Read the full transcript of Sandra Pierce’s talk titled “5 Ways Women Can Maximize Their Finances” at TEDxOshawa 2024 conference.
Listen to the audio version here:
TRANSCRIPT:
The Power of Women in 2023
SANDRA PIERCE: The year 2023 was dubbed the power of women. It’s where we saw women’s economic power explode into the public consciousness with the triple punch of the Barbie movie, Taylor Swift’s Eros tour, Beyonce’s Renaissance tour, and their respective concert films. Three female-led mega hits that broke records and upended several assumptions about women’s economic clout. Female spending became a powerful force, impacting the economies of cities and countries around the world.
But that is just the beginning, because women are on the threshold of an opportunity of such magnitude that’s never been seen before, and it’s been dubbed the Great Wealth Transfer. According to global consulting firm McKinsey & Co., women by the end of this decade will be inheriting or controlling $30 trillion. That’s almost the entire gross domestic product of the United States for one year.
The Great Wealth Transfer
So where’s all this money coming from? Well, the baby boomer generation has amassed an unprecedented amount of wealth. They’ve benefited from robust economies, booming stock markets, and the price appreciation of their homes. And as these men die, that wealth is being passed on to their wives, who are typically younger with several years ahead of them, quite possibly a decade or two.
And while it’s in the hands of these boomer women, because of the differences in the way they use their spending power, it has the potential to reshape society and society’s beliefs about all women and wealth. Because these women tend to be more generous with their charitable dollars, and they focus more on environmental and socially responsible causes. But all that can only happen if women take charge of their financial destiny. And sadly, not enough are.
The Challenge: Women and Financial Responsibility
According to a recent UBS report, 56% of married women still pass on the responsibility of investing and financial planning to their husbands. And it’s not just the boomer women. Over half of the millennials are doing the exact same thing. If we do not change this behavior, we risk losing an opportunity to change the world for the better.
So why is it that women who are more educated, more successful, more outspoken than ever before, leaving important decisions about money to somebody else? Number one reason cited, women feel that men know more about finances than they do. And surprise, the men agree. But over the course of my 40-year career, I quickly came to realize that it was due more to an unfounded lack of confidence and less that these women were married to financial geniuses.
Women say, there is not enough room to do one more thing in my life. And ladies, none of you are going to be surprised when I tell you that the research says you pick up at least two hours more each day than your husbands when it comes to household chores and caregiving responsibilities. And if you grew up seeing your father do it all, you’re very comfortable to continue that tradition with your husband. Now my father, he was the master of the house.
And I will never forget the day that he reprimanded my mother for spending too much at the grocery store. She always had to come in and check in with him with how much she had spent. And this time he was screaming at her because she had so little left over. My mother threw the change in his face and walked out the door.
Personal Journey and Empowerment
So don’t think I haven’t had my issues with money. In fact, when I went off to university, I was going to be a journalist. Now that didn’t come to pass, but I was lucky to have met role models and mentors who introduced me to the world of finance. And it changed my life.
And I realized that I could change the lives of others. Shaking off gender roles is difficult. After 32 years, I still believe my husband cannot make a bed or put dirty dishes in the dishwasher. But the first step to getting involved can be as easy as taking out a bottle of wine and saying to your partner, “Let’s have a drink or two and talk about money.”
You might be pleasantly surprised because most men say they want their wives more involved. And why would you want to be left out of decisions that impact your life? Women have accomplished so much in so many other areas of their lives. From fighting and winning the right to vote in 1920 to today, women hold more decision making political posts than ever before.
We’ve walked in space. We’ve won Nobel Prizes. We can break the cycle of abdication when it comes to money. Now I have some good news.
Progress and Success Stories
44% of women have succeeded in moving from behind their husbands and are managing their own investments or working in tandem with their spouse. I have had a front row seat to women gaining more confidence not just in managing their money but in all aspects of their lives. And I’ve seen men become less stressed because they no longer have to do it alone. This great wealth transfer, it’s happening before your very eyes with the likes of women such as Mackenzie Scott, who since her divorce from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, has donated $16.5 billion to 1,900 charities.
But you do not need billions to make a difference. Let me tell you about a very special client. We had a meeting recently where her husband had passed away and she shared with me that all their married life, he had been in charge of their charitable dollars and where they went. And she said, “This time it is now my turn.”
So we created two scholarships for women entering into the engineering program at her alma mater.