Financial self-determination is an exhilarating aspect of life today which allows women of all ages and income levels to exercise control over their lives. Goals once thought unattainable are now within grasp. Raising girls to be
savvy about moneyThankfully, many teen-age girls now see limitless opportunities before them where, 30 years ago, those opportunities were reserved generally for boys.
Research tells us that adolescent girls still are prone to experience problems with self-image and confidence. But with greater frequency, we also see young women in their pre-adolescent and teen years believing they can do anything to which they put their mind, spirit and soul.
For more than 30 years, the American Freshman Survey, conducted by the University of California at Los Angeles, has tracked the goals and attitudes of incoming freshmen at hundreds of campuses, large and small, across the country.
The 1996 results depicted a fairly feisty group, with big increases in the proportion of women who rate themselves above average in leadership ability, intellect and social self-confidence, who want to fly airplanes, write software programs, design computer models, and become doctors and lawyers.
Clearly, during the adolescence of our youngest generation, the seeds for self-confidence and success have been planted and nurtured in young women.
However, much remains to be accomplished in the march to gender equity. The earning power of women, higher than at any time in our history, is still some 30 percent less than that of men.
And, when it comes to personal finances, women still end up in the minus column.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, at some point, about 90 percent of American women will have sole responsibility for their finances because they will be unmarried, divorced or widowed. And, even though they make up 52 percent of the U.S. work force, many women are still clustered in service jobs with less pay and marginal benefits.
Women are grossly underinsured and 75 percent of retired women versus 54 percent of retired men receive no pension benefits. As a group, women start saving for retirement later than men, save less and generally invest in conservative, low-yield investments.
Given these facts, many advocates across the country strongly affirm that encouraging girls to work hard and pursue careers in math, science and technology is not enough now. It is equally important that they grow up understanding that such jobs mean financial stability for their futures.
According to Joline Godfrey, founder and president of An Income of Her Own, a California-based nonprofit organization committed to helping girls ages 13-19 learn about independence and economic self-sufficiency, we must be bold and encourage girls to own something: stock, bonds, a copyright or a business.
Pushing the concept of a women's need for economic power and well-being is an all-important task to which parents and educators must give priority.
Education is the key to helping girls understand the message about economic self-sufficiency at an early age. And we must deliver that message with fervor through encouragement and through example.
Economic literacy and economic self-sufficiency must become part of their youth so it can be an important part of their futures.
We must be role models for our daughters. We must teach them about financial concerns even though they may tend to be less interested than our sons.
Give them simple money management lessons at an early age. Check their schools to see if personal finances are covered in the curriculum.
Encourage them to read the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Pacific Business News and the business sections of local newspapers. Take them on the adventure with you and watch them blossom in ways unheard of just a generation ago.
Betty White is principal of Sacred Hearts
Academy, Hawaii's largest all-girl school.