BLOG: The History of Women and MoneyPart 1: Ongoing Income Disparity

When I started Magical Mystical Money, I had no intention of becoming a financial feminist. 

I just wanted to help women feel calmer about money and hopefully help them make more of it!! 

But, as I dug deeper into money mindset and the roots of why women are so much more anxious about money than men what I found was horrifying. 

It all makes me want to vomit.

Recent research shows that women are more concerned than men about inflation, the cost of living, and their overall financial situation. 

Of course they are; women still make 84 cents for every dollar that a man makes. 

Gross. 

While 16 cents doesn’t seem like much, it adds up:

The loss of 16 cents on the dollar adds up over a month, a year, and a lifetime. Based on this wage gap, women, regardless of their race or ethnicity, would lose $399,600 over the course of a 40-year career. For Native women compared to white, non-Hispanic men, the career losses mount to $1,149,880, for Latinas the losses are $1,218,000, for Black women the losses are $884,800, and for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Other Pacific Islander women (AANHPI) the losses are $187,616.

Even though women are better savers, they have less of an emergency fund than men (ummm…yeah, because men make more). So, if a big bill comes up, men are more likely to be able to cover it (up to $1000), and women are more likely to have to use a credit card. But also:

• Nearly half (42 percent) of mothers have had to reduce work hours to care for a child or family member, compared with just 28 percent of fathers.

• In 2021, only 4 percent of C-suite positions were held by women of color, compared to 62 percent that were held by white men.

• In 2023 only 11.8% of C-suite positions were held by women.

• Women who are considered overweight earn less than their thinner colleagues.

• For nonbinary, genderqueer, gender-fluid, and two-spirit (Indigenous people who identify as having both a male and female spirit) workers it’s 70 cents to the dollar.

So, why? Why are women clawing their way to equality and pay equity? Well, life in America has never been equal for women. I will cover all of that in my next post.

Until then, I hope you take away the fact that women  are still underpaid and underrepresented in higher paying and nore powerful roles.

Women having wealth is not about greed, lattes, or Lululemons.

As much as most of us don’t want to admit it, money is power, so when we have money we can change the world.

It’s about choice, empowerment, and having a voice. 

So, you can provide yourself with quality food, healthcare, a home, and leave toxic romantic and family relationships. You can leave a bad job and find a new one. 

You get to be the one who decides what you want your life to be like.

PS-Join the women’s financial revolution by taking of your own money blocks and empower yourself along the way. Check out Magical Mystical Money or schedule a consult here.