From “Pay” to “Wealth” Gap ?? – What You Need to Know ??

In part II of this month's InPower Women Essentials newsletter, we continue the focus on the realities that come along with gender and wealth. Join us in the next Mastermind if you have some good stories to tell. ~ Dana Theus

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POWER TAKES?

From “pay” to “wealth” gap – what you need to know

Thanks to campaigns like Equal Pay Day, our society is more aware that?women make 84 centers to every dollar that white men make .?The gap is even bigger for women of color. What’s less talked-about (and equally important) is the gender?wealth gap ?that women experience. Over their lifetime, women accumulate less wealth, due to the cumulative effects of both the pay gap and time out of the workforce to care for kids or ailing family members. There are also structural and societal impediments to gaining wealth such as the “pink tax ,”?biases for major wealth-building practices such as buying a home , and?poor investment advice . So even though we’re all about educating women and their mentors about the pay gap, we think the more strategic discussion centers around the impediments that exist for women to create wealth for themselves.

Women of color face an even bigger uphill battle to wealth

The wealth gap mirrors the findings of the pay gap: women of color are far behind their white sisters in achieving equity.?Estimates vary , but it’s thought that when compared to white single males, white women secure about 45% less wealth over their lifetime, and people of color have?as little as a penny on the dollar ?of a white man’s wealth.?Broken down a slightly different way: For every $1 of wealth owned by a single white man, single Black women and single Latinas?own 9 cents .

Sobering, isn’t it? When we know this, we can arm ourselves with data—and see the bigger picture, of which we are a data point. It’s not just about your paycheck. It’s about the accumulation of your lifetime wealth and the choices this affords you, both financial and experiential. It’s important to educate ourselves on this topic because not only do you need to protect yourself financially, but you may also be in a position to mentor other women about the gap.

Financial planning: from “he” to “she”

When it comes to retirement planning, we’d also like to highlight another “male standard” – that of the white, middle-class dude who works 9-5, five days a week for 40 years, retires at age 65 and rides off in the golf cart to play 18 holes for the rest of his life. This paradigm disadvantages anyone (male or female) who doesn’t fit that norm–which these days, is most of us. Women are more?“retirement aware” of their longevity ?than their male counterparts. And they are also painfully aware that they may?outlive their savings .?

There’s a cautionary tale here: do the people who give you financial advice assume that you’ll adopt the same retirement plan as the endangered species of middle-class, white men? For you thirty-somethings, lest you think this is only a middle-aged person’s conundrum take heed: the decisions you make today about stepping out of the workforce will have long-lasting implications for your finances. Here’s our bottom line advice: take the view that not only your salary negotiations, but your other financial decisions add up to your ability to secure wealth (which translates to more choices and flexibility) now and your future.?

One thing is clear in reviewing the resources above, the wealth gap is complicated and will affect us each very individually. Want some help distilling it down to apply in your own life and career??Join us in the June 21st?mastermind call where we’ll discuss strategies for proactively planning for your wealth gap to close!

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Here’s a list of financial planning tools and a newsletter to help women make sense of it all.?Learn more. ?

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BITE-SIZED VIDEOS

Living in fear, especially of adequate income, too often leads us to play small and reduce our dreams. Ironically this is the exact wrong thing to do if you want to build wealth. To get what you want, you have to want it, and you have to think bigger than your fear. Here’s a way to explore what authentically confident–wealth building–dreams can look like.

Follow me on my?YouTube channel ?and?LinkedIn , for the latest?InPower video clips and tips, (2-3 minutes tops)?taken from these newsletters, blog posts, client advice and whatever I’m thinking of.

RECENT POST ON INPOWER COACHING

Explore the hidden truths behind the gender wealth gap and practical steps to navigate financial planning and personal power in our most recent InPower Coaching article on gender, money, and success.

For better or worse, the?gender pay gap ?(currently at $0.77 per dollar) is now a fact of life we all seem to accept, sadly, as each?equal pay day ?for different gender and racial demographics passes throughout the year. Given that our paychecks are not only necessary to our survival day-to-day, but also to our personal sense of worth in a culture that so heavily values money, it’s appropriate that equal pay day be noticed and recognized. However, the perpetual focus on pay inequity masks a deeper and more meaningful issue, the?gender wealth gap , to which the pay gap contributes. - CONTINUE READING ?

Any time you miss a newsletter or live session, you can check out our?past newsletters ?to catch up on InPower Women Essential ideas!

I know this topic is a heavy one for me, perhaps you too. Feel free to bring all the heaviness to our Mastermind discussion Jun 21, 2023 and we’ll work together to lighten our loads!

InPowering Powerful Women,

?

Dana Theus

Executive Coach

InPower Coaching

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