I’ve been passionate about women’s equality since I was a kid, and I love that I have now been able to bring that into my career.
At Summit, we believe that in order to build confidence, women have to be comfortable talking about their finances.
According to a 2017 report, the White House and the Department of Labor estimate that women earn 76% of what men earn, resulting in an average lifetime differential of $250,000.
Statistics like these are simply shocking and underscore why women must advocate for themselves and make smart, informed decisions, especially when it comes to finances.
We’re always looking for opportunities to get the conversation started and help women talk to each other about money mistakes, wins, and everything in between.
Get money out on the table
To help women gain confidence around finances, we decided to embark on an entirely new type of project that would address these exact concerns: a TV commercial centered on common money questions, acknowledging financial mistakes, and building financial confidence.
While remaining inclusive, we placed an underlying emphasis on women. Having questions is human; we’ve all been there. So why are people — especially women — so reluctant to talk about money?
Our thinking was that if we could start a conversation about money management and, honestly, mismanagement, we could shed light on how people can use financial education as a tool to become more comfortable and confident with their finances.
To stay true to our core audience, the cast and crew were primarily female, and we also worked with a female director — something surprisingly rare in the industry.
After getting the experience of working with someone as talented and dynamic as our director, Judy Starkman, I’m grateful we have the opportunity to share this message with the greater Madison community.
Women are less likely to ask questions
There were certainly some common questions that are difficult for people to talk openly about that we wanted to address. For instance, the majority of the collective population lives paycheck to paycheck, but this is something women are extremely reluctant to admit.
Another example: women are hesitant to ask questions about investments. CNN reported last year that just 43% of women said they were confident in their investments compared to 56% of men. A different study, the Financial Finesse Think Tank’s 2016 Gender Gap in Financial Wellness Report, found only one-fourth of women surveyed said they were on track to save for retirement compared to one-third of men. And when you look at investment ads, you’ll see male after male after male.
So, it’s clear there isn’t a collective effort to encourage women to talk about investments, let alone think they could be great at investing.
Knowing these subjects can heighten vulnerability, it was very important to our team to address common questions relevant to as many people as possible.
(Continued)
It’s about female empowerment
This entire experience has driven home for me why female empowerment is so important. We should all do as much as we can to ensure women have a seat at the table and remind them their opinions truly are valued.
As Judy put it, “Female empowerment is about equality and being treated with respect. If there’s ever been a moment, now is the moment for us to be heard.”
When it comes down to it, empowered women empower women and, therefore, getting more women into higher positions is crucial. I truly believe that women need to see other women in leadership roles, supporting one another. Together we are a force! Women need to lift each other up and inspire one another.
We need to give women opportunities to showcase their talents and help propel other women into leadership roles. Men play a key role in this, too. They need to advocate for and support women.
What can you do?
As a woman in a position of leadership, I implore young women who are just beginning their careers to simply go for it. Speak up. Dream big. You can do it! I love Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In” concept. It remains incredibly relevant because it inspires action and confidence — two essential elements that younger women should embrace as they grow into their careers.
We can inspire the leaders of tomorrow to take the first step toward achieving their dreams; it’s such an easy thing for us to do. We just need to do it. That’s why it’s so important to me to talk about this! In my world, even the most confident women have questions when finances are involved.
Let’s get started
I hope this message is a step toward assuring every woman that it’s okay not to know all the answers right away. However, through confidence and planning she can get on track with her goals and achieve the life she wants.
And I think that an empowered attitude and confident perspective apply to any woman, in any scenario, in any industry.
Kim Sponem is CEO/president of one of Wisconsin’s largest credit unions, Summit Credit Union. Under her leadership since 2002 (then CUNA Credit Union) it has grown from $200 million to $3 billion in assets and its branch network has expanded from four locations to 34 across south central and southeastern Wisconsin, including three in Madison high schools.
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