What does it take to empower women completely?

Equal employment opportunities, equal pay, the right to vote and many other things come to mind when I ask this question. These things, in addition to empowering women to create a more secure financial future generate more for the world at large.

So, how can we create more for the world at large by empowering women?

The most important step is to increase awareness. By informing themselves about their financial situation, women can have more awareness which always brings about greater possibilities and more choice.

Inevitably, there are many factors that are not immediately in our control but there are also many others that are within our control. If we are willing to investigate them and stay informed, we can work with both of these. Let me give some examples:

Factors that are NOT in our immediate control:

How does society progress?

Society progresses when someone takes a stand. There was a woman who put her foot down and demanded the right to vote. Another woman demanded to work and earn her own money. Another one demanded to be given the right to study.

It is when we speak up and make our desires known, that society progresses and makes a change for the better.

But this process is not always as easy as it might seem and it takes time to make these changes and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. So, these are factors that are not in our immediate control.

Things like equal pay and equal employment opportunities take some effort. We are working toward making these a reality, but we are not quite there yet.

What about factors that ARE in our immediate control?

It is just a matter of being aware that makes all the difference in the world.

Are you aware of your economic status?

Are you aware of your investments or investment potential?

Are you aware of the competitive value of your current salary? (i.e. what a man would be paid in your place.)

Are you aware of all your household expenditures, loan repayments, mortgage payments, and others? (Even if someone else is currently handling that for you.)

It is crucial for women to explore the answers to all these questions. These factors are in our control and they are the first steps to maximizing our wealth. We must be aware of the responses to these questions if we desire to secure our financial future.

Women are not truly empowered until they are aware and in control of their own finances.

Finance and money, is the purchasing power that an individual has. It is the capacity for us to buy what we want, invest how we want, and even transform that money into more wealth. It is crucial for women to have financial independence, in order to be able to make their own

decisions and secure a future for themselves and their family. When we blindly depend upon others, like our husbands or families, we transfer that responsibility to them and give up our power. Reclaiming financial awareness does not mean you don’t trust your family. It means that you trust yourself and are willing to be an active contribution to the family and to the world.

Now that we have identified some specific ways to activate financial awareness and security for the future for ourselves, it is important to look at the bigger picture:

What will it take to achieve the economic rise of women globally?

How many women take up top management positions across the globe?

Is this number enough?

Once, I went to a meeting organized by a banker for a group of women. We spoke about women, banking, and finance. She was giving us statistics about the percentage of women who occupied positions in top management across the globe. She also happened to mention a research study that claimed that the more women occupy top management positions, the more this increases economic growth and opportunities for the world. This tells us, the world has recognized the contribution women can be to it, it is time that we realize it as well.

To give a small example of the economic contribution that women can be, think about it like this:

If the workforce consisted solely of men, and no women, that would give the economy half the manpower, half the skills, half the possibilities, and half the opportunities.

Is now the time for women to reclaim their financial power and thereby increase the economic potency and potential for the world?

Let’s start with gaining more individual financial awareness and becoming informed about our own situation. Then, let’s continue exploring what progress in society we can contribute by staying informed and asking questions, so that we can discover new possibilities and make different choices for a greater economic world future.

Ready to start today? 

What is the one action you can take today to move toward creating a more secure financial future right away?

Kass Thomas