How to close the gender wage gap and save media at the same time
Every year, the metaphorical bodies pile up. In late 2023, Jezebel was saved from near death thanks to a last-minute sale, but not before 23 staffers lost their jobs. We saw Bitch Media close after 25 years in 2022, the same year that The Washington Post stopped publishing The Lily, its dedicated women’s section, and InStyle ceased its monthly print publication. Even among non-women’s publications, the news is bleak. Just last week, Conde Nast announced it was folding the storied music publication Pitchfork into GQ (and letting go of staff), and Sports Illustrated saw massive layoffs. (Ezra Klein includes an even more complete list in his most recent New York Times column.) I can’t blame you if your instinct is to believe that journalism is a dying industry.
Yet, I am strangely hopeful about the future of media. It has never been easier or more affordable for someone to start a publication and — with some hard work and a bit of luck — see it thrive. And after spending 100 days among some very talented and determined journalists in CUNY’s Entrepreneurial Journalism Creators Program, I feel certain — despite all the eulogies — that we’ll continue to see positive innovation and evolution in the media landscape.
I’m putting my own stake in the ground with The Purse, a platform where Gen X and millennial women can come together to learn and talk about money through how-to articles, personal stories, financial product recommendations, videos, classes, and community chat boards. This is a site I’ve dreamed of creating for years. And while this might seem like the craziest time to start a new media venture, I’d argue there’s no better moment than now.
As founding editor of Refinery29 Money Diaries, I saw firsthand how much women want to take control of their finances but often feel unsure where to find the information they need. I felt the same way. In 2014, as a 30-something with a mortgage, a savings account, and nothing invested beyond my 401(k), I had a feeling I should be smarter about how I managed my money, but when I looked for advice, the articles out there were either filled with confusing jargon or written in a condescending tone, admonishing me for spending on lattes.
I was not alone in being unhappy with the way publications were talking to women about their finances. A study from UK-based Starling Bank looked at 300 articles and found that women were consistently described as “excessive spenders” and encouraged to “limit, restrict, and take better control of shopping ‘splurges.’” On the other hand, financial articles geared toward men used words like “dare” to encourage men to invest and to “spend” to achieve “power.”
I was lucky to be working at Refinery29 at the time, and I was given the greenlight to grow the Work & Money section. Over four years, I heard from hundreds of women, built relationships with brilliant female financial advisors, and wrote dozens of articles and a book. I learned so much, and still I wanted to do more.
The landscape was changing fast: The late 2010s saw the rise of finfluencers (financial influencers), Instagram and YouTube personalities who offered financial advice but often had no credentials. It wasn’t all bad but sometimes not exactly helpful. These men and women who made bank thanks to memes about “stonks” and jokes about avocado toast clearly filled a hole, even if it was with somewhat empty calories.
At the same time, The Points Guy came onto the scene alongside outlets like NerdWallet and The Penny Hoarder, offering reviews of financial products while at the same time making huge amounts of money from affiliate revenue relationships they established with banks and credit card companies. It was only natural that traditional media organizations would want to get in on the money-making action, and I was also curious to learn about this new media business model. After five years at Refinery29, I left for CNBC to help launch its affiliate arm, CNBC Select.
At Select, we worked hard to produce content that would educate our readers about how they could get the most out of their financial products, whether optimizing their credit card points or finding a high-yield savings account with the best APY. After years of focusing on the biggest audience, I learned the importance of reaching the right audience. Having a million people read an article did not mean that you would get a million people to sign up for a credit card. But you might get 9,000 people to read a story about the best credit card for grocery shopping, and 300 people might sign up for one. The experience leading Select helped me see how important it is to know who your audience is and what they need. Having an engaged and loyal audience is far more important than a huge audience.
I know many media executives would disagree with that statement. Over the last decade, it’s been a race to the bottom as media companies have jockeyed to reach the biggest audience possible. They produce more and more and more—articles, videos, podcasts, social media posts—in an effort to reach more and more and more people, all while cutting staff and relying increasingly on aggregation. And now, with the rise of generative AI, it feels like we are on the precipice of peak content. Somehow everyone has forgotten that when you try to please everyone, you please no one.
And yet, as we watch with horror as these bloated media companies limp along, leaving a trail of burned-out journalists in their wake, there are also glimmers of innovation popping up here and there. We’re seeing an exciting resurgence of local media thanks to organizations like the Institute for Nonprofit News and LION Publishers. There’s a fresh crop of news nonprofits that are reaching new audiences, including The 19th and URL Media. And increasingly there are some really fantastic women’s publications — Gloria, Motherhood Untitled, and Black Ballad, just to name a few — that are embracing their niche audiences and thriving. They aren’t trying to be the biggest; they are trying to be the best for their readers.
With The Purse, I am not trying to educate everyone about how to manage their money. While I believe all women from 8 to 108 need to know how to manage their finances, The Purse is specifically geared toward women ages 30 to 54. This is a potential audience of more than 50 million women who collectively have spending power in the trillions. In this age range, women are at their peak earning potential — and are facing so many different financial challenges. They are getting married, having children (or deciding not to), buying homes, saving for retirement, and caring for aging parents. Some are choosing to lean into their careers, while others are taking a pause to raise their kids or build a business. While they are trying to do all the things, they also have very specific money needs. The Purse aims to be a place where this audience can come together to learn how to manage their money, thrive in their careers and personal lives, and connect with other like-minded women.
You would think financial institutions would be falling over themselves to appeal to this affluent and motivated cohort. And yet, they are falling woefully behind in reaching and retaining a female audience. This is a costly mistake. In 2020, McKinsey wrote that thanks to a huge wealth transfer, women consumers could represent a $30 trillion opportunity for wealth managers by the end of the decade. BNY Mellon found that if women invested at the same rate as men, there would be an additional $3.22 trillion of assets under management from private individuals. But the confidence gap holds female investors back. And while many are already seeking financial advice, they are not necessarily finding what they need from traditional institutions and outlets.
The Purse will help women cut through the noise and find the money advice they want and need — on how to buy a home, start a business, invest in a brokerage account, rebuild their finances after divorce, or just rationalize the desire to shell out for a $600 handbag. It will be a place to tell their own money stories, to share wins and mourn losses, to harness their immense power, and to be seen.
It’s easy during difficult times to forget the importance of looking back and considering how far we’ve come. Since Refinery29 first launched Money Diaries in spring 2015, we’ve seen so many amazing women step forward and continue the conversation leading to real change. There are young women talking openly about money on social media, states have passed laws requiring salary transparency in job postings, and it’s become de rigueur for companies to openly share their maternity leave benefits — just to name a few examples.
And yes, there is a long way for us to go: Research suggests it could take another 100-plus years to close the gender wage gap. I am not so naive as to think I can fix the broken media industry while empowering women to take control of their money. I know the challenges and pitfalls. But I also believe in the power of women, and I know how important it is to give them a bullhorn to amplify their voice. I think it would benefit a lot of people to start listening to what they have to say.
You can follow Lindsey’s journey by subscribing to The Purse.
