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Women face a variety of financial issues and challenges that either aren't experienced by men, or aren't experienced to the same degree.This article, based on research and on the proceedings of a women-and-money incubator held earlier in 2000, details some of those dynamics, and why the financial planning community should be more aware of the issues in order to provide more effective products and services.
The financial services industry, women's organizations and other interested groups, and-most important-women themselves, increasingly recognize the need for women to successfully manage their personal finances in today's complex society. In a March 2000 Gallup poll, women ranked financial issues as the most pressing personal concern in their lives-ahead of family, health, time and stress, and equal rights.
Like men, women face a myriad of financial issues: budgeting their income, being adequately insured, establishing and maintaining sound credit, saving and investing for their own retirement, planning their estate, and saving for a variety of life goals, to name a few. And, like men, women also must become financially independent, and they must work toward that financial independence regardless of their marital status or their life events. Indeed, their financial independence is increasingly critical because they often have others-children or aging parents, for example-who are financially dependent on them. These financial challenges are not restricted to those of more limited monetary means-they exist along the entire socioeconomic continuum.
However, many women find it more difficult than men to successfully manage their money and attain financial independence. Historically, they have relied on men for their financial support, and many have been conditioned to believe that they cannot competently handle money. While this attitude of financial dependency is changing in today's society, it remains a powerful force in America and some nations of the world.
Financial anxiety, financial illiteracy and financial ill-preparedness are not unique to women, of course. Numerous surveys show that men also have deep concerns and troubled relationships with money. But although men and women face the same basic money management issues, they often face them in different ways. Women tend to be more anxious about their financial future and more uninformed about the ways to secure it, and they typically face more financial challenges than men. For example, although...