Noeli Naima is Heartegy’s Co-Founder & CEO, a unique Brazilian blend combining over twenty years of experience in Holistic Coaching (Corporate Wellness & Stress Prevention through Naturopathy, Yoga Therapy, Ayurveda Medicine and Psycho-Aromatherapy) with Cutting-edge Strategies (Neuroscience, Vibrational Recalibration, Positive Intelligence) and New Work Analytics (Applied Change, 360 feedback and Vibrational Reading).
At Heartegy, we notice that companies are losing their best employees because they are not investing in their human capital. Teach them how to invest and let money work for them. Good employees leave their jobs for a bit of salary rise somewhere else, as that money can make a massive difference in the family‘s monthly budget. Since your company invested time training a good employee, you should vary the ways you teach your employees how to make their money work for them, because when they learn how to invest smart, they will be working gladly for your company for years to come.
Fearing the unknown
Are you afraid to dip your toes into the investing pool, worried about the unknown?
Fear not! We're here to be your investing companions, making the journey enjoyable and more fun.
Now, let's shed light on the sobering reality of gender inequality in finance:
Women often retire with 35% less savings than men.
A mere 1% of startup funding flows to women-led ventures.
At this rate, it'll take over 200 years to bridge the financial gender gap.
Today, women lag financially worldwide, earning less, saving less, and investing less.
Many systemic barriers hinder change, but there's one thing we can actively do: invest our money.
With each woman who takes the investment plunge, we edge closer to equality.
Money equals power, and the more women wield it, the faster change will happen.
It might seem scary and intimidating, but we can turn the tide with the right tools and mindset.
Where does this inequality start?
It begins early, with boys often receiving more pocket money than girls. This trend continues into education and early careers, where women are paid less and face fewer opportunities for advancement. Even in banking, women are directed towards saving while men are encouraged to invest. Combine this with the disproportionate burden of unpaid housework on women, and you have a recipe for the financial gender gap. It's a complex issue requiring multifaceted solutions.
Meanwhile, women-owned companies receive less than 2% of funding, with childhood pocket money differences persisting through education and careers. This cycle continues as women balance caregiving roles, part-time jobs, and limited career growth opportunities. For many, the gap widens post-graduation, particularly those managing work and family responsibilities.
Why does this matter? Because caregiving responsibilities and household chores leave less time for career advancement. Women may opt for part-time or flexible work arrangements, reducing their workforce participation. In the United States, women spend an average of 44% of their adult lives out of the workforce compared to men. Whether navigating finances independently or seeking support, we're here to help you reclaim your financial power and build a secure future.
There is hope
Over the past couple of decades, women have significantly reshaped the investing landscape. Despite the traditional image of investors being predominantly male, women's wealth and investment activities are rising.
More women, particularly younger generations, are embracing investing. For example, a 2023 study by Fidelity revealed that 60 percent of women now invest in the stock market, up from just 44 percent in 2018.
These statistics are noteworthy, especially considering the widening gender gap exacerbated by the pandemic. Women bore a disproportionate burden during the COVID-19 crisis, with global employment losses for women at 5 percent compared to 3.9 percent for men, as reported by the International Labour Organization in 2021.
However, despite these temporary setbacks, women's wealth continues to grow. Wealth manager Coutts notes that women's global income increased from $20 trillion in 2018 to $24 trillion in 2020. The Boston Consulting Group anticipates women's wealth to expand by $5 trillion globally every year over the next decade.
In summary, while women may have entered the investment arena later and faced unique challenges during the pandemic, they possess tremendous potential. They are poised to reshape the investment landscape for the future.
Women and investing: A statistical snapshot
According to a 2023 Fidelity survey, 71 percent of Gen Z women are investing in the stock market, surpassing older generations, with 63 percent of millennials, 55 percent of Gen X, and 57 percent of baby boomers also investing.
A 2023 Bankrate survey found that nearly 6 in 10 working women (57 percent) feel lagging in their retirement savings.
In a 2022 Bankrate survey, 46 percent of women reported that money negatively impacts their mental health, compared to 38 percent of men.
In 2023, women led more than 10 percent of businesses on the Fortune 500 list, marking an 18 percent increase from 2022.
