[Women of Power] Know Your Worth: Building Your Wealth


The 2016 Women of Power Summit is a mere 5 months away, which is just enough time to assess your finances and implement strategies to build your wealth. Don’t worry; you don’t have to go at this task alone.

On March 9-12, 2016 at the Hilton Diplomat Resort & Spa, Hollywood, Florida, Black Enterprise will encourage all to Know Your Worth (financial included), Own Your Truth, and Embrace Your Power at the Women of Power Summit.

[Related: Black Women and Money: Making Lemonade Out of Lemons]

Raquel Oden, head of advisor strategy & development of Merrill Lynch declared, “once women are knowledgeable about investing, they invest at the level men do!” It appears that knowledge is a primary differentiator for those who use what they have to build wealth and sustain what they have now.

This is not to imply that there aren’t additional odds stacked against women on the road to wealth building. There continues to be unbalanced salary gaps, untapped equity capital, and failure to negotiate that may also be contributing factors in a lack of wealth building implementation among women.

Check out these statistics to prompt you into channeling in on knowing your worth as you embark on your wealth building journey:

  • According to National Women’s Law Center, black women in particular earn 64 cents for every dollar paid to white men.
  • Harvard Psychologist Amy Cuddy states that men initiate salary negotiations four times as often as women. This failure to negotiate can cause an individual to lose more than $500,000 by the age of 60.
  • WomenDontAsk.com revealed that women run 40% of U.S. businesses, but only receive 2.3% of the available equity capital needed for growth.
  • Women expect to earn between 3% to 32% less than men for the same job.

There is, evidently, a glaring problem. Stacey Tisdale, senior editor, personal finance at Black Enterprise, offered these few financial tips as you work toward a solution.

  1. Know your worth. Find out what others in your profession are making, consider your level of expertise and use these things as negotiating tools.
  2. Raise your expectations.  Don’t feel like you must accept the first offer you receive.
  3. Don’t be confrontational. Be direct, sure, but remember to do so with style, charm, and finesse.
  4. Practice. Rehearse what you’re going to say when negotiating and how you’re going to say it. Do this on a regular basis.
  5. Keep options open. Explore what’s happening in your job market and be sure to stay connected with your network.

Find out what may work for your personal wealth building with Financial Coaching at the 2016 Women of Power Summit, where experts will be standing by; eager to offer complimentary one-on-one financial attention to help you assess your current financial situation and how it fits with your life goals.

Begin building your wealth at the 2016 Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit legacies, March 9-12, 2016, Hilton Diplomat Resort & Spa, Hollywood, Florida. Register now.

Follow Black Enterprise on social media @BlackEnterprise for Women of Power news, highlights, and updates. Use hashtag #BEWPS to stay in the loop.


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