Women: Talk About Money.

By Erica and Karen

It’s tax day. So let’s talk about money.

We both faced the need to support ourselves relatively early in our lives. We learned we could not rely on others; we had to be able to support ourselves, no matter what else happened, because all kinds of things did happen. We couldn’t control most of them, but we wanted to try to control our ability to look after ourselves.

We didn’t know Suze Orman at the time we made these decisions, but we are gratified to know she agrees.

You will never be a woman who owns the power to control her destiny unless you have power over how you think, feel and act with your money — how you save it and how you invest it and how you spend it,” Orman said.

“And none of you should be dependent on anybody else other than yourself[.]”

Of course, many women over the centuries have had to support themselves. And now most of us do. Each woman find her own way through whatever obstacles may exist. And there are obstacles. When we were coming into the workplace, the idea that women might have their own bank accounts and credit cards was new. Women in the U.S. first obtained that right in the The Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974. Until then, women could not have access to these basic financial tools without a father or husband signing for them. A bit of an issue if a woman had neither.

We both decided to become lawyers. We didn’t choose to be lawyers because of money, but we did decide we needed careers that offered financial stability. Legal careers qualified. We did not talk about money, though. We knew women were viewed as soulless and unfeminine when they talked about money. So when people asked what we liked about our jobs, we said nothing about money—even when we obviously had to make money ourselves. We didn’t talk about how much we made, we didn’t talk about how much we spent, and if we splurged on something we downplayed it.

Our jobs really were not about the money. We loved our work. It was demanding, but incredibly rewarding. We could not have worked at the jobs we had for forty years just for the money. But it was important to us that our jobs allowed us to support ourselves, and eventually our children.

We think women must talk about money—at every stage of their lives. Pick your advisor wisely, of course. Financial advice should not be gendered, but an advisor should understand that a woman’s characteristics and objectives might be different from a man’s. For that reason alone we do think women should have access to women advisors. We suspect, however, that TikTok and girl math are not likely the way to go either, if you are serious about having a plan.

Financial advisors must also take into account that women and men still do not make equal pay—and since women have longer life expectancies their money must go further. On Equal Pay Day in 2024:

Women working full time, year-round earn 84 cents for every dollar men make, inching up from 83.7 cents last year, according to the latest numbers from the Census Bureau.

That income disparity is not only unjust, it is unintelligent. Data show that if women—including women employed in the traditionally pink collar industries—were paid what they are worth, the economy would soar. The World Bank has estimated that human capital wealth could increase by 21.7 percent globally, and total wealth by 14.0 percent with gender equality in earnings. Equal pay will help our children live better than we have.

Whatever you are being paid, or whatever financial assets you have, you must have a plan for your money, and unless you are one of those amazing women who can do it all yourself, you need to talk to someone.

• If you are just starting out, talk about how to save or invest for the long term.

• If you have children, figure out what you need to make sure they get fed and housed and educated. (Also, when they become sentient, talk to them about money and self-sufficiency, too.)

• If you are widowed, know what to do.

• And if you are our age, don’t assume you’re done! You still have decades to live, so make sure you have enough money to live in the way you want to live til you are 100—at least. You’ll find plenty to do with any that’s left over.

No matter how old you are, it’s a good idea to talk about money.