The Financial Power Of Your Femininity

“Invest like a woman. Because money is power.” These words appear on the website for Ellevest, a revolutionary new digital investing platform for women co-founded by powerhouse businesswoman Sallie Krawcheck. It is a call to arms for women everywhere to capitalise on their own power and femininity by monetising it. Krawcheck conquered Wall St in the US, climbing to the top of the wealth management industry before pivoting to address a gender gap she believes affects women more than any other: the investment pay gap. The world over, fewer women invest than men, particularly when it comes to playing the stock market. That’s likely caused by a complex matrix of factors: being paid less for the same work, grappling with entrenched gender stereotypes, bearing the brunt of domestic work and childcare, accruing an alarming shortage of retirement funds compared to men and trying to succeed in an industry very much still dominated by men.

“The gender gap in investing exists because of a lack of exposure, access and confidence. Despite all the information that’s available around investing, this is still a man’s world,” says Zaneilia Harris, author and president of Harris & Harris Wealth Management. “According to a recent article by Glamour magazine, revealing the deep dark side money secrets of 1,000 women, 85 per cent of women don’t invest in stocks and 56 per cent say they don’t have a 401 [retirement savings plan].”

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