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Forbes
16-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why Women Need To Talk About Money Openly And Often
Why Women Need To Talk About Money Openly And Often Women are told it's impolite, tacky, or inappropriate to talk about money, and as a result, we've been silenced. But that silence has cost us in our paychecks, pricing products and services, investing our money, and our financial confidence. But if we want more wealth in the hands of women, we need to talk about money openly and often. The silence does not protect us; it takes our financial power away from us. If you want to build your financial confidence, you need to break the silence around talking about money and make regular and unapologetic conversations around the subject. There are consequences when women don't talk about money, and we see those consequences show up through every part of life and business. One of the most immediate costs to not discussing money is income. The wage gap persists because many women don't know what the others are earning or what they should be charging. In business, this shows up as undercharging and not charging for the value that the client is receiving. This silence also enables financial abuse and a lack of power in relationships. When we don't have those open conversations about debt, financial goals, budgeting, or financial purchases, too many women stay unaware about their household finances. Some don't even realize when and how they are being manipulated or controlled financially until it's too late. When money isn't discussed openly, many feel they do not have the skills or knowledge to invest their money, ask questions, or even negotiate financial terms. This can breed shame around financial mistakes, leaving women feel isolated when struggling financially. The reality is that women who are struggling financially are never alone. There's no need for money conversations to be formal or intimidating. The best money conversations are simple exchanges that build clarity and confidence. It can be as straightforward as asking a fellow business owner what they charge for a similar service or talking with your partner about a shared financial goal. You could text a friend and ask what app they use for investing their money or how they are planning for their retirement. We need to get comfortable about using words like profit, equity, debt, cash flow, wealth, and being rich. There's too much shame around these words, and talking about these topics only help us gain financial power. We learn to set smarter goals, manage our money better, and avoid costly mistakes. Money is a tool but often gets clouded with emotion. But money is fuel for your life and your business, and the more frequent conversations are had around money, the less fear or insecurity you will feel around the topic. You'll be in a better position to make financial decisions when you talk about money and grow your knowledge. There are many ways you can get a conversation started when you want to start talking more about money with friends and family. Here are a few conversation starter ideas: When you surround yourself with people who also talk openly about money, it makes it easier. Join masterminds or groups where women talk about financial growth. Whether it's focused on business, investing, or budgeting, these are safe spaces to talk about money and share your concerns. The bottom line is that women need to be talking about money and normalizing the conversation. The more you speak openly about money, the more confidence and knowledge you will have. When women lead these conversations, we not only build our own wealth, but we help other women build theirs. We need to normalize women having more money, and managing their money to build wealth.
RNZ News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
'Nothing further from the truth' - pay equity shake-up not cutting pay for women, says PM
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The prime minister has accused critics of the government's pay equity shake-up of "scaremongering" and levelling "gendered abuse". But Labour says the coalition is "gaslighting" half the population. A law change - pushed through under urgency last week - raised the threshold for workers to prove they have been poorly paid due to their gender. It will save the government billions of dollars which would have otherwise been paid out in increased wages. Addressing reporters on Monday afternoon, Luxon said the government's plan had been presented disingenuously by many of its opponents. "I've seen Labour Party emails out saying that we're actually cutting pay for women. Nothing further from the truth. "Equal pay remains, no change. Pay parity remains, no change. Collective bargaining remains, no change. Settlements that have already happened under pay equity, no change." Luxon also objected to "gender-based abuse" being directed at female ministers, saying that was "utterly unacceptable". "By all means, tackle the issue. Debate the substance and content of pay equity, but what we saw over the weekend was completely and utterly out of line." Luxon pointed to a scathing opinion piece in the Sunday Star Times which used the c-word to refer to female ministers. He also cited an image of Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden dressed as a Nazi which was shared on Facebook by a Labour Party volunteer team. Labour leader Chris Hipkins agreed it was "totally unacceptable" and had directed the party to put systems in place to prevent volunteers making the same mistake again. "To be clear, it wasn't a Labour Party-originated post. It was something that a volunteer party member reposted to a Labour Party page. "It shouldn't have happened. I understand it was removed very quickly, but they need better systems in place to make sure that it can't happen again." He said the post crossed the line, but other commentary on the issue did not. "I think some of the commentary, some of the columns that were written, show the raw emotion of the issue." But he said the coalition was "gaslighting half the population," rejecting its claim the law change was about making sure pay equity was "transparent, accurate and fair". "All of the government's excuses simply don't wash. "This is about the government balancing its budget, and New Zealand women are being asked to pay the price." Luxon told reporters he could not release the amount that was being saved because the information was "budget sensitive". When it was pointed out to him the government was able to choose what information was budget sensitive, Luxon reiterated the "impact impact of these costs are budget sensitive". Luxon disagreed with the consideration that people may feel anxious knowing their wages will no longer increase as expected, but be forced to wait another 10 days before finding out how much. "It will be revealed at the budget when we're looking at the totality of our fiscal situation." Hipkins said it was "manifestly unjust" for people to wait for clarity on Budget Day. "I cannot see, now that they've passed the law change, I can not see how it's still budget sensitive. "I think being up front with how much they've saved about that, I can't see how that's still budget sensitive." Luxon claimed there was "scaremongering" going on, and reporting on the issue had been "disingenuous". "You're mixing up concepts around equal pay, pay parity. We're talking about pay equity here, not bargaining right," said Luxon. Hipkins said the prime minister was the one who did not understand the difference. "When we're talking about pay equity, we're talking about work of equal value not work that is the same. "It's very important to understand that." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Times
07-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Polish workers in the UK earn more than Britons
Polish workers in the UK now earn more than native Britons having gradually closed the wage gap in the 20 years since migrants from eastern Europe first came to Britain en masse. Poland was among ten countries to join the European Union in May 2004, leading to a surge in immigration to Britain, which was then also a member of the bloc. By 2014, there were just under two million EU migrants living in Britain, about half of whom came from Poland. Payroll data from that year shows that Poles, on average, earned 15 per cent less than native Britons and migrants most commonly found work in industries such as construction, hospitality and agriculture, which may not require fluency in English. The latest data, however,
