THE FUTURE IS FEMALE – YES? NO? MAYBE?

Could it get any better for women? What with The Great Wealth Transfer of $30 trillion passing from the hands of boomer husbands to boomer wives by the end of this decade.

Now add to the pot Joseph Coughlin, Director of the MIT AgeLab, who has spent the last two decades devoted to research busting myths about aging, shouting to the rooftops that “the future is female.”

Coughlin coined the phrase “the longevity economy”- an economy powered by adults 50 and older who are responsible for 70 percent of disposable income in the US and Canada. And, in his view, shifting demographics have made women the biggest players.

“Women’s power as consumers remains largely overlooked,” Coughlin says, “yet they already drive 64 percent of consumer purchases and by 2030 will control 66 percent of America’s wealth”.

He states categorically that the future in business will also be driven by older women. “One of the greatest under-appreciated sources of innovation and new business may in fact be women over 50 with new ideas, lots of life ahead of them and with the verve to get it done”.

According to Coughlin, women over 50 will, in the future, have more power than ever, “In other words, you rule.”

AND IT’S ABOUT TIME!

Women have overcome a lot. Not until the mid-70s were women allowed to open investment accounts at brokerage firms without their husband’s signature.

In the late ‘70s, the Canada Labour Code was amended to eliminate pregnancy as a basis for lay-off or dismissal. While Women have also made significant strides in achieving gender parity in the workforce, and education research continues to report that when it comes to investing we haven’t been able to move the needle in the last two decades.

Still over half of boomer and millennial women leave investment and financial planning decisions to their husbands.

WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM?

A study by UBS found that 74% of widows and divorcees, many of whom were not the primary financial planners during marriage, discovered negative financial surprises after taking control of their finances. This is not the time to find out you have financial worries at what is already a most stressful time in one’s life.

A few months ago, I was invited to a millennial businesswomen luncheon. Conversations inevitably come around to “What do you do?” I shared I was a financial advisor with a mission to empower women to take charge of their investments and focus on building their wealth. But, I lamented that still far too many weren’t doing so. The 50-year-old to my right, who was in a twenty-year marriage, confessed, “I don’t even know how much my husband earns and I’m always signing documents that I don’t even read.”

I was speechless and have worried about her ever since.

I don’t believe you can become the biggest, boldest, bravest version of yourself if you’re not taking charge of your money. Without being knowledgeable about your finances, the risk is the future might not be as “female” as the one that Coughlan is painting.

The reasons why more women aren’t in charge of their own investments are complex, multifaceted, and not entirely understood.

Among the many gaps that women face there is yet another – the perception gap. And that perception is that they are not competent when it comes to managing their investments. Obviously, nothing is further from the truth. However, they need to be awakened to the fact that they already have the ability within themselves. The message we send to women needs to be changed.

The question of “who can do this” is one I’ve struggled with for some time. And then I recalled the wise words spoken in 2016 by documentary film maker, two-time Oscar winner and the last speaker at my Power of the Purse fundraiser, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy.

"When women get together there is nothing we cannot accomplish."

Women supporting women has been a powerful force throughout history, with examples of women coming together to bring about lasting impact. From the suffragettes who fought for women’s right to vote, to the civil rights movement where women played a critical role, women have always found strength in numbers, in community and in friendship.

WHAT CAN YOU DO

This is my clarion call to all women out there who are taking charge of their investments or working in tandem with their partner.

• Be alert to situations such as the one that happened to me at the business luncheon; reach out to give these women a big nudge to get involved. Don’t just tell them that their real power lies in taking charge of their finances. Offer to meet for drinks and show them how to get started.
• I don’t know about you, but when I’m together with my girlfriends we talk about everything – family, love, sex – but never about money. That must change.
• If you are part of a book club, - choose The Stiletto Network – this book will inspire you and get you talking about just what women are capable of.

And my commitment – starting in the Spring of 2025 I will be holding small, intimate coffee klatches (that might involve wine) throughout the year where I will be calling on all of you --- to bring someone you know who needs to be part of honest conversations that demystify the role money plays in our lives and why they need to be involved.

“A woman’s best protection is a little money of her own.”

– Clare Boothe Luce