Every woman can and needs to have her own source of income.
March is women’s history month and to mark this month, I will be providing tips throughout the month to support you on your journey towards financial independence.
It is recent history that women have been able to have their own bank accounts and credit cards without their husband’s permission. Only in 1964, in Canada were women first allowed to have their own bank accounts. This was followed in 1974, in the US with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act allowing women to apply for credit cards in their own name, regardless of marital status.
Even today, when women can have their own bank accounts, many women still do not have access to their own finances. Financial dependency on an employer or partner traps women in unsafe situations, in the home and abroad.
Financial abuse is the number one reason why women are unable to leave abusive relationships and research shows that 99% of all domestic violence cases involve some form of financial abuse. I was scared to share my experience with financial abuse from men until I started speaking about it and realized financial abuse is something most women deal with at some point in her life.
Then it became my mission to share experiences, stories, and tips so that you can spot and stop the signs of financial abuse and find your way to financial independence.
Wage Gap
The glass ceiling is real. The wage gap is not imaginary.
Race, age, weight and marital status all factor into what you will be paid.
I have sat in on hundreds of interviews, where hiring committees discriminated against women based on their perception of her life stage, weight or looks.
Truth hurts.
That is the reality.
Here is a summary of the different commentaries I have heard as the reason for hiring/not hiring a woman.
“She just got engaged, she will be going on mat leave in 2 years.”
“If she can’t get herself in shape, she won’t be able to keep up here.”
“We wouldn’t be able to have her client facing.”
“Her husband is an executive, we don’t have to worry about her pay.”
“She just came to the country, she really doesn’t have any other options; we are doing her a favor.”
“We don’t need to pay for her relocation, she is coming to the country anyways.”
“Her English isn’t that strong.”
“She has two kids, her kids are going to be sick all winter.”
“Does she have child care?”
“Is she willing to work on her mat leave?”
Please let me know what are some of the outrageous comments you have heard in the hiring world that apply only to women?
The wage gap is real.
In Canada, women make 89 cents of every dollar men make. The gender pay gap for full-time employees is 0.90, which means women make 90 cents of every dollar men make.
In the US the stats are even worse. Women earn 84 cents for every dollar a man makes. Of course race also plays a factor with women of color, rural Black and Hispanic women making just 56 cents for every dollar that rural white, non-Hispanic men make.
Marriage and children
The marriage trap is real. Marriage has shown to benefit men financially, while negatively disadvantaging women. Married men make 11% more than men who have never been married. While divorced men make 9% more than single men.
On the other hand, when we look at women. Their earning potential decreases once they have children and after divorce or separation.
Women with children earn on average 12% less than those of women without children, and this gap increased with the number of children: with one child, the gap was 9%; with two children, it was 12%; and with three or more children, 20%.
An American study suggests that women’s median income for the year of their separation or divorce dropped by about 30%, whereas men’s median income decreased by only 6%.
Research also indicates that women’s household income suffers more than men’s after divorce. Women with dependent children were less likely than men to reach pre-divorce income within six years following the divorce.
This does not even take into consideration the financial abuse that women endure during and after abusive relationships. Nearly half of all women have been in an abusive relationship. And we know that 99% of abusive relationships involve financial abuse.
So women, we need to start talking about money. And empower each other to find wealth and financial independence.
Because money and finances have been used as a tool for control and abuse, many of us have negative money stories. Throughout this month, I will be sharing my experiences, so that we can collectively write an empowering story of recovery from financial abuse.
Action plan:
Over the next month, I will be sharing tips about how to take control over your financial situation, entrepreneurship, and money management.
I will share my experiences with financial abuse, so that you can spot the signs and stop the bleeding.
I will be sharing the tools that I use to start my business.
Every day we will take steps towards finding safety and financial freedom, here are the goals for the month.
- Spring Cleaning: clean up all receipts
- Refunds, Exchanges, Rebates: look for any products or services that you need to return, exchange or have eligible rebates for including for tax purposes.
- File Taxes: gather up all your expenses and income and file your personal taxes.
- Look for funding: In Canada, government funding starts on April 1, so March is when you speak to funding agencies and prepare your applications.
- Cash flow planning: you will need to have an up to date financial projection for any applications when you are applying for funding.
Next Steps:
There is nothing that keeps us trapped in abusive situations more than money.
Whether it is a shitty job or a violent man, women stay because they do not have the financial means to leave. Apart from having a job outside of the home, we NEED to develop passive income streams that go directly into a business account that no man in your life has access to, for your safety.
To Do List:
Here are the steps to take today:
- Set up flex shipping with Canada Post, this is a public post office near you where you can collect your mail, samples, products, etc without anyone that you are living with having access to it. In the event that you have to leave your home, you will already have an address to direct all your mail. This service is free of charge, I use it to ensure that my medical cannabis prescriptions arrive safely.
- Get a digital banking account like Koho, do not let your partner or any men in your life know you have it. This is your safety fund. You can e-transfer money to yourself by email, this is great to use for day to day purchases as you receive cash back. And if you are like me and are unable to obtain a credit card, this digital banking card works as a pre-paid mastercard, so you can pay for hotel and flight bookings with ease. If you use this link to set up your banking we will both receive $20 when you sign up.
- Start saving: Put away a little money each month- $20 here $100 there. The best thing about using Koho, is that it auto-rounds up purchases and stashes that money away, so it is like a little surprise savings every month!
- Safety deposit box, go to the bank and get a safety deposit box for your passport, birth certificate and your children's documents. Trust me they will try to cut off your access to your drivers license, passport and other identity documents you require. I am currently in the process of trying to replace all of my documents which have been taken. There is a cost and time associated with getting all new passports, birth certificates and drivers license.
- Productization: Start thinking about one thing you are really good at, and how you can break that down into one unit. It can be anything from digital courses, consulting, art, fitness coaching, t-shirts, mugs.
You don’t want to be leaving an abusive situation and landing in sex work or having to go to an office. Handling a job, any job when you are dealing with court, harassment and stalking is near impossible, so find something now that you can do behind the screen to keep you going.
If you are experiencing violence in the home or workplace know that you are not alone and the rates or violence towards women has increased since the pandemic.
Probably Special is committed to empowering women to find financial independence. Every woman can achieve peak performance and look great doing so. We believe that clothing should not only enhance physical performance but also boost confidence. Women want to feel beautiful, brave and supported in their wildest adventures. Our products are designed with the understanding that when women feel supported and strong in her attire, she is more likely to push boundaries and achieve her goals.
We are launching our brand ambassador program that will allow our customers and fans to earn income on any sales generated from just wearing our products. We know that women like to rely on the recommendations of other women, especially when it comes to periods and performance wear. Unlike other brands that require 10K followers to work with a brand, we are looking to work with real women, who have their established peer networks, who are leaders in their community in fitness and finding financial independence.
Resources:
Korenman and Neumark (1991).
wingsprogram.com
Why Wait? The Effect of Marriage and Childbearing on the Wages of Men and Women
https://women-gender-equality.canada.ca/en/gender-based-violence/intimate-partner-violence.html