Sacred Success

“Women, Wealth and Power”

Today, women control the purse strings to a greater degree than at any time in history. A 2012 study by the Family Wealth Advisors Council showed that females in the US hold 51.3% of personal wealth, or $14 trillion, a number that should climb to $22 trillion by about 2020. In fact, 22% of American women outearn their male partners. Yet, this progress doesn’t guarantee that women can manage their finances wisely. Most young girls still are taught how to be nice, obedient, silent and self-effacing, but they are not educated on how to manage money.

Women can create wealth and wield power on their own terms. When women first entered the US workforce in large numbers, they found unfamiliar and sometimes hostile territory. People called ambitious women “alpha females, pushy broads” or just plain “bitches.” They were “marginalized by men, often spurned by women and alienated from their authentic selves.” Even into the early 2000s, many women still felt uncomfortable holding power and authority. New York Times reporter Lisa Belkin ignited a media firestorm in 2003 when she wrote that high-powered women had “opted out” and were tired of ...