A ‘Rising Tide’ Lifts Women
There’s an old saying: A rising tide lifts all boats. Applied to the economy, this means that general improvements could benefit all participants within the economy. The same appears to be true for women.1
As the U.S. economy continues to grow, there is an influx of money available for small business startups. This is great news for female entrepreneurs struggling to find startup capital.2
The rollback of certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act has given many community banks and credit unions the latitude to lend more to local business owners, and the Small Business Administration is noting more loans.3 While men appear to still have greater access to funds from traditional lenders than women, the gap is finally narrowing (34 percent versus 31 percent).4
We hope that each of our clients has been able to take advantage of the strong economy, job market and real estate opportunities driven by today’s rising tide. Higher income and assets can help us raise our standard of living as well as provide a more secure financial future. If you need assistance determining ways to help protect your retirement income from being at risk during changing tides, call us to discuss strategies for securing your retirement income for the future.
Interestingly, women also are taking advantage of some of the political changes taking place today. Many see our current president as more of a businessman than a politician, allowing the field to open for a wide variety of people to run for office. A past survey revealed women who felt unqualified to run for office were less likely to “go for it” than men who believed the same. However, today’s political arena has presented a rising tide: 529 women are running for national congressional offices in the midterm elections; 78 are running for governor.5
Recent issues — such as gender income equality, increased demand for diversity and workplace harassment — have raised not just the tide, but also raised the bar for appropriate treatment of women. According to one legal consulting firm, the current landscape has created a positive environment for female lawyers to negotiate pay raises on par with their male peers.6
In many ways, the past year’s trials and tribulations have generated a new movement, leading some media outlets to label 2018 as the “Year of the Woman.” As more women are engaged in the workforce, not only have productivity and profits increased, but we’ve seen increased overall skill levels and an entirely new platform of complementary skills. Perhaps most significantly though, the rising tide of women in the workforce has raised overall wages — even for men.7
Content prepared by Kara Stefan Communications.
1 Kimberly Weisul. Inc. May 30, 2018. “7 Signs That the Investment Landscape for Women Is Finally Changing.” https://www.inc.com/kimberly-weisul/seven-signs-that-women-entrepreneurs-are-about-to-rake-in-the-dough.html?cid=sf01001. Accessed July 10, 2018.
2 Ibid.
3 Rieva Lesonsky. Small Business Trends. July 2, 2018. “Exclusive Interview: SBA Administrator Linda McMahon Says Small Business Options Improving.” https://smallbiztrends.com/2018/07/linda-mcmahon-is-optimistic-small-business.html. Accessed July 10, 2018.
4 Annie Pilon. Small Business Trends. June 18, 2018. “20 Amazing Stats on Women Entrepreneurs from SCORE.” https://smallbiztrends.com/2018/06/women-entrepreneurs-statistics.html. Accessed July 10, 2018.
5 Margaret Talbot. The New Yorker. April 18, 2018. “The women running in the midterms during the Trump era.” https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/2018-midterm-elections-women-candidates-trump. Accessed July 10, 2018.
6 Miriam Rozen. The American Lawyer. June 12, 2018. “Seasoned Women Lawyers Gaining Leverage in Salary Talks.” https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2018/06/12/you-go-girl-seasoned-women-lawyers-gain-leverage-in-salary-talks/?slreturn=20180610192104. Accessed July 10, 2018.
7 Amanda Weinstein. Harvard Business Review. Jan. 31, 2018. “When More Women Join the Workforce, Wages Rise — Including for Men.” https://hbr.org/2018/01/when-more-women-join-the-workforce-wages-rise-including-for-men. Accessed July 10, 2018.
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