Why Millennial Women Need to Talk About Money
Many of the lessons we learn as women are passed down from generation to generation. Small stories with big lessons we share with each other. When you’re young, they seem like simple stories. Yet as time goes by, I, along with other women have begun to realize the significance of these stories.
This is because women are used to navigating a world where sexism and discrimination were apparent. According to Ms. Magazine, a woman could be fired simply for being pregnant until The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 and women couldn’t have a credit card until 1974, with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. As you noticed this means generations of women, women like our grandmothers, aunts, or mothers dealt with these issues.
Despite this discrimination, women have created full lives with jobs, hobbies, families, educations, children, spouses, and friends. It isn’t always easy, but at the end of the day, women get stuff done. But conditions can get better and we must take the initiative when it comes to implementing systematic change.
I think one reason problems persist is because we don’t talk about them. It’s easy to feel like you’re alone when you’re dealing with a difficult situation, especially when it involves your finances. As women, there are times when we’re shamed if we discuss issues more common for women. But, we shouldn’t let people stop us from having crucial conversations. I believe if women talk to each other about money and personal finance, we’ll learn a lot from each other.
Pay Gap and Discrimination
As we know, the issue of the pay wage gap still continues today. According to Pew Research, “Based on this estimate, it would take an extra 39 days of work for women to earn what men did in 2018.” This means women are losing money each year in comparison to their male counterparts.
Many companies still assume only men are primary breadwinners in their household, despite statistics showing women are also taking on this role. According to Prudential, “54 percent of women are the primary breadwinners in their family; 30 percent are married breadwinners who are generating more than half their household income.”. This means households are relying on women’s income more than they were in the past. Your salary impacts your life, where you live, your access to healthcare, education, and money to plan for investments and retirement. Women deserve fair payment for their work and we should do everything we can to accomplish this.
I’ve noticed a trend where women have started sharing their salaries, sometimes anonymously, with their coworkers and women in their industries. Freelancers who compare rates. Women discussing the hiring process involving salary negotiations, and benefits packages will improve women’s financial wellbeing. I’ve heard stories of women who have asked for and received raises after speaking to their male counterparts too. Also, due to this trend, many companies have publicly committed to salary equality.
Strategy
Like many of you, I’ve noticed a lot of the women I know making steps to improve their financial life, by paying off debt, investing, or starting their own businesses. According to U. S. Bank, “The number of women-owned businesses has grown 58% since 2007. As someone who works with business owners, these numbers are exciting to see.
The truth is, women have never lacked the intelligence, creativity, and drive required to improve their finances. The issue has been a lack of opportunity and resources. Our participation adds a new perspective to each industry, giving us better solutions and experiences.
One key part of being successful is creating a strong network, people we can talk to about business, finances, strategies, and how to balance our personal life. As women, we should make a conscious effort to have these discussions with each other. While I think anyone can have a valuable opinion, I think women are more likely to have similarities in our life.
This is one reason why I love being able to connect with people via social media. On the internet, there’s a place for everyone. After I graduated from college, I was uncertain about the direction of my life. My plan A and plan B weren’t working out and I knew I needed to adjust if I wanted to make progress in my industry. When I started researching, I found stories about the other options people pursued in their post-grad life. I even found one woman who had a story similar to my own. She talked about what career options she was considering and how she was starting to prioritize her finances. These occurrences make the internet more useful than most people realize. This gave me access to an alternative I wasn’t considering before.
My point is, you never know who will relate to your story, your journey, or your advice. The marketer in me says “Yes you do, you should know your target market”, but there’s space for a reach beyond this. And, you don’t have to share your advice via a blog, podcast, or newsletter. You can post your perspective on social media and have discussions with other people online. There are platforms like Elpha, that offer more privacy.
If you decide Elpha is a platform you want to join, feel free to add me!
Now, many more women have a seat at the table and they’re bringing their own tables too. I think this Toni Morrison quote embodies the message:
“I tell my students, 'When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag candy game.”
There are things I’ve struggled in even in my 20-something years of life, but those struggles don’t have to be meaningless. My lessons can help guide someone else going behind me and so forth. I know some people don’t like to share their strategies and advice because they feel like it makes the field more competitive. However, I strongly believe there is space for everyone to succeed.
We have to remember discrimination is often systematic, so once we learn how to manueve financially, we should share this advice with other women. For you, this could mean giving advice to a woman who’s interested in starting a business, investment options, having a conversation about brand strategy, or talking about tax concerns. We have different talents and perspectives we can contribute to the general conversation. People like to insist every woman is in direct competition with each other, but creating a community instead would change the world.
