growing up my parents had strong
opinions around money and equality they
told me that money was not important
boring and evil that people who worked
with money were greedy and not talented
and in order for me to be equal I needed
to wait for the government or my
employer to make me equal that my
equality was dependent on somebody else
I was helpless well my parents were
wonderful people a little misguided and
on these three points dead wrong after
30 years of working as a financial
adviser and a professor I have a
different take I’m going to tell you
that money is very important and that if
you choose to become financially engaged
by committing to learn how many works
that you can choose to be equal you are
not helpless so my story on how I became
financial engaged and I overcame
helplessness is just one of many but
it’s the story well thought worth
telling picture this I am 17 and my
father has just landed a job 500 miles
away they my whole family has moved
leaving me behind they decided that
maybe it would be best for me to stay in
New Jersey where I could qualify for
in-state tuition my parents wanted me to
go to college but they didn’t have money
to pay for it all my childhood my family
struggled with money is there any wonder
with a mindset that says that money is
evil so my parents had made a lot of bad
decisions including leaving me by myself
to figure things out
but I found a job working as a waitress
at a local restaurant but after I paid
for my tuition there wasn’t a lot of
money left over I told my roommates that
I was going to have to move out I didn’t
tell them that I couldn’t afford to pay
the rent I was embarrassed
I
just leave I packed my car and I put all
my clothes in the back of my car and I
make a list of all the people I’m gonna
visit in New Jersey in New York who
hopefully will invite me to spend the
night staying on their couch I am very
grateful when they invite me for dinner
and if they don’t I don’t eat I continue
on all through my college years like
that until I graduate and I get married
yes I was way too young to get married
but I thought it was a good idea because
well I liked him a lot and although I
really don’t like admitting this to you
I don’t even like admitting it to myself
marriage provided an opportunity for
financial security there I said it I was
dependent and I was helpless it seems
today a lot of women still feel helpless
to feel ill helpless you feel incapable
ineffective like your voice doesn’t
matter but I asked raise your hand if
you’ve never felt ineffective at
something in your life most of us can’t
say that right I mean the truth is that
as a woman there are times where I feel
like I’m encouraged to be helpless those
stereotyped messages that still linger
in my head tell me let him Drive let him
take over the finances let them make the
decision for you I’ve been sitting in
the passenger seat of my own life
helpless well finally over time I’ve
learned that the only way that I could
stop feeling helpless was if I took
ownership I needed to become crystal
clear in my own head of my wants and
needs so that nobody else could make
choices for me once I understood that my
life changed forever my story can change
other people’s lives too maybe it’s just
one single woman who will listen to me
hopefully more than my children do I
plan to convince her that
she should become financially engaged
okay I see some of you looking at me
with those doubtful eyes money’s not
important
boring evil who cares really you – well
she should care we all should care
because if she becomes financially
engaged she will be far from helpless
she will be able to protect yourself
from financial distress or even disaster
and also she will be able to live her
life on her own terms
consistent with her own dreams and also
she will be able to make smart decisions
for her family her community her
workplace and also she will be able to
participate in the big decisions that
shape our world finding meaning purpose
joy and well-being in her life all
because she’s financially engaged 100%
am I saying that all women are helpless
or not financially engaged of course not
but there are some women that have
overlooked or perhaps ignored because
they think it’s not important
boring or evil the importance of
financial engagement being financially
engaged understanding how money works
allows us to participate as equals to
unlikely co-conspirators money and
equality or maybe not so unlikely you
know we all know that the gender
equality has been a conversation for
over 100 years with four waves of the
women’s movement focused on
consciousness-raising issues such as
women’s voting rights workplace
discrimination sexual harassment but
without a final practical solution after
four waves
it seems that gender equality may still
have in
certain future many women still feel
vulnerable and frustrated in general
haven’t you watch the news you see that
right many women feel like they’re not
adequately compensated or rewarded in
the workplace many women feel at best
like they are not heard or considered
and at worse like they are helpless
consider this equality true equality is
about having choice and influence and
the ability to find meaning purpose joy
and well-being in our lives and this is
important because this is going to be a
paradigm shift for some people rather
than focusing on the helplessness of
inequality I propose a fifth wave
focused on the solution where women
seize ownership over an area where
historically we haven’t participated and
according to the data we still don’t it
involves money
well why money social scientists tell us
whoever controls the most important
resource has the power undeniably in
today’s society money is our key
resource think about it control over
money offers choice and offers us the
