worse off in retirement. There are plenty of examples of where too much risk has brought investors unstuck.
In late 1990s investors were piling into tech companies in the US. Share prices of the dotcoms rocketed higher, even though many were not turning profit. These "blue sky" investments came crashing back to earth in 2000 in what become known as the "tech wreck".
It's also true there other obstacles for women in securing a comfortable retirement.
They can be paid less than men for the same work; they often have broken work patterns due to family responsibilities and they have longer retirements to fund because they live longer.
Taking greater interest in how their super is invested and seeking good advice is one way women can in the odds of achieving a comfortable retirement.
Twitter: @jcollett_money