Equal pay for equal work: The oft-quoted figure is that women earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by their comparably educated, comparably experienced male counterparts. In my experience, the figures are even worse on Wall Street. I’ve come across estimates that put the pay of women in finance closer to half the pay of men doing the same jobs.
Across industries, yes, equal pay is still very much an issue. The problem and its effects are real. Wage disparities lead to specific financial concerns for women.
- Earnings implications: Women will, in total, earn less over their lifetimes. This is compounded by the fact that women are more likely to take time out of the workforce for family reasons.
- Time implications: Women have to work roughly a ten- to ten-and-a-half hour day to earn the same as their male counterparts do in an eight-hour workday.
- Life course implications: Women tend to live longer than men. This often means a higher lifetime cost of living, higher costs of living in retirement, and higher healthcare costs late in life.
- Investing implications: Lower earning potential often affects when, how, and sometimes whether women invest their money at all. This carries over into all kinds of lifestyle, future planning, and retirement considerations.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has supported a ten-point plan for women’s equality, of which pay equity is a major component. I’d like to see this addressed everywhere with the same level of concern.
The unique financial concerns women face and the lack of independent, fiduciary-level wealth management alternatives that address these concerns–these realities were a major inspiration and push for me to found a women-focused, women-run wealth management firm: LexION Capital. We are dedicated to empowering women everywhere, and to empowering all of our clients to take control of their financial lives. While equal pay for equal work might still, amazingly, be an issue in many places, every single client receives equal treatment at LexION Capital. We are honored to serve the women, men, and families who are part of the LexION family.