ability to influence those things that
are most important to us nearly all the
important decisions that we make in our
life in our families the workplace the
community and the world have financial
consequences involved in them now I have
been studying women and muddy for about
20 years now I it was even my topic for
my PhD thesis
there are many researchers that have
found that women are less financially
knowledgable a proxy for financial
engagement
I wanted to understand which women one
of the studies that we did looked at
women and men’s financial knowledge I
looked at 7,500 different men and women
and we found that in every age group
women were less financially
knowledgeable than the men notice as a
teacher when I look at this most of the
people didn’t even score 70% most of the
people failed we then broke up the group
into never married and married and
generational cohorts and what we found
when we looked at the never married
group was that men and women were
equally less knowledgeable and these
people didn’t even score 60% they all
failed this is actually why some of the
young moms that we have who are trying
to make good decisions for their
families still struggle when they’re
single we then looked at the married
cohorts and we saw that women are less
financially knowledgeable in every
single cohort this is particularly
disturbing because it’s often said that
in the younger cohorts the expectation
is that as more women go to college
they’ll become more financially engaged
but we don’t see this in the data and
when we run the regressions controlling
for college that does not explain the
copy in financial engagement gap instead
what we’re seeing that it really is
about intrinsic motivation that drives
financial engagement and we’d love to
see when women are motivated and
inspired to get financially engaged
Janet a woman that I worked with
recently had paid off all of her student
loans and her credit card debt one by
one and finally now she is debt-free she
is taking ownership over her financial
freedom and her ability to take care of
her family
Patt a woman that I worked with years
ago had convinced her husband that they
should take out a survivorship payout
option on their annuity now years later
unfortunately her husband has passed
away but she has adequate income because
of her preparation she took ownership
over her retirement and her future and
there are women all over the country who
are joining forces creating giving
circles where they choose a charity they
want to support a lot of these women
don’t necessarily have money themselves
but they have the ability to influence
and direct that where the money is going
they have taken ownership and they are
making a difference in their communities
and in the nation unfortunately as a
financial professional advocating for
women I receive hundreds of phone calls
from women all over the country who are
having trouble it’s heartbreaking
because many of the problems that they
have could have been prevented
we have other women people throughout
the country who are also supporting
women but we are a small army we can’t
reach all the women besides I am tired
of helping women after they get into
trouble and their lives are in shambles
I don’t want to tell another 65 year old
woman that she can’t stop working or a
newly divorced mom that she has to sell
the house that her children call home or
the young family that they can’t take
their children on vacation because their
debt is out of control I want to talk to
women before they get into trouble so I
can help change the trajectory of their
life so that they have choices and they
have influence that’s why we need a
revolution that’s why we need the
pathway financial engagement is not just
about money
it’s bigger than money it’s about
equality so women take ownership
proactively
seek financial engagement go take that
finance class sit down and review your
budget ask questions asks lots of
questions before you sign any documents
and please please please most
importantly pay attention to all the
financial decisions that are being made
in your life the rest of us let’s make a
pact right here right now that we’re
going to support all the women in our
lives our daughters our sisters our moms
our wives and encourage them to become
financially engaged so that they to have
choices you want to hear the rest of my
story so it’s December of 1986
my first husband the one that I married
for financial security comes home and
tells me I lost my job we have no money
ironic right well you know it’s not like
I’ve never been out of money before I’ve
I’ve experienced this – all through
college but this time as my husband is
telling me we have no money this time is
different this time I have somebody
dependent on me I have a child there is
no way I’m going to allow my child to
endure the same hardships that I went
through my maternal instinct goes into
SuperDrive it’s on this day that I
decide to go enroll in a finance class
at my local university actually my alma
mater 10 miles down the road it’s on
this day that I decide that I’m going to
take ownership over all the financial
decisions in my life it’s on this
pivotal day that I am no longer helpless
and I am humble and grateful to tell you
that after 30 years I own my choices I
have influence and I am equal the
women’s movement has been said to have
occurred in four ways let’s make the
fifth wave the last wave let’s make the
fifth
wave about promoting financial
engagement for everybody
imagine a world where women work with
men side-by-side
coming up with the answers to all the
problems that we have in the world as
equals with financial knowledge with new
ideas with new ways of thinking
that’s equality that’s the fifth wave
thank you [Applause]
