This International Women’s Day, gather your girlfriends for a money date and take steps towards gender equity. This Wealth With Sophia column addresses the importance of talking about money, how to make money dates worthwhile and why they need to happen regularly
This year, the theme for International Women’s Day is #EmbraceEquity. It's the most thought-provoking one yet. And it’s a theme that challenges us all to take action towards progressing and achieving gender equity in our communities and beyond.
At Sophia, we have one idea of an important action you can take to empower yourself and other women around you. What is this radical act of empowerment, you may ask? It’s called a money date, and there's no better time than now, with International Women's Day upon us, to seize the opportunity and set one up. Here's how...
What is a money date?
A money date is an intentional conversation about money matters with yourself, a friend, your friendship circle, your family members or colleagues at work. So, why do women need to talk about money? Normalising having conversations about money as early as possible in our lives is key to cultivating a healthier relationship with money and helping to build wealth.
Women have faced numerous challenges in building wealth. In both personal and professional settings, women often don’t receive any financial literacy training or talk enough about money with families, friends or colleagues. The gender pay gap has meant that women earn less than men, which limits their ability to save and invest. The gender investing gap has shown us that women invest less and not often enough. And then there are traditional gender roles, which mean that women prioritise supporting their families and take on the unpaid work of caregiving at home—further limiting their ability to create wealth. As a result, globally women retire with a quarter less wealth than men, which widens further in the highest-skilled roles.
Money dates can be life-changing
The humble money date can create a tremendous positive impact towards building a more gender equal world. These money conversations are crucial in helping women on their wealth creation journeys. Why is it so important to prioritise these particular conversations? Quite simply, money dates can help women reflect on financial goals and inspire them to share the challenges as well as the successes of actions taken in a supportive “safe-space” with a trusted circle of friends and colleagues. These honest conversations can move the needle on helping gain clarity on goals and motivation to take action.