EMPOWERED WOMEN

The more knowledge you have, the more confident you can become.

 

Women have made incredible strides, both professionally and personally, in the last half-century. They are better educated, have greater responsibility in the corporate world and are leaders in many professions. Despite all the professional and financial successes that women have earned in recent generations, they are still facing personal issues and unresolved challenges. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that women overall earn only 78 cents for every dollar that a man earns. While this gap is still large, it is smaller than it has ever been3. And women aged 25 to 34, who are better qualified than older age groups, earn 93 cents for every dollar that a man earns4. Much of this differential increase is tied to improved education and employment opportunities for women.

Equally troubling is the fact that highly paid time-starved women are still taking on significantly more of the housework than their spouses. They are also more likely to be unhappy in their marriages and to get divorced, in comparison to couples where the husband earns more1.

Progress is a double-edged sword, complicated by the pressure many women feel to take care of loved ones, sometimes at their own personal and financial expense. It seems that financial and career success comes at a price for women and there is still more work to be done to truly level the playing field. For many women, taking care of others is a personal expectation, despite its high cost. However, loss of financial independence is a significant concern 2.

1. Yes, Men Should Do More Housework. Thompson, D. The Atlantic, Dec 10, 2013. theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/12/yes-men-should-do-morehousework/282165
2. High-Income Women Investors – A Spectrem eZine. Spectrem Group 2014.http://spectrem.com/Content_Product/High-Income-Women-Investors.aspx
3. The Gender Pay Gap is the Smallest it Has Ever Been. Taube, A. Business Insider, September 18, 2014.http://www.businessinsider.com/gender-pay-gap-is-smaller-than-ever-2014-9
4. On Pay Gap, Millennial Women Near Parity – For Now. Pew Research Center, December 11, 2013. http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/12/11/on-pay-gapmillennial-women-near-parity-for-now/