Anna Beth Gorman, executive director of the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas, didn’t know what to expect out of the first meeting of Save10, the foundation’s newest initiative to educate women on the basics of financial literary. But given the subject matter and scheduling, it seemed prudent to temper her expectations.
“It was one of those things where we hoped we could get 30 or 40 women to come, because that’s not a topic you think is truly a sexy topic,” she says.
But when Sarah Catherine Gutierrez, owner of Aptus Financial, took the podium to deliver a talk on some of the most basic financial information, a full house was waiting to hang on her every word.
“We had over 100 women show up, on a weeknight, and you could hear a pin drop,” Gorman says. “The women were so engaged in very simple messages of what it is to start saving for retirement. We went over on time because there were all these questions and it was almost comical because everyone came just to get some very basic financial information.”
Save10 refers to personal savings and preaches putting away 10 percent of a woman’s earnings, particularly between the ages of 18 and 30 to set a financial pattern for life. It’s not exactly a novel message, but one that women all too often don’t hear, Gorman says.
“Financial tools were created for men by men,” she says. “The existing financial tools that are out there right now still have to catch up to a new dynamic where 50 percent of the workforce is women. It is a household of two incomes, it is not the dynamic where there is a spouse at home taking care of the family. Our economic community is working families, and we haven’t caught up yet with financial tools that address that dynamic.”
“This is an advocacy campaign. It is a message. It is getting women to talk about saving openly and to really make that a part of the culture in the workforce.”
Anna Beth Gorman
Gorman says women typically do not engage in peer-to-peer conversations on the subject, which leaves many in the dark about what they should be saving, how to leverage retirement savings vehicles through their job or how compound interest works.
“[Research shows] one of those things that working women would like to see is more financial education and financial coaching,” she says. “They’re making incomes now, but no one in their personal upbringing or even in their working environment is sitting down with them and helping them come up with a financial plan for their future.”
The issue of women’s financial literacy cuts across generational and socio-economic lines. It’s not just low-income or underserved populations that are getting left out of these discussions, Gorman says, it’s also a problem among young, college-educated women and those in middle or upper-income brackets who have simply abdicated money matters to their spouses.
“It’s quite shocking when you sit down with women and it’s still, ‘Oh, my spouse takes care of all that,’” she says. “Well, what about when the worst day ever happens? That woman is completely unprepared having been kept out of the conversations about here is where our savings are, here is our financial advisor, here is our lawyer, here is our accountant. Women are really vulnerable in our state. We need to really make this just a part of the normal thread of life for younger generations and for older generations.”
Sarah Catherine Gutierrez
Being left behind on basic financial acumen also erodes a woman’s power in the workplace – affecting her upward mobility – and hamstrings her ability to manage more complicated financial issues such as buying a house or starting a business.
“Specifically for the younger generation, they don’t have this idea that they couldn’t start a business because they’re saying they can do anything,” Gorman says. “But once they actually get to that process it looks and feels a lot different. It’s a little bit harder.”
“We have some back work to do helping women get to the point where they can get access to capital, a business loan or even understand how finances work.”
Gorman says for Save10 to be truly impactful across all segments of the community in the future, the program must broaden and refine its message in order to engage these audiences accordingly.
“One shoe does not fit all. What we’re trying to do today is a simple message, but we aren’t really intentional in looking at savings for women of color, savings for women in marginalized communities,” she says. “It’s easy today to say this is a great campaign for 18- to 30-year-old working women, but if you’re not thinking critically and with intention, you’re going to leave out populations. That, as a foundation, is what we absolutely want to avoid.”
“Moving forward in the future, it will be the responsibility of the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas to really take into account intersectionality. We will bring in people to guide us on our steering committee, on our board, who will make sure we have all the voices at the table to make this a message, a campaign and work that is benefitting all women in Arkansas.”
Founded in 1998, the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas is a statewide nonprofit organization that raises funds to invest back into women’s and girls’ educational and economic security. Save 10 joins a list of initiatives and grant programs, including Girls of Promise® which encourages girls to pursue higher-level STEM courses and careers.
For more information on Save10, Girls of Promise® or the other work of the foundation, or to get involved, visit womensfoundationarkansas.org.
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