Is Financial Feminism a Thing of the Past? 🤔

Guest Blog by Money Healing Club Moderator, Melissa Jensen

Let's dive into a time machine, back to my law school days, when I stumbled upon the eye-opening book, "Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide" by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever. It was like a light bulb moment – the reason women were missing out on promotions and raises was because we didn't ask for them as often as men. So, I embarked on a journey to learn the art of negotiation, and it changed my career game. I became a proud woman who asked for what she deserved! 💪

Fast forward to last week, when I saw a headline (watched a TikTok) claiming that women negotiate more but are told "no" more often. 🤦🏽 As Laura Kray, Jessica Kennedy, and Margaret Lee revealed in their publication Now, Women Do Ask: A Call to Update Beliefs about the Gender Pay Gap, “[w]hile men reported higher negotiation propensity than women prior to the twenty-first century, the gender difference grew neutral and then reversed since then.” The tables have turned – women are now rocking the negotiation scene-but we’re still making less money.

Whelp, I thought, financial feminism is dead. ☠️

So backing up, what even is financial feminism? 🤔 In short it's a movement about women having the financial freedom to make the choices they want in their lives. Let's take a quick trip through history: from the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, women have been fighting for equality in the workplace. We've made strides, but the wage gap still lingers. In 2019, women outpaced men in the workforce, yet the wage gap remained stagnant. Then, 2020 happened, and four times as many women as men left their jobs due to the pandemic. In 2021, men regained 300% more jobs lost during the pandemic than women. And here we are in 2023, with the Paycheck Fairness Act still waiting to be passed, and women earning just 82% of what men do, with even greater disparities for women of color.

I first heard the phrase financial feminism in 2015; it was the era of millennial women stepping into their power. Remember #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso and Sheryl Sandberg telling us how to Lean In? In this environment Ellevest, a robo-advisor investment platform and program designed for women and backed by venture capitalists, came on the scene shouting,📣"Be a financial feminist!" It was a revelation for me – wealth and retirement planning could be feminist acts! I was actually taking power back from the patriarchy by making money. And I wasn't just building wealth for myself; it was for all womankind.👩🏻‍🤝‍👩🏿

While the girlboss era has ended rather infamously, since 2014 the financial feminism era has only ramped up. Google "Financial Feminist," and you'll stumble upon books 📘, podcasts 🎙️, and influencers 🤳🏽 galore. It seems that teaching women to get rich is much more profitable than my actual brokerage account. Yet despite this, women aren’t getting richer. Why? Enter the gender wealth gap.

What is the gender wealth gap? Join us next week for Part 2: Reclaiming Financial Feminism, as we discuss yet another money gap and what we need from financial feminism going forward.

P.S. If you’ve ever found yourself shopping to soothe, only to feel that pit of regret, the 7 Day Mindful Spending Challenge could be just what you need. Seven gentle, research-backed prompts to explore why spending feels comforting—and how to shift those habits with kindness.