Even now that many women are in charge of household finances, they still earn less on average than their male peers. The numbers by race are even more staggering. When it comes to understanding and handling money as a whole, there are a lot of us who feel disempowered.
According to One Advisory Partners: “51 percent of women consider themselves the “CFO” of their household. In addition, 54 percent said that they have either complete or a great deal of responsibility when it comes to managing their household's long-term savings and investments. Despite maintaining a dominant role with household finances, 63 percent of women wish they knew more about financial planning and investing.”
Really? One might ask. In this day and age? Yes, really. Despite mainstream feminism, the rise and fall of the girlboss, growing conversations about gender equality, there’s still stigma associated with being a woman who demands what she’s worth.
But the tide may be turning.
According to Sandra Pierce in the Financial Post, “women live longer than men and 80 percent are going to end up alone, whether because of longer life expectancies or divorce. My experience with widows and recent divorcees shows that once on their own, almost all the women who did not take an active role in their finances regretted it.”
By demanding that they get the compensation they deserve, women are taking charge of their finances — which is deeply important to their security and future.
One Advisory Partners reports that there’s hope for the future. “The next generation of women is particularly eager for greater financial knowledge. The same survey found that the majority of young women are interested in understanding financial concepts on a deeper level, but over half of those women don’t know where to seek out that information.”
These advances are spawning a new generation of women unafraid to talk about finances — women who make this knowledge accessible for other women. The importance of demystifying the personal finance space is helping many women find the confidence to give themselves the gift of future security.
Here are some of our favorite female financial gurus:
Cinneah of @fly.nanced
Cinneah — aka @fly.nanced — is a frequent flyer who helps other travel lovers create their dream lives and dream vacations while working a 9-5 job. What’s the catch? There is none! Cinneah teaches people to empower themselves while working a full time job, negotiate a raise for themselves, fully leverage employee benefits, and earn free travel — all while staying on the path to financial freedom.
Cindy Zuniga-Sanchez of Zero Based Budget
via CNBC
After paying off $215K of debt in 48 months, Cindy made it her mission to help other women get a handle on their finances and eliminate their debt. As a Latina and proud Bronx native, Cindy’s mission is to make financial advice accessible to everyone, especially those from underserved, underrepresented groups.
The Financial Diet
A super popular destination for millennial financial advice is The Financial Diet. Helmed by Chelsea Fagan, author of the book of the same name, TFD gives real advice through infographics, classes, and Youtube videos.
Tori Dunlap aka HerFirst100k
After saving 100k before she turned 25, Tori Dunlap quit her job and launched a platform that increases women’s financial literacy and helps them secure their dream lives. As Tori says, “fighting the patriarchy by making you rich.”
Stefanie O’Connell-Rodriguez
Former actress and host of Real Simple’s The Money Confidential, Stefanie writes about living the life you want by getting over your financial fears and learning to manage your money. She helps women find the confidence to ask for more.
