Women have made great strides in all fields in the last few decades. We’re better managers/leaders. We’re better multi-taskers. We’re better caretakers. We’re graduating from college at a higher rate than men, more apt to ask for help when we need it, and more prone to have open discussions about sticky topics like money.
According to the Australian Government’s research on gender workplace statistics (February 2014), women comprise 45.9% of all employees, of whom 53.6% work full-time and 46.4% work part-time.
Even with such improved statistics, we still come up short in any number of areas. A few among them are:
- Confidence- According to Dan Abram’s book, “Man Down”, women, as a group, are more thoughtful, efficient, tougher and less likely to make mistakes; but many of us still lack confidence when it comes to investing. Don’t get me wrong – women are becoming more active and aggressive as investors who are taking control of their financial future. But the sad truth is that some of us still rely on our partners when it comes to planning long-term finances. It may be a cultural thing, the way we were raised, anxiety about maths, a general sense of insecurity, or a lack of knowledge about the increasingly sophisticated products that are available. But the reality is this: 7 out of 10 women will be solely responsible for their finances at some point in our lives and not having some knowledge relating to investing is downright dangerous.
- Negotiating- Negotiating skills are important for success in all areas of life. When it comes to family, friends and relationships, women are often considered better than men at negotiating. On the other hand, when it comes to workplace relations or buying high ticket items like cars, we do not generally negotiate as well as men do. We still have big gender gaps in leadership positions and women can find it hard to negotiate with the opposite gender. Even when women do “all the right things” they are unlikely to earn as much or advance as far as men. Ladies, stop playing nice and speak up.
- Earning- In May 2013, the Australian gender pay gap was 17.5%. Latest research shows that it has now crossed the 18% mark – the highest gap in 20 years. Australian research shows that women in the same jobs and having the same education earn less than their male counterparts. The truth is that once women get married, wages usually become stagnant. Or fall. And we’re back at square one. Yes, women often take time out for child rearing, but the main impact on the gender pay gap is the financial penalty they suffer when they return to full-time work. For example, a three year leave period can result in a fall in wages growth of more than 10%.
- Spending- It is well known that women spend more than men (especially mums, since we’re running the household finances and are responsible for about 80% of all purchases), but we’re more likely to buy what we want, whereas men tend to buy what they need. In short, we’re making a lot of unplanned, impulse purchases. And it’s happening everywhere, from the grocery stores to the department stores. Where it is becoming increasingly prevalent is online, at the 24-48 hour flash sales and on social buying websites like groupon.com, where women are snatching up all sorts of things they never thought they wanted.
- Retirement- Single, 60-year-old women have the highest poverty rate in Australia at 36% (Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey). Women are retiring with half the super balances of men, $105,000 versus $197,000 and we have to make it last longer. Australian women find raising kids as the top barrier for retirement savings, with 70% rating a career break as their number one barrier to retirement savings (survey by the National Australia Bank’s wealth management division MLC). Yet, less than 15% of us think it is our responsibility.
As women, we need to take responsibility to gain knowledge, and work on improving our negotiating skills and earning potential. Most importantly, we need to spend less and plan for our retirement.