Money has delighted us, but also confounded us for quite a while now. For most part of our life, we are either thinking, earning or spending it. But why have men been traditionally better at handling finances, is a question worth looking into!
Indian women are proficient at handling day to day finances but financial planning has always stumped them. Are you also one of the countless Indian women baffled by money?
Read on to discover some of the major financial challenges Indian women face and how to overcome them:
1. Gender pay gap: Article 39 of the Indian Constitution states that men and women are entitled for equal pay against equal work. But that is hardly practiced! According to a 2017 article of India Responsible Business Forum (IRBF), women are paid 27% less as compared to men.
Solution: Indian women are known to be less likely to ask for a raise from their boss as compared to men, who are comfortable discussing money matters. Research the salary benchmark for your role as well as the industry standards. Create a list of your contribution to the business, your achievements and converse with your manager regarding the same. Utilise salary indexes and calculators like Glassdoor and PayScale to derive your actual worth.
2. Longer periods of absence from work: Indian women often adopt the role of the primary care giver. Even though the concept of house husband is becoming popular overseas, India is yet to notice such change. Thus, women encounter longer career breaks due to pregnancy, ailing parents and other dependents. A direct impact of this is visible in the reduced advancement opportunities and super-annuity benefits offered at retirement. These factors make financial planning all the more important for women.
Solution: Approach this problem with a multi-pronged approach. There are three main areas of concern - insurance, investment and retirement. First avail insurance to cover yourself and your family against any financial discrepancies. Once you have safeguarded your income, it is now time to use your savings. Invest in financial instruments to generate new sources of income. Lastly focus on creating a retirement corpus to ensure your family’s well-being post retirement.
3. Being emotionally attached to money: Women are always wary about running out of money. They associate financial loss with failure and shame. This is one of the main reasons women, unlike men, have lower risk appetite.
Solution: Understand what money means in your life! Money is the tool that helps you acquire and experience things to fulfill your needs. Separate the end result from the tool to achieve it and make financial decisions from that unemotional place. Start utilizing your savings to create a secondary source of income. If you are a first-time investor with a low risk appetite, consider investing in FD (Fixed Deposits) by Bajaj Finance.
4. Longer Life expectancy: According to a study published by The Lancet Journal in 2017, Indian women have a life expectancy of 70.3 years, as compared to 66.9 years in the case of Indian men. Increased life expectancy coupled with lower payouts at retirement increase the retirement-savings gap between men and women.
Solution: Start planning for your retirement early. Even with lower payouts, you must leave room to create an optimum retirement corpus. Apt and early retirement planning enables you to be independent, while also being better prepared to meet unexpected expenses. Several financial instruments like Senior Citizens' Saving Scheme, Post Office Monthly Income Scheme, Fixed deposits, Mutual funds, etc. can help you plan your retirement better.
5. Unchecked spending: You might be overlooking the importance of tracking your expenditure. Even if analyzing your cash flow does not appeal to you, it is an important step to create wealth and fulfill your goals.
Solution: The most basic way to track expenses is by creating a budget. You should be aware of your spending habits and track where your money is going. Prioritize your spending to focus on your needs. Decide how much money you can put away on a monthly basis, before you formulate your spending plan. Invest these savings monthly or as a lump sum amount in recurring accounts or Fixed Deposit for Women to create an indirect income source.
6. Leaving financial planning to your male counterpart: Most Indian women feel financial planning to be a man’s job and depend on their male counterpart to plan their finances. This is mainly due to the patriarchal setup of the Indian society, where men are viewed as the main breadwinner and women adopt a sedentary role in financial matters.
Solution: Working women have started actively participating in financial decisions of the family, but even homemakers should not feel financially dis-empowered. They have the additional time to start proactively investing and also develop a knowledge base in financial planning. This enables them to be independent and adopt a more central role in financial decision making.