Sapna: “Hey Sanjana! You know what, the other day I got this call from a financial advisor.”
Sanjana: “Okay, and what did they say?”
Sapna: “She was like, ‘Last year, you invested in an SIP with my guidance. Now, there are some exciting new schemes in insurance, bonds, and gold that I’d love to discuss with you. Can we meet this coming Saturday?’”
Sanjana: “And I’m sure this might be your response:
‘My dad is out of town – we can meet after he’s back.’
‘I’ll check if my husband is available on Saturday and let you know.’
‘Investments? Too tied up with festivals and work. Can we do this after a few months?’”
Sapna: “Hmm, not exactly but kind of yes. But Sanjana, how did you guess that?”
Sanjana: “Haha, these are common responses many women give. We always feel there’s so much to do and so many responsibilities. Why should I manage finances?”
Isn’t this a common conversation? I see changing scenarios with women getting more and more financially educated, but there’s a long way to go.
But, Why Should Men Have All the Finances?
This scenario is quite common in India. Despite increasing literacy rates and women’s participation in the workforce, the financial decision-making process in households is still largely male-dominated.
The Need for Change
While we often talk about women’s empowerment in various aspects of life, financial empowerment is still a lagging area. Why is that? The reasons are rooted in cultural, social, and psychological factors:
Mindset: From childhood, many girls in Indian families are not encouraged to think about money beyond basic budgeting. The idea that women should focus on domestic responsibilities rather than financial matters is passed down through generations. Traditional roles prioritize household management for women, while men are expected to manage finances.
Prioritizing Home over Career: Women, even those in senior positions, often prioritize household responsibilities over their careers. The recent McKinsey report on Indian women’s workforce participation highlighted that many women reduce their career ambitions due to family expectations, leaving them with little time to manage finances.
Influence: Women are often influenced by the financial behaviours of those around them, especially men. When they see male family members handling all the financial responsibilities, they accept this division of labour without questioning it.
Steps to Bring Change
To bring about change, it is important to challenge the status quo. Financial independence for women is not just about earning money; it’s about being able to manage and grow that money. Take the example of my neighbor, Shruti. She recently realized that while she contributed to household expenses, she had little control or understanding of where her money was going. With some guidance, she took proactive steps toward financial independence, and her confidence has soared since. Here are some steps that women like Shruti can take to gain financial autonomy:
Create a financial checklist: Break your goals into micro, short, medium, long, and super long-term priorities.
Review family finances: Take stock of what is happening in your family’s financial landscape. Understand the current investments, savings, and expenses.
Encourage open discussions: Start talking about financial decisions during family gatherings. It helps to be involved, even in small matters like discussing utility bills or grocery budgets.
Recognize lifestyle inflation: The lifestyle that you’re living today is probably different from 10 years ago. Acknowledge this and adapt your financial goals accordingly.
Diversify investments: Look beyond traditional savings accounts and fixed deposits. Consider mutual funds, stocks, digital gold, and insurance schemes. Sovereign gold bonds, for instance, offer the security of gold with better returns and no risks of theft or damage.
Goal-oriented decisions: Base your investment decisions on personal and family goals, not just on what percentage return an investment might offer.
Invest in financial education: Spend at least 30 minutes a week learning about finances from authentic, unbiased and non-lucrative sources.
Celebrating Financial Decisions
In a typical Indian household, if a child falls off a swing, the mother is often questioned. But what if we could change the narrative? What if, in the future, when a family prospers financially, people say, “Mom is the real Laxmi of this house; she not only manages the family’s emotions but also its financial health.”
Empowering women financially can bring about that change. According to a 2023 report by SEBI, the number of women investors in mutual funds has increased significantly in the last three years—a positive sign of growing awareness. However, more needs to be done to ensure that women feel confident about managing their own finances. Let us celebrate finance, instead of just purchasing financial products!
(The writer is a Financial Educator with 15-plus years of experience, a published author, a TEDx Speaker who hosts multilingual podcast shows ‘LaxmiGyaan Library’ & ‘A Sip of Finance’)