A 2021 BNY Mellon study revealed that there would be an additional $3.22 trillion in assets under management from private individuals if women invested at the same rate as men.
According to a 2022 global survey by eToro, 72 percent of the 9,500 female investors surveyed invest at least monthly, with 16 percent investing a third or more of their monthly income.
BNY Mellon found that women are more inclined to make investments that have positive societal and environmental impacts. If women invested at the same rate as men, this would result in an additional $1.87 trillion inflow into socially responsible investments.
Fidelity reported that since the pandemic onset, half of the women surveyed in 2021 expressed increased interest in investing.
Are women better investors?
While women may still invest less than men, they are making significant progress in the investment arena. Today, women control more investable capital, hold more voting shares of stock, and occupy more corporate board seats than ever before, as noted by Morgan Stanley. In 2022, women held 32 percent of S&P 500 company board seats, according to consulting firm Spencer Stuart.
Men consistently outpace women in investment participation, as BNY Mellon's research indicates a potential additional $3.22 trillion in assets under management if women invested at the same rate as men. This substantial gap persists despite significant strides in wealth accumulation and investment by women over the past decade.
This divide is further compounded when considering racial disparities. A 2021 CNBC and Momentive survey revealed that 59 percent of Black women, 48 percent of Hispanic women, and 34 percent of white women do not own any investments. In comparison, only 23 percent of white men, 42 percent of Black men, and 38 percent of Hispanic men reported being uninvested.
Ellevest, a robot-advising platform tailored for women investors, identifies three primary reasons for the investment gap:
The financial sector was historically designed by and for men.
Women often have less discretionary income available for investment.
Societal norms perpetuate the belief that women are not adept with finances.
However, there are signs of progress, particularly in retirement savings. Vanguard's 2023 How America Saves report revealed that, across all income levels, women were more likely than men to participate in their employer's retirement plans. For example, 89 percent of women earning $50,000 to $74,999 annually enrolled in their employer's plan, compared to 84 percent of men in the same income bracket.
Despite these strides, addressing the gender gap in investing requires continued efforts to dismantle systemic barriers and promote financial inclusion for all.
Top strategies for women to begin investing
According to a 2023 Fidelity study, nearly half of women (48 percent) feel uncertain about investing their savings for retirement, while 27 percent believe they don't earn enough to save for retirement. However, investing doesn't necessitate vast wealth or expertise in finance.
Accessible ways to start investing
Robo-advisors
Consider utilizing a robo-advisor for hassle-free investing at a minimal cost. These automated platforms can construct a personalized investment portfolio aligned with your financial objectives, time horizon, and risk tolerance.
Self-directed investing
Begin investing independently by starting small with a couple of mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Contributing to a workplace 401(k) offers a convenient avenue to invest funds in the market regularly. Learn more about what is trending about investments if you are a risk-friendly person: cryptocurrencies are shaping some good opportunities for investing.
Seek expert guidance
Investing knowledge is acquired through learning. Seek advice from financial experts to navigate the investment landscape effectively. Bankrate provides valuable tips for selecting the right advisor. Alternatively, you can explore options to be matched with a financial advisor in your locality or enter an investing community (like ours) where a learning platform is coupled with an active community taking care of each other.
By exploring these avenues, women can empower themselves to take control of their financial future and embark on a rewarding investment journey.
Heartegy experience with investing smart
In 2024, Heartegy opened a collaboration with a knowledgeable German investing academy to increase our clients opportunities to diversify their earnings backed by an impressive group of professional, experienced, and already successful investors.
The reason for this collaboration is that at Heartegy, we notice that companies are losing their best employees because they are not investing in their human capital.
In this context, we are talking about investing in the well-being of their employees from different angles.
Good employees leave their jobs for a bit of salary rise somewhere else, as that money can make a massive difference in the family‘s monthly budget.
Since your company invested time training a good employee, you should vary the ways you teach your employees how to make their money work for them, because when they learn how to invest smart, they will be working gladly for your company for years to come.
What if you could be bold enough to offer your employees an online possibility to learn how they can put their money to work for them?
Having the background of a tested method as well as a living community taking care of every step they are doing learning how to invest.
It’s not enough to pay a cheap basic course on investing - you’ll need to offer your employees a mindset transformation about money, a real change that is going to impact their lives for better, and their hopes of a good retirement.
They are not going to leave their jobs, if they don’t have to, as employees without financial worries are less prone to feel tempted to accept offers outside of the company if they are earning from different revenue streams already, with good chances of retiring with more comfort, having better holidays and short trips monthly.
How to start the change inside your company
Amelia was going for a good two years under pressure after the pandemic with fewer hours a week being a single mom.
The money at the end of the month was not enough to pay all bills.
When another company offered 200$ extra for almost the same job and more hours, she was ready to leave the company for good.
That is when Heartegy came in, to coach a group of employees wishing to leave the company to make an easy transition, but we noticed that over 80% of the group weren’t ready to leave, they felt compelled to leave due to earning less money and less hours offered in the new contract after pandemics.
Amelia wasn’t aware about the workload coming over her in the new position, and that she would barely see her children every day, she was fixed on the extra money, so we looked at her priorities and aligned them.
The company invested a lot to train her for the position, and it was not her fault that they couldn’t give her more hours and couldn’t pay her more without giving her more work hours.
Why companies like our clients didn’t offer this type of education online before?
It is and remains a good question.
Today if the employer wishes to keep a good employee, like Amelia, who needs more work hours because she needs more money, while the company can’t give her more hours - how to avoid that Amelia leaves?
Teaching her a comprehensive online formation on how to invest, how to let her money work for her, and taking a few minutes a day to learn what is what and how to invest is ideal, yet we saw lots of resistance in women due to a lack of information.
We offered Amelia a 3 months challenge about making money by investing:
What if you could learn every day a bit every day and start investing 100$ a month to see what happens , being well backed up by a community of real people who are already investing?
She accepted and took part in our pilot project, as we promised her that if in 4 weeks' time from day 1, she wouldn’t reach the 200$ extra dollars monthly she wished, we would pay her the difference until she could make it alone.
We were quite surprised (and delighted) when Amelia decided for crypto coins, there are still so much biases about the crypto market around, and Amelia was categorical in her choice, knowing she wouldn’t lose the money, she wished to try a pathway with some risk, but that could bring some revenue from the beginning.
Aware of its volatility, Amelia invested the money she had gotten back from insurance in almost 20 crypto coins, building her first portfolio on her own with the help of the investing academy team members.
It worked out after 3 weeks and Amelia was radiant, it was just natural that she wished to know more about it.
Our affiliated partner investing academy received Amelia with open arms, as she too today advocates for other women to learn how to invest as soon as possible.
Her employer buy the access for her for one year in the academy – here is not only about the education, but about real people power community holding your back: from the decision in what to invest until you have it all set with your portfolio, you have someone to relate that made the same pathway before you.
It is a relatively cheap investment that can be shared with many employees inside the company, and a real big change in their financial position.
Amelia has worked a half day since January 2024 and is very content learning how to invest smartly. Forex, new energies, Amelia is full in, and not afraid of the future anymore.
And you, are you ready to start investing?
Ask for a discovery call with us.
Let's hear your company with some investing savviness.
Final Edition
Micaela Buenemann
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To get in touch with Noeli, click here.
Noeli Naima, Selflove Activist and Heartegy Life & Business Coaching Co-Founder
Noeli Naima is Heartegy’s Co-Founder & CEO, a unique Brazilian blend combining over twenty years of experience in Holistic Coaching (Corporate Wellness & Stress Prevention through Naturopathy, Yoga Therapy, Ayurveda Medicine and Psycho-Aromatherapy) with Cutting-edge Strategies (Neuroscience, Vibrational Recalibration, Positive Intelligence) and New Work Analytics (Applied Change, 360 feedback and Vibrational Reading).
She is a living example of how outdated corporate behaviours pull us down while updating our approach and focusing on the human aspects elevates us.
In her Project Soul Soup 4 Coaches book series (available through Amazon), she discusses how combining energy work, coaching, and health prevention can positively transform corporate & life environments enabling them to soar.