By Becca Craig, CFP
Women’s individual and collective experiences, situations, challenges and solutions vary widely. This makes it nearly impossible — and irresponsible — to apply a “one size fits all” approach to women’s wealth management. But one thing we do know is that our paths to achieving financial stability and success can vary greatly from those of men. Rather than proposing rigid investment strategies, let’s explore five approaches professional and breadwinning women can employ to take control of their finances. I attempted to remain agnostic to tax filing status or dependents.
Becca Craig
1. Close your personal wage gap
Despite breadwinning women’s continued achievements, perseverance and pure grit, the gender wage gap is still a “thing” in 2022. In 2020, women working full time were paid 83 cents to a man’s dollar in the same occupation. In fact, a recent article from the National Women’s Law Center reports the gap is widening for many women based on race and ethnicity. While this is upsetting based on principle alone, the wage gap’s detrimental impact on women’s ability to amass wealth can be devastating. For example, any employer-sponsored retirement plan’s company “match” and your Social Security benefits are directly related to how much you earn.
One of the best moves to secure your ability to save and invest in your financial future is to know your own worth, then make sure your wage reflects it. In their award-winning book, “Women Don’t Ask,” co-authors Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever assert that by neglecting to negotiate a competitive salary for a first job, a woman may sacrifice over half a million dollars in earnings by the end of her career. This is why it’s imperative you take steps to close the wage gap for good by advocating for the person’s wage you can influence the most… yours! Negotiating a raise can also help cushion your bottom line in the long run.
The last thing I suggest in developing a plan to close the wage gap is reaching out to a female colleague to see if she’d be open to sharing her experiences. Fleshing out a sound strategy with someone who trudged the path before can go a long way in building your own approach. If women …….
Source: https://www.thestreet.com/retirement-daily/your-money/womens-wealth-management
