Women: Go for Financial Independence Despite the Challenges

By Gordon Chavez, financial advisor

My two brothers and I were raised by a single mom. My parents divorced when I was 8. Before I was born, my mom was on her way to getting a degree in anthropology. When I came along, all that was put on the back burner. The idea was that her place was at home, taking care of me and the house. That degree would have come in handy 8 years later, when my parents divorced, and she became the sole income earner for our family. Unfortunately, the jobs she was able to get were not paying a living wage, especially for a single mom raising three boys in southern California.

The situation in my household could have easily been blamed on culture, my dad being Latino. But we need to realize that it’s bigger than that. The historian Carter G. Woodson said, “If you can control a man’s (or woman’s) thinking, you do not have to worry about his (or her) actions… If you make a man (or woman) feel that he (or she) is inferior, you do not have to compel him (or her) to accept an inferior status…” We know that society has been male dominated since the beginning, so it’s no surprise that any other group would have to work harder for the same results.

Our quality of life is highly dependent on our financial literacy. I believe the best-case scenario for any partnership is that each of the partners is financially independent on their own and can build a healthy and happy family. There must be balance. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the head of the Baháʼí faith, explains, “Until the reality of equality between man and woman is fully established and attained, the highest social development of mankind is not possible.”

It may not be fair, and it may to be more difficult for some to achieve financial independence, but you’re worth the extra work to achieve it. Our society depends on it.

Local resources for financial literacy / Recursos locales para el conocimiento financiero:

Girls Invest (financial empowerment/empoderamiento financiero): https://girlsinvestsandieg.wixsite.com/my-site

North County African American Women’s Association (scholarships/becas): https://www.ncaawa.org

San Diego Financial Literacy Center (financial literacy/conocimiento financiero): https://www.sdflc.org

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