By Erica and Karen

Money.

We learned young that money is important. We were both required to fend for ourselves relatively early in our lives. We learned we had to be able to support ourselves, no matter what. We both decided, independently, to become lawyers. 

We didn’t choose to be lawyers based upon money, but financial stability was an attractive part of the package. We did not consider professions like teaching or nursing, not because we did not think they were important, but because we would have been dreadful at either, and because even fifty years ago the salaries in those “pink collar” professions, largely populated by women, did not offer the same level of financial stability as did professions then dominated by men.

We did not talk about money after we started working either. We knew women were viewed as soulless and unfeminine when they talked about money—a holdover from the days when women were expected to allow their husbands to support them. So when people asked what we liked about our jobs, we said nothing about money—even when we were single and 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.

And 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 our children.

We think it is time for women to start talking about money. We’re not talking about leaning in. This fight is not about women, one at a time, asking for fair pay. We’re talking about structural change. If we have learned anything during this pandemic it is that we all rely hugely upon people—women and men—who hardly earn enough to live. And that is not only unjust, it is unintelligent. We know 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.”

So, let’s talk about money. And women. And equality. And why teachers and nurses need to be paid more. Let’s encourage our daughters and sons to talk about money. It’s right and it’s just. It’s also smart.