Clark Jeffries
Mar 16, 2023
Examining the fight for equality, focusing on financial equality for women.
Happy Women’s History Month, an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. It is celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, corresponding with International Women's Day on March 8.
The commemoration began in 1978 as "Women's History day" in Sonoma County, California, and was championed by Gerda Lerner and the National Women's History Alliance to be recognized as a national week (1980) and then month (1987) in the United States, spreading internationally after that.
There are novels worth of Women’s accomplishments worth highlighting and plenty of history worth reviewing.
Given our financial slant, we wanted to review women’s history as it relates to finance. While society in large has become more equitable, we still have ways to go. We wanted to highlight major steppingstones in American history and the ongoing fight to further the equitable treatment for women in America.
Female Finances Through the Ages: How Women Have Been Breaking Barriers and Building Wealth
Women in the United States began gaining power in the 1700s, albeit major advancements began in the 1800s. Pennsylvania in 1718 passed law that women can own and manage property – if their husbands are incapacitated. New York in 1771 became the first US state to require a woman’s consent if her husband tries to sell property that she brought to a marriage.
Major changes began in the 1800s.
In 1839, Mississippi became the first state to allow women to own property in their own names. In 1844, Maine became the first state in the US where women were allowed the right to a “separate economy.” Meaning, the ability to earn their own income and retain it for her own use, independent of her husband.
In 1848, the Married Woman’s Property Act was passed in New York. The act was subsequently used as a model for other states, all of which passed their own versions by 1900. With this act in place, a woman was no longer liable for her husband’s debts, could now enter contracts on her own, was able to collect rents or receive an inheritance in her own right and could file a lawsuit on her own behalf.
In 1862, California passed a law that established a state savings and loan industry that also guaranteed that a woman who made deposits in her own name was entitled to keep control of the money. The state recognized the full financial independence of women – and in 1862 the San Francisco Savings Union approved a loan to a woman.
In 1872, Illinois granted freedom of occupational choice to both men and women. But when Myra Colby Bradwell, who studied as her husband’s law apprentice to pass the Illinois bar, tries to practice as a lawyer, the US supreme court ruled that the state doesn’t have to grant a law license to a married woman.
By 1880, Mary Gage opens a stock exchange for women who want to use their own money to speculate on railroad stocks.
Progress continued into the 1900s. In 1919, the First Women’s Bank of Tennessee (Clarksville) opens to cater to women customers only. While the bank employees and directors were women, its shareholders were male.
In 1938, the federal minimum wage is born with the Fair Labor Standards Act, wiping out common pay differences between men and women for hourly jobs.
In the 1960s women gained the right to open a bank account, legislation was passed requiring equal pay for equal work, and affirmative action benefits were expanded to include women.
Shortly after, in 1974, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act passed which was supposed to prohibit credit discrimination based on gender. Before its passage, many banks granted credit cards to women only with their husbands' signatures and outright refused to issue them to unmarried women.
In the 1990s, the Family and Medical Leave Act becomes law in the US.
In 2009, President Barack Obama signs the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration act, which allows people to sue companies for pay discrimination even if more than six months have passed.
Today and Tomorrow
Today, women have taken the reigns when it comes to managing household finances. According to U.S. News and Money, a survey found that 51 percent of women consider themselves the “CFO” of their household. In addition, 54 percent said that they have either complete or a great deal of responsibility when it comes managing their household's long-term savings and investments. Despite maintaining a dominant role with household finances, 63 percent of women wish they knew more about financial planning and investing.
The next generation of women is particularly eager for greater financial knowledge. The same survey found that the majority of young women are interested in understanding financial concepts on a deeper level, but over half of those women don’t know where to seek out that information. For women who have sought help from a financial advisor, 93 percent said they have established financial goals and are on the right path to a more successful financial foundation.
Lastly, today’s generation of women who take the time to build an in-depth financial knowledge base will see the empowering benefits and will also set the standard for future generations to come.
Research shows that closing the gender gap could increase worldwide gross domestic product by $28 trillion, benefiting both developed and developing nations. The critical areas to address include access to education, inclusive financial services, time spent on unpaid work and legal protections and policies that enable women to enter the workforce.
More Data
The gender pay gap is well known but there are other startling statistics that most people aren’t aware that negatively affect women:
Women are 5 times more likely than men to be living paycheck to paycheck and without an emergency fund.
Women pay 39% more than men for healthcare during retirement because they usually live longer.
Older women have spent an average of 44% of their working life out of the workplace. This is time taken out for child rearing and taking care of others.
Less earnings leads to less Social Security benefits.
Less earnings results in less potential accumulation in retirement accounts.
By age 85, women outnumber men two to one.
The majority (81%) of centenarians are women.
Women are 80% more likely to live in poverty in retirement.
Because women have typically worked less during their careers, they accumulate less wealth for retirement. Yet, they live longer. This creates an significant issue of women in retirement having less than what they’ll need. This is known as the wealth gap.
When we look at data on women and their relationship with money, we find that far too many women are reluctant to discuss money and often underestimate their abilities to manage money.
60% of women worry about not having enough money to last through retirement.
Only 5% of women reached out to a financial professional for guidance during divorce.
50% of women are often nervous about the financial decisions they make.
42% of women would rather go to the dentist than talk about money.
It’s time for a change. There are steps to overcome these challenges and minimize the long-term impact on your financial future. It all begins with managing your money to take control of your financial life. It means making your money and your retirement a priority.
Set goals.
Get on a budget and stay on a budget.
Pay down your debt.
SAVE, SAVE, SAVE for yourself, for your retirement, and for your goals!
Consider working with a professional.
If you want to discuss your financial situation, feel free to reach out to us:
Clark Jeffries
404-693-7446
https://calendly.com/jeffrieswealth/one-on-one-consultation?month=2023-03
Citations:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_History_Month
https://www.theguardian.com/money/us-money-blog/2014/aug/11/women-rights-money-timeline-history