Women and the financial crisis

There is a financial crisis on, and with all crises there are effects and fallouts. SAPA reported that the Gauteng MEC for health and social development, Qedani Mahlangu, recently stated that women were feeling the worst of the crisis, with a higher unemployment rate than men. A recent MasterCard report on Socionomic inequality also found that women were in a worse off position than previously. So what are the facts?

• Fewer women are employed than men
• Women hold fewer management positions
• Yet 52.3% of women make the major financial decisions

Now if women's equality is declining, yet a majority of women are responsible for the major financial decisions in the household then there is something seriously out of kilter. The fact is we live in a highly patriarchal society where women are still considered second class citizens although in reality more women take care of the finances than men. There are things, however, that women (and men) can do in order to be able to better handle their finances in tough economic times like these.

Planning a budget is the first and most important thing to do, after that you can know what you need to spend in order to survive and then you will know how much money you need to set aside to protect yourself and your family from any unforeseen upsets. A rule of thumb suggests that putting aside at least three months worth of expenses will help you weather any sudden shocks to your financial situation, like losing your job. Planning now for the future will help ensure a better tomorrow. Setting aside savings today is essential to growing in the future.