The Future of Finance is Female

This morning’s post is inspired by my attendance at last night’s Chicago “Banking on Women” event, hosted by Dymynd, a financial empowerment and social innovation firm with a vision to revolutionize the financial industry through a new empowerment framework to support women and their emotional relationship with money. Yes!

I was privileged to speak at the event on a FinTech panel with incredible women in the industry. I also listened to the powerful voices of women around the room, from all walks of life and backgrounds, who shared their own experiences with money.

If you’re a woman, I can already see you wanting to read more. If you’re a guy, this is for you too because I want you to think about your Mom, wife, girlfriend, sister, grandma, daughter, friend, or anyone else who occupies a female role in your life. Male or female, we all win. 

We discussed just how women are leading in finance and developing organizations, initiatives, and applications that are designed by and for women.  The event’s tagline, which I agree with, read:  “The future of finance is female and this is about doing business our way!”  Why does this matter for us all?

“Women are set to inherit $22 trillion in investible assets by 2020. Globally, women make 80% of all buying decisions. 79% of Women determine the family’s financial decisions and 80% of all healthcare decisions on behalf of our Care Networks and that is everyone that we feel financially and emotionally responsible for.”

– Dymynd Research

And, we discussed strategies that will help us all take control of our money. Here are my major takeaways for you:

·      Be the CEO of your money. I’ve said this before, and I said it last night. You must take ownership and set the vision for your money. If you’ve forgotten how to do this, check out my video on the key steps.  .

·      Use your unique gifts and skills to make your entrepreneurial venture reflect your own values. Many of you are entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, or know someone is an entrepreneur. The keynote speaker, Lisa Kornick, who ran day-to -day operations for the popular restaurant DMK, shared with us her love for hospitality and ensuring that guests always had an enjoyable experience.  With a personal mission imbued in how she worked, Lisa epitomizes how one can create value for others by staying true to their own values. You can read more about Lisa’s story here. She’s quite an inspiring business owner, and I learned a lot in our short time.

·      In managing money, human connection and technology go hand-in-hand. My fellow panelists all agree that technology has disrupted the financial services industry. But, technology is not a replacement for the human connection that is often needed to help one reach their goals.

·      Our community matters and what will you do. The founders of Dymynd spoke about the importance of creating community to talk about these issues, and more importantly, do something about it. Being in community, however you define it, matters. I’m so happy that you’re a part of the Charisse Says community, and I want to encourage you to keep sharing your own successes, challenges, so that we can all grow. You know my mantra – having an accountability in your financial journey matters – and being part of a larger community does create accountability.  We all take elements of our community into your daily lives, and the cycle continues.

What is one thing you will do TODAY to advance the future face of finance, which affect us all. Leave a comment below.