opinions around money and equality they
told me that money was not important
boring and evil that people who worked
with money were greedy and not talented
and in order for me to be equal I needed
to wait for the government or my
employer to make me equal that my
equality was dependent on somebody else
I was helpless well my parents were
wonderful people a little misguided and
on these three points dead wrong after
30 years of working as a financial
adviser and a professor I have a
different take I’m going to tell you
that money is very important and that if
you choose to become financially engaged
by committing to learn how many works
that you can choose to be equal you are
not helpless so my story on how I became
financial engaged and I overcame
helplessness is just one of many but
it’s the story well thought worth
telling picture this I am 17 and my
father has just landed a job 500 miles
away they my whole family has moved
leaving me behind they decided that
maybe it would be best for me to stay in
New Jersey where I could qualify for
in-state tuition my parents wanted me to
go to college but they didn’t have money
to pay for it all my childhood my family
struggled with money is there any wonder
with a mindset that says that money is
evil so my parents had made a lot of bad
decisions including leaving me by myself
to figure things out
but I found a job working as a waitress
at a local restaurant but after I paid
for my tuition there wasn’t a lot of
money left over I told my roommates that
I was going to have to move out I didn’t
tell them that I couldn’t afford to pay
the rent I was embarrassed
I
just leave I packed my car and I put all
my clothes in the back of my car and I
make a list of all the people I’m gonna
visit in New Jersey in New York who
hopefully will invite me to spend the
night staying on their couch I am very
grateful when they invite me for dinner
and if they don’t I don’t eat I continue
on all through my college years like
that until I graduate and I get married
yes I was way too young to get married
but I thought it was a good idea because
well I liked him a lot and although I
really don’t like admitting this to you
I don’t even like admitting it to myself
marriage provided an opportunity for
financial security there I said it I was
dependent and I was helpless it seems
today a lot of women still feel helpless
to feel ill helpless you feel incapable
ineffective like your voice doesn’t
matter but I asked raise your hand if
you’ve never felt ineffective at
something in your life most of us can’t
say that right I mean the truth is that
as a woman there are times where I feel
like I’m encouraged to be helpless those
stereotyped messages that still linger
in my head tell me let him Drive let him
take over the finances let them make the
decision for you I’ve been sitting in
the passenger seat of my own life
helpless well finally over time I’ve
learned that the only way that I could
stop feeling helpless was if I took
ownership I needed to become crystal
clear in my own head of my wants and
needs so that nobody else could make
choices for me once I understood that my
life changed forever my story can change
other people’s lives too maybe it’s just
one single woman who will listen to me
hopefully more than my children do I
plan to convince her that
she should become financially engaged
okay I see some of you looking at me
with those doubtful eyes money’s not
important
boring evil who cares really you – well
she should care we all should care
because if she becomes financially
engaged she will be far from helpless
she will be able to protect yourself
from financial distress or even disaster
and also she will be able to live her
life on her own terms
consistent with her own dreams and also
she will be able to make smart decisions
for her family her community her
workplace and also she will be able to
participate in the big decisions that
shape our world finding meaning purpose
joy and well-being in her life all
because she’s financially engaged 100%
am I saying that all women are helpless
or not financially engaged of course not
but there are some women that have
overlooked or perhaps ignored because
they think it’s not important
boring or evil the importance of
financial engagement being financially
engaged understanding how money works
allows us to participate as equals to
unlikely co-conspirators money and
equality or maybe not so unlikely you
know we all know that the gender
equality has been a conversation for
over 100 years with four waves of the
women’s movement focused on
consciousness-raising issues such as
women’s voting rights workplace
discrimination sexual harassment but
without a final practical solution after
four waves
it seems that gender equality may still
have in
certain future many women still feel
vulnerable and frustrated in general
haven’t you watch the news you see that
right many women feel like they’re not
adequately compensated or rewarded in
the workplace many women feel at best
like they are not heard or considered
and at worse like they are helpless
consider this equality true equality is
about having choice and influence and
the ability to find meaning purpose joy
and well-being in our lives and this is
important because this is going to be a
paradigm shift for some people rather
than focusing on the helplessness of
inequality I propose a fifth wave
focused on the solution where women
seize ownership over an area where
historically we haven’t participated and
according to the data we still don’t it
involves money
well why money social scientists tell us
whoever controls the most important
resource has the power undeniably in
today’s society money is our key
resource think about it control over
money offers choice and offers us the
ability to influence those things that
are most important to us nearly all the
important decisions that we make in our
life in our families the workplace the
community and the world have financial
consequences involved in them now I have
been studying women and muddy for about
20 years now I it was even my topic for
my PhD thesis
there are many researchers that have
found that women are less financially
knowledgable a proxy for financial
engagement
I wanted to understand which women one
of the studies that we did looked at
women and men’s financial knowledge I
looked at 7,500 different men and women
and we found that in every age group
women were less financially
knowledgeable than the men notice as a
teacher when I look at this most of the
people didn’t even score 70% most of the
people failed we then broke up the group
into never married and married and
generational cohorts and what we found
when we looked at the never married
group was that men and women were
equally less knowledgeable and these
people didn’t even score 60% they all
failed this is actually why some of the
young moms that we have who are trying
to make good decisions for their
families still struggle when they’re
single we then looked at the married
cohorts and we saw that women are less
financially knowledgeable in every
single cohort this is particularly
disturbing because it’s often said that
in the younger cohorts the expectation
is that as more women go to college
they’ll become more financially engaged
but we don’t see this in the data and
when we run the regressions controlling
for college that does not explain the
copy in financial engagement gap instead
what we’re seeing that it really is
about intrinsic motivation that drives
financial engagement and we’d love to
see when women are motivated and
inspired to get financially engaged
Janet a woman that I worked with
recently had paid off all of her student
loans and her credit card debt one by
one and finally now she is debt-free she
is taking ownership over her financial
freedom and her ability to take care of
her family
Patt a woman that I worked with years
ago had convinced her husband that they
should take out a survivorship payout
option on their annuity now years later
unfortunately her husband has passed
away but she has adequate income because
of her preparation she took ownership
over her retirement and her future and
there are women all over the country who
are joining forces creating giving
circles where they choose a charity they
want to support a lot of these women
don’t necessarily have money themselves
but they have the ability to influence
and direct that where the money is going
they have taken ownership and they are
making a difference in their communities
and in the nation unfortunately as a
financial professional advocating for
women I receive hundreds of phone calls
from women all over the country who are
having trouble it’s heartbreaking
because many of the problems that they
have could have been prevented
we have other women people throughout
the country who are also supporting
women but we are a small army we can’t
reach all the women besides I am tired
of helping women after they get into
trouble and their lives are in shambles
I don’t want to tell another 65 year old
woman that she can’t stop working or a
newly divorced mom that she has to sell
the house that her children call home or
the young family that they can’t take
their children on vacation because their
debt is out of control I want to talk to
women before they get into trouble so I
can help change the trajectory of their
life so that they have choices and they
have influence that’s why we need a
revolution that’s why we need the
pathway financial engagement is not just
about money
it’s bigger than money it’s about
equality so women take ownership
proactively
seek financial engagement go take that
finance class sit down and review your
budget ask questions asks lots of
questions before you sign any documents
and please please please most
importantly pay attention to all the
financial decisions that are being made
in your life the rest of us let’s make a
pact right here right now that we’re
going to support all the women in our
lives our daughters our sisters our moms
our wives and encourage them to become
financially engaged so that they to have
choices you want to hear the rest of my
story so it’s December of 1986
my first husband the one that I married
for financial security comes home and
tells me I lost my job we have no money
ironic right well you know it’s not like
I’ve never been out of money before I’ve
I’ve experienced this – all through
college but this time as my husband is
telling me we have no money this time is
different this time I have somebody
dependent on me I have a child there is
no way I’m going to allow my child to
endure the same hardships that I went
through my maternal instinct goes into
SuperDrive it’s on this day that I
decide to go enroll in a finance class
at my local university actually my alma
mater 10 miles down the road it’s on
this day that I decide that I’m going to
take ownership over all the financial
decisions in my life it’s on this
pivotal day that I am no longer helpless
and I am humble and grateful to tell you
that after 30 years I own my choices I
have influence and I am equal the
women’s movement has been said to have
occurred in four ways let’s make the
fifth wave the last wave let’s make the
fifth
wave about promoting financial
engagement for everybody
imagine a world where women work with
men side-by-side
coming up with the answers to all the
problems that we have in the world as
equals with financial knowledge with new
ideas with new ways of thinking
that’s equality that’s the fifth wave
thank you [Applause]
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