6 More Reasons Women Resist Building Wealth – Post #6

In yesterday’s post, we looked at eight likely obstacles to women building wealth. Today, I have six more potential obstacles to share with you. (As if you need more!)

(Is this content resonating with you? Please be sure to share your comments – praise, questions, criticisms, insights, resources, requests – in the Comment box below. I’d love to hear from you!)

Abdicating to Others:

Many women are already accustomed to managing the day-to-day finances – bill paying, purchase decisions, debt reduction, saving for emergencies, etc. However, when it comes to building wealth and growing assets that can passively grow AND ultimately free them from work, women are rarely involved.

Though times are absolutely changing, the managing of personal wealth has long been culturally viewed as a man’s role, or something best left to the experts. So, with little questioning of this arrangement, many women have abdicated (disowned the responsibility, blindly assigned to another) their own pathways to financial security.

With the culture and the media further edifying this more passive, or (gasp) submissive role, women who wish to change their financial outcomes have the burden of consciously choosing and negotiating for a more active role in the wealth building and management effort.

Lack of Mentors, Role Models and Social Influencers:

Many women report having very few or no women whom they feel model healthy, happy wealth building. Even finding media personalities (think: Oprah) as distant models of inspiration, women must look wider and deeper to find women they’d like to emulate.

Without a circle of social connections with whom to share and discuss the financial journey, women can feel very alone in their ‘building wealth’ endeavor.

Culturally Uncool:

This can cover a wide range of things from partners who become irritated when women try to get involved with the finances, to friends, colleagues, and family who shame women for their efforts to learn more about money and wealth building, to meeting women who take pride in their own financial illiteracy and abdication to a spouse.

It can even create internal sensations that women are breaking some unspoken rule – being a ‘bad girl’ or a ‘greedy person’ – for wanting more financial security and abundance. It can leave a woman feeling very awkward and confused about her budding interest.

Their Own Lives and Dreams:

Women often have passionate hopes and dreams for themselves and those they love. There must be something emotionally-inspiring, life-rich, and compelling for most women to undertake this journey.

Where some men pursue wealth because of their desire for control, power, beautiful women and fancy things, women building wealth need THEIR desires to be fulfilled, as well. After all, wealth building is not an easy journey for most people and requires years of patience and consistent, focused effort to learn and take action.

(This is why so few ever actually build significant wealth.)

Sadly, factoring in a women’s deeper hopes and dreams is rarely a part of formal wealth building conversations with those in the financial field.

Need Time and Methods to Visualize Multiple Scenarios and Feel Through Solutions:

Women tend to significantly factor emotions and other people into their decision-making. They need time to gather facts, explore ideas, evaluate concerns, test possibilities, consider risks, evaluate finances, integrate needs of others, sense how they feel about it all, and cross-check impacts against so many elements. When women do build wealth, they do so through a very holistic approach.

Current financial planning and guidance on wealth-building only give surface attention to how women prefer to go about things. Women need it to go MUCH deeper.

Money Taboo:

And, then, there’s the money taboo. This one is a biggie! As I mentioned earlier, women are relational beings. We sort things out by trying on ideas, exploring concepts, getting feedback, asking for advice, sharing resources, and so much more. But, if our mouths and our emotions have to stay taped shut due to cultural taboo, it can be a devastating blow to our to efforts to heal and improve our beliefs, feelings, actions, and outcomes around wealth building.

Behind-the-Scenes of Women Building Wealth

In short, when it comes to women’s interest or motivation around wealth-building, there can be a whole range of behind-the-scenes concerns and a whole life dynamic she is subconsciously seeking to consider, to align with, to support, and to feel good about.

(NOTE: What creates these resistances in the first place? Is it just women being flawed, weak, lazy, or inefficient? Or, does it go even deeper? Be sure to stay tuned for the upcoming published version of my book where I will dive further into this subject!)

You can’t just tell a woman, “Well, you just need to invest in stocks! I hear oil is going to boom!” Or, “You just need to save more.” Or, as my father told me, “You need to pay yourself, first.”

These are like one-dimensional tips when women are living in an eight-dimensional world.

From my research (through clients, interviews, online research, and personal experience), I cannot help but conclude there is a HUGE disconnect for my gender when it comes to “wealth” and “wealth building”. And, it can’t easily be fixed with current approaches.

If women struggle to fundamentally relate to the present concept of “wealth”, how are they supposed to BUILD it?

Join me, again, tomorrow when I will share what is happening in the financial industry and why I don’t believe it’s enough.

Previous: 8 Reasons Women Resist Wealth Building

• Next: The Financial Industry’s Focus on Women and Wealth