Challenges women face in managing finances

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In today's time, men and women both are getting numerous virtuous opportunities at the work place. Women are touching new statures in their respective careers. Still, there are many discriminating factors in respect of women, who face more challenges when it comes to managing personal finances than their male counterparts.

Akash Shukla, Founder, Uprise India Initiative Foundation says, "As per the Monster Salary Index (MSI), the gender pay gap in India is about 19 percent; where men earn Rs. 46.19 in comparison to women. The median gross hourly salary for men in India in 2018 stood at Rs 242.49, while for women it stood at around Rs 196.3. It is a sheer fact that wage gap still exists in India. It has been seen that for higher skilled jobs, the gap was even more. This clearly indicates that women earn less money than men. It is very difficult for women to manage daily homely requirements when she earns less, as they have to be very careful about what she spend, where and how she can manage her finances."

If the pay gap wasn't a challenge in itself, look at the daily and monthly consumer goods each gender purchases. A woman's lifestyle requires her to purchase a higher number of goods with every salary cycle, as well as there is a price gap that weighs heavier for most products targeted at women. Thus, women end up spending more on essentials which is an added challenge to manage.

Another challenge women face is that they are the care-givers in every household as per the society. This means whenever there is a need for someone to take a small or a long break from work for personal family reasons, it is always the fairer sex amongst us who bear the brunt. It has been observed here in India; most organisations and families assume that a woman should quit her job post-maternity leave. Times are changing and with women empowerment, some mindsets have accepted that women can and will work post maternity. Because of the increase in expenses for their child, many times they refrain themselves from their own needs and requirements.

The aspect which comes to light as the core challenge for women is lack of imperative professional links to high-value markets. Due to the lack of genuine market associations, this further constrains female entrepreneurship. They have to be very careful in selecting the right scheme for their business investment.

With the veracious scheme comes the obstacle of legal policy facets for business ownership and development. To overcome this challenge, women have to wisely select preeminent financial advisors or lawyers. These financial advisors help them to manage their finances judiciously. By running a business anyone can face a financial setback. Women should be prepared for any future hazard situation to dazed the challenge while managing personal finances.

To top it all, due to lack of networking and awareness, many of the gentler sex do not indulge in investments and insurances as compared to their counterparts. They have to be more aware about their surroundings and their limited know-how of business for financial planning might need some tweaking.

There are many contributing factors which add to every woman's challenge towards managing personal finance. This is not all, due to the fact that women have a lower income than men, the retirement funds (a percentage of their actual salary) that they collect in the latter years of life is also smaller as compared to men.

In India there are many women who are managing their own finances very well. They are also guiding other people and are overcoming every challenge that comes their way. But, owing to the above reason, there is a massive need for all to understand the challenges and figure out ways to deal with them and help anyone who needs it to plan their finances better. In coming years, women definitely conquer the world of entrepreneurs and can be termed as esteemed leaders.

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