In the world we live in today with its many vagaries, it is important for every woman to have a steady source of income and take an active role in their individual financial lives. This is because the situation in the world today, especially in African countries requires that women have financial independence to put poverty at bay.
Unfortunately, though the world has changed, many women refuse to have change of attitude on issue of finance and remain stuck in the patriarchal era where they depend on a man for everything. Indeed, it is fashionable in some quarters ,especially among particular classes of women not to engage in anything they believe will give them stress like leaving home at regular times, taking authority from people they believe are beneath them socially or any form of hardship.
Also, affluence has led many women to decide not to work, but this comes with various adverse outcomes; and is the reason many women become helpless and are unable to move on when the stability they know is taken away through spousal death, loss of employment by spouse, divorce or other unexpected situations.
In the past, it was the norm for women to be a stay at home caregiver, housekeeper, mother and wife with no source of income; women did all housework and stayed home while the men were giving allowance to them to pay bills and settle the children’s needs. Women at this period did not have choices or a say in their needs and wants, leading to a lack of confidence about personal finance decisions, frustration and inability to make plans for the future.
In some quarters, there is still the belief that providing money is a man’s responsibility, causing the women to be blind to all manners of empowerment and