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Empowering Women to Take Control of Their Finances and Achieve Financial Freedom
Mon Feb 27, 2023
"Financial freedom is a journey, and every woman deserves the opportunity to take that journey." - Regina Maniam, Founder of HerCapital and Author of "Personal Finance for Her"
Women’s Financial Freedom Planning- Thoda hai Thode ki Jarurat hai
For an Indian woman and citizen, freedom does not just mean those guaranteed under the Constitution. It also means more jobs, opportunities for entrepreneurship, increased safety, ease in day-to-day living, and protection of the girl child. In short, the road to women’s empowerment has several factors dotting its path. To ensure women are empowered, the government and the public sector need to play important roles to enable their welfare in various sectors. Whether it’s providing free cooking gas and education schemes or enabling women to leverage technology, a slew of schemes has been launched in recent years to empower women to be independent in their lives.
When it comes to matters of money, the adage ‘what is good for the goose is good for the gender’ is not true. Men and women undergo different life experiences, differ in their knowledge and attitude towards risks; and as financial planning is a very personal exercise, there is a need to look at the course of action for women, differently. More than men, women have a greater need to think hard and actively manage their finances, for at least four reasons. Unfortunately, they are less likely to consider the investment as a priority. Here are some key factors why women should take an active role in money management.
Women outlive their male counterparts:
According to a survey conducted by Sample Registration System under the census office, on an average, in India, a man will live for another 17 years and a woman for 19 years after turning 60. On an average, an Indian woman’s life span is 69.6 years, almost three years more than that of a man. Since women outlive men, they need to have a nest egg that is larger than that of men.
Women get paid less than their male counterparts:
There continues to persist a significant disparity in how men and women are paid. According to a global study, as of 2019, women still make only $0.79 for every dollar that men make. Women, in general, are less likely to hold high-level, high-paying jobs than men. There continue to be structural barriers in workplaces across the world that bar women from advancing in the workplace. Since women, in any case, earn less than men, it becomes all the more important that they focus on building a good investment portfolio.
Women do not have a straight-line career graph:
Most women, because of the societal structure or perhaps because of their own idiosyncratic needs, do not experience a straight-line career graph. Many women end of taking a break from their career post-marriage or pregnancy. This often sets them back on their career growth and accordingly impacts their income. In order to ensure that this gap away from work does not impact the overall retirement corpus, women investors should ensure that they create an investment portfolio that reflect such unique circumstance, something that the men need not necessarily contend with.
Financial Awareness:
Lower savings and higher needs are also exacerbated by the lack of financial savviness. Data from 2017 Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center study on the gender gap in financial literacy showed that only 20% of women understood financial concepts (a lag of 8 percentage points over men). The gap was wider in more developed countries where the overall financial literacy was high.
For example, 70% of women in Canada is financially literate but lags men by 17 percentage points. Financially literate individuals do better at budgeting, saving money, controlling spending, handling debt, participating in financial markets, planning for retirement and successfully accumulating wealth. However, there are possibly many reasons why women are not aware of finance. One, their peer group and social pressures may not enable them to hear about or participate in investment-related discussions.
At the end of the day, women must recognize the unique challenges that they face and should start saving and investing as early as possible to overcome them. The future of a country hinges on ensuring the generations to come are adequately represented, qualified and able to carry the mantle of development. As a nation, our past is rife with gender inequality but aiming to rectify that situation; the Government is taking steps to empower women, to educate and uplift the girl child.
Schemes by the Central Government
State Government Sponsored Schemes for Girl Child in India
Apart from the central government, the Indian State governments also actively offer several schemes that benefit girl child.
Some of these include:
Kedia Academy
Empowering financial growth through education, innovation, and excellence.
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