Mother’s Day arrives this year amid mounting financial difficulties for women and girls. COVID-19 has driven millions of women, particularly mothers of young children, out of the workforce, leading to disproportionate female wealth loss and some of the highest unemployment rates for women seen in the 21st century. I’ve seen this firsthand in my work helping young people at Albert, a personal finance app whose customers (which skew 20-something and female) can text me and the other Geniuses for financial guidance. Since the pandemic started, I’ve gotten frequent messages from young women who are navigating unemployment or underemployment while simultaneously struggling with credit card debt, student loans and everyday costs, such as rent and groceries.
Mother figures are often our first teachers; they’re the ones who set us up for success in school, friendships and our professional lives. Because this is my first Mother’s Day as an expectant parent, I’ve found myself thinking a lot about the many life lessons my mother taught my sister and me, especially when it came to saving, spending and budgeting.
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To learn the value of money
Learning the value of money as early as possible can help make sure that girls are set up for healthy financial habits later in life. I started learning about personal finance when I was 10 years old, thanks to my parents, who were both immigrants and had to learn all about personal finance on their own. They took a hands-on, “real world” approach to teaching my sister and me about how to manage our money (allowance) from our jobs (chores).
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To nurture her independence
The reality is that 56% of married women rely on their husbands and partners to make major financial decisions, which can hurt them financially in the long run. After almost a decade in asset management and entertainment finance, I began hosting one-on-one coaching sessions for women who were going through life transitions, such as getting married and switching jobs, to help them overcome money stress and become financially independent. I worked with several professional, savvy women who were worse-off financially than they should have been because they deferred to their spouses on money matters. I wish these women had had the confidence to assert their independence when it came to personal finance, but independence isn’t something that just pops up in adulthood — it’s a learned behavior.
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To boost her STEM confidence
Girls outperform boys in school, but they haven’t historically been encouraged to pursue careers in math and science as adults. There are many reasons for this, including gender discrimination in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, a lack of female mentors and role models in these fields, and a misogynistic culture that portrays math and science as inherently male expertises.
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To spark her interest in financial services careers
Financial services has long been a male-dominated field, but it doesn’t have to stay that way! Your pre-teen daughter could grow up to be a fintech data scientist, a trader, an investment banker, a financial analyst, a CFP® or an economist. It’s essential to plant the seeds of interest now so that she’ll take AP Economics later.
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To avoid mistakes as an adult
One of the most common financial struggles I’ve noticed in the women I advise is credit card debt. And because there are so many factors that put women at a disadvantage when it comes to money — like the wage gap and the pink tax — it typically takes them longer to pay off this debt. It doesn’t help that women tend to earn less money than men, and that we often save less, because we tend to incur higher expenses, especially health care expenses. The system is rigged against women building savings and paying off debt, which is why it’s essential to give your daughters the skills they need to thrive in a gender-biased economy.
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