Women remain stuck behind economic barriers that put them in economic jeopardy—barriers that have been built from cultural messages that have created a psychological mindset in women, preventing them from getting and using money to their best advantage.
According to the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER):
* Three out of four working women earn less than $25,000 year.
* Nine out of ten working women earn less than $40,000.
* Half of all women work in traditionally female, relatively low paid jobs without pensions.
* Women's earnings average 74 cents for every dollar earned by a man—a lifetime loss of over $250,000.
Women also change jobs more often, are more likely to leave the workforce to care for children or parents, are more conservative with their money, and save less.
Ruth Hayden, a nationally-known financial expert, contends a woman's money belief system directly affects her behavior with money. As president and CEO of Ruth L. Hayden and Associates, Inc., a financial planning firm, Hayden says cultural messages have created a money belief system for women that she identified in her book How to Turn Your Money Life Around: The Money Book for Women.
Hayden defines money beliefs as emotional responses to childhood money training that often keep women from adopting positive money management skills. The cultural message women receive as girls is: "You don't have to take care of yourself financially." And many women don't.
In 1995 the National Center for Women and Retirement Research (NCWRR) conducted the Women Cents Study, sampling 1,100 women between the ages of 21 and 75 from across the country to explore their financial decision-making process from a psychological vantage point. It found that while women are increasingly adopting healthy attitudes about money, psychological traits prevent them from acting on those beliefs.
The study reported that fear of failure and fear of the unknown are the biggest obstacles to a woman's financial success. More than half—54 percent—of the woman surveyed said they postponed financial decisions for fear of making a mistake and 58 percent worry after making a big money decision. Seventy-four percent said lack of knowledge about how to select financial instruments is the biggest stumbling block to becoming more active investors.
The Women Cents study also showed a direct correlation between a woman's personality characteristics and her financial habits. It reported that assertiveness, openness to change and an optimistic outlook are the qualities that tend to lead to smart money choices.
For instance, out of the 58 percent of women who said they feel in control of the direction their life is taking, 56 percent save and invest on a monthly basis and 33 percent make saving and investing for retirement a top priority. In contrast, of the 42 percent who don't feel in control of the direction their life is taking, only 39 percent save and invest regularly and only 17 percent make saving and investing for retirement a priority.
The study illustrates that women's economic future is held captive by their attitudes and beliefs about money and the results are daunting. Statistics from the Women Cents Study show why it's vital for women to pay attention to pension issues:
* Women are less likely to receive a pension and those who do receive a pension get half as much as men.
* In 1995, Social Security was the sole source of income for 18 percent of unmarried women 65 and older; 33 percent depended on it for at least 90 percent of their income.
* Over 58 percent of female baby boomers have less than $10,000 saved in a pension plan or 401(k) plan. In comparison, male boomers have saved three times more in pension programs.
* Among women 35 to 55 years old, between one-third and two-thirds will be impoverished by age 70.
* The average female born between 1946 and 1964 will likely be in the work force until she is 74 years old due to inadequate financial savings and pension coverage and will not have adequate resources to maintain the same standard of living prior to age 65
Hayden thinks paying attention and financial planning are the most important things women can do to break down the money barriers in their lives. "By paying attention," said Hayden, "we bring to money the same sense of clarity, the same sense of intelligence, the same sense of intuitiveness that we bring to other parts of life." It is that kind of attention backed by a good financial plan that will help women rebuild their financial future and put them on the road to greater economic security.
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