Junaid Raza Syed (Senior Editor/Department Manager FS)
It is not easy to make money, especially if you are a woman. Although women have now dominated all professions and established themselves as a force to be reckoned with, there is still a gap between them and their male counterparts when it comes to compensation.
And even if they are earning more, they are not multiplying it as fast as men, which is probably why there are so few female billionaires in the world.
Women often tend to shy away from discussing finance with their peers.
The fact remains, many women are still not actively participating in their financial decision-making process, which is possibly costing them in the long run, mostly because they don’t consider themselves equipped with the knowledge of finance necessary to make investments.
This is alarming considering that, by the year 2020, around $22 trillion of wealth in the US is going to be held by women, and if they wouldn’t know what to do with it, not only will they suffer, but so will the US economy.
Taking Initiative
It is time to ditch those primitive ideologies that have long kept women out of the world of finance. One reason, that is often given by those who don’t believe that women can succeed as investors, is that they are too emotional and hence incapable of handling risky investments.
However, experts are now advising women to embrace their feeling and accept them as an integral part of their decision-making process. It’s your motivations that need to define your risk tolerance.
Taking care of personal finances is a great step towards self-empowerment
Another habit which women must adopt is to discuss finances with the people they interact with on a daily basis as, according to experts, this is a great way of improving the knowledge you have about the financial industry.
Although it may be difficult for you to find such likeminded individuals within your circle, don’t be afraid of branching out and finding people who share similar interests and also have a good financial insight, as you can learn a lot from them.
Branching Out
A very effective way of finding people who would be interested in discussing finance with you is to start a club with the mission of discussing books that are focused on the world of finance, even if in a remote way.
As for the people you know, you can always discuss topics of common interest with them such as the progress of their savings account or their 401(k).
There are many programs you may join to learn more about finance
You can even make an event out of such discussions, such as having a money circle event which basically includes the gathering of people on one table to have sushi and drink some champagne while discussing money.
This can easily last for one or two hours, depending upon the depth of knowledge that each group member brings to the table.
If meeting people is not a very effective method for you to learn, and you want to enroll in a formal program, then you can always check out your local college for courses which can give you a brief overview of the financial planning process.