Bustle and Visa are harnessing the power of conversation to talk about money and women in a new—and more serious—way. The partnership, “Money is Changing,” is an initiative to promote more depth in financial discussions centered on women, eschewing the well-worn focus on things like household decision making and saving for personal items. That’s because Visa found that despite women’s numerous advances in investing, business and other areas; a stigma can remain when it comes to talking about money when it comes to raises, discussing finances with friends, and more. The initiative aims to change that through deeper conversation—sharing experiences and taking women’s experiences and insights on money seriously.
Visa researched women’s thoughts on a wide variety of financial topics—including women’s relationship to money and discussing it—and both Bustle and Visa feel that honesty and openness among women can help us reach milestones and empower one another.
Click through to read the whole report and learn more about “Money is Changing.” Women’s conversations with one another about money should be just as robust, serious, and beneficial. And starting these conversations in our own circles as well as on a larger scale, as Bustle notes, is “how we’re all really going to make change happen.”
If the first half of 2018 has proven anything, it’s that there’s power in conversation. Especially in recent months, women have rallied together in ongoing quests to put an end to things like sexual harassment, outdated beauty standards, and gender inequality in politics, but there’s one taboo surrounding women that’s still very much intact — so let’s talk about it.
A recent survey conducted by Visa found that even though 54 percent of millennial women will discuss their sex lives with one another, a mere 16 percent are willing to tell their friends how much money they make. Not only that, more than one in two women believe that discussing money with each other isn’t valuable. While these findings are striking, they’re also not totally surprising.
That’s because for decades, the media has used tired clichés to approach conversations surrounding women and money. Time and time again, we’ve been given tips and tricks for scoring that designer bag on sale, or we’re being encouraged to spend our hard-earned cash on trendy workout classes that come with a colossal price tag. And while there’s a lot of positive to be said around the confidence that comes with looking and feeling your best, doesn’t it feel a bit off that the discussion around women’s finances has historically been so… skin-deep?
That’s exactly why Bustle has joined forces with Visa to help launch the “Money Is Changing” initiative, which is all about encouraging an open and honest conversation surrounding women and money. As a worldwide leader in payments, Visa led the charge to work closely with researchers, designing a study aimed at more clearly understanding women’s unfiltered thoughts around money. The overall goal of the study was to explore the topic of money in a way that hasn’t been done — diving deeper than often-reported topics of spending power, decision making, and financial education. As a result, Visa has uncovered women’s true feelings around the subject of money, and some of their key findings are incredibly telling.
Image credit: Han Burton/Bustle
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