Root Barriers Between Money and Women
Women’s exclusion experiences might be different depending on their contexts, but it’s possible they are stemming from the same root cause.
Recently, I got to chat with Sid Singh of Bolder Money, a money coaching platform in the US; and Halima Iqbal of Oraan, a women-first fintech platform in Pakistan within the same week. In several moments along the second conversation, it felt like déjà vu. The woman in the US is different from the woman in Pakistan, their social and financial systems are different, and the way they experience money is different — and yet, there were so many overlapping threads between the two conversations.
Women think about money differently:
Indirectly and lifestyle-driven to be more precise. They’re thinking: how do I get prepared for that divorce or get out of this abusive relationship or live with more freedom and flexibility — and what is the role of money in this lifestyle choice I’m about to make.
Demystifying Alienating Language:
This is an industry that’s made money on complex language, and we play a part in simplifying that.
Weaving in a role of community:
In the document I took combined interview notes in, “community” shows up 25 times. That’s because both services understand the trust deficit this industry has with women — and they see bringing women together to learn with each other as a major way of closing that gap and increasing comfort with money.
These are just a few of the overlaps, but as I reflected on these conversations, I thought about a hunch that I have: Women’s exclusion experiences might be different depending on their contexts, but it’s possible they are stemming from the same root cause. The problem is that we are often completely unaware that the root cause even exists. That’s why we encourage each project to start by asking the question: what about women?
This post is an excerpt from Unconforming: a newsletter about Design for Women. Unconforming goes out every two weeks and also shares learnings from experts, job and other opportunities, examples and articles — all to make an impact in the women’s space. Sign up here to get it in your inbox!
