Over the last few years, conversations about the gender and racial wealth gap have been popping up more and more frequently. For many of us, these topics are a huge part of our lives and lead us into a place of financial overwhelm.
IE 240: How the Gender & Racial Wealth Gap has Lead to Financial Overwhelm with Anwin Mbah
In today’s episode, my guest talks about these gaps, how not to become overwhelmed by them, and how to dismantle the gaps one layer at a time.
Anwin Mbah is a business wealth strategist and is the founder of Wealth Fluency. Her goal is to help successful, driven women who are struggling with gaining control of their finances and obtaining financial independence.
Ultimately, Anwin wants to see women have more freedom, fun, and time with their families.
Learning About Wage Gaps
The gender and racial wealth gaps are finding their way more and more to the forefront of the media.
These structural sexist and racist systems contribute to the racial and gender wage gaps and impact politics, economics, and put certain individuals of specific genders or races in a worse place than their counterparts.
Conversations about these gaps were held in individual silos for so long, so you may just now be learning about these gaps, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t been an issue for many years.
Movement Leads to Motion
There has been a lot of movement happening in the gender wage gap. The #MeToo movement and the #BlackLivesMatter movement played a huge part in this conversation happening. These movements have pulled people together, which creates motion.
There was no collective movement for a long time. It was survival, putting your own mask on first, pouring from an empty cup. It is human nature to look out for yourself first.
More and more numbers are being released by The Institute for Women’s Policy Research, as they advocate for women in the States and outside of it.
These conversations can feel uncomfortable or emotional, but they are so important. It is essential to be aware of how the people around you live and what they are struggling with.
The Gaps for Women
Income and wealth are two different things. Earning money to pay your bills is different than earning money to build your wealth. We are all working towards eventually get time back by not trading time for money.
Women earn 80 cents to a man’s $1. In the wealth arena, that gap is even more significant, with women making 40 cents to the dollar, a black woman only earning 20 cents to the dollar, and a Latina earning 8 cents to the dollar.
It is hard to build wealth when you are losing out on 60 cents.
This is not a one-layered issue. There are multiple layers, including the workforce, poverty rates, educational achievements, etc.
These layers, combined with the black and Latina women who will quit their jobs to go home and take care of their children, parents, or grandparents, make it hard to understand the numbers because they continually fluctuate.
When you think of these multiple layers, you can view them like a cake. And then, pay attention to the part of the cake you are closest to and find ways to make a difference to that particular layer.
Focus On Your Progress
The pandemic has caused a ton of financial overwhelm for so many of us as we think about continuing to grow our business and bring in income.
Your journey is going to be different than everyone else’s. You are on your own highway, in your own lane.
You have to stop paying attention to those on the highway in a different lane than you. Accept where you are and what progress you have made. Someone in another lane may be going 70 MPH, and you may be going 35. Appreciate the fact that you are moving.
Break your goals down. You probably have a massive goal in mind for your business. Make a smaller, even more, achievable goal. Think back on your why and what matters to you. Don’t set a goal so that you can impress others.
You need to have a positive mindset that you can do it. That is the biggest key to overcoming any financial overwhelm in your life. It would be a better world if we worried less about what others think and more about our values and what will benefit our families and us the most.
The 3 Layers to Dismantle the Gaps
Wealth Fluency works to dismantle the gender and racial wealth gap in 3 layers:
- Self-optimization – focusing on mindset, grasping your business numbers, always having oversight on your team, and being aware of what’s going on.
- Business optimization – making sure you build a business that supports your lifestyle, not a business that IS your life.
- Legacy optimization – how am I building my legacy? What will my business look like when I am gone?
Doing What You Can Do
Wealth Fluency helps you turn your business from income-generating to wealth-generating. It allows you to grow and provides you with options.
Options are so important so that you can continue living your life without the overwhelm of finances.
If you are in a situation where you are facing racial biases, think about what is inside of your control and what changes you can make. Read James Clear’s “Atomic Habits,” and think about the 1% you can do every single day to get to where you want to be.
You cannot change people, organizations, or cultures. You can change yourself, your actions, and your reactions. Your end goal will help you withstand the struggles to get to that goal.
You can connect with Anwin on her website, as well as her LinkedIn and Instagram.
Action Steps:
- If you liked this episode of Influencer Entrepreneurs, please subscribe and leave a fabulous review!
- Join the conversation on Instagram by tagging Jenny when you’re listening to the podcast. She’ll send you a personal message whenever you tag her.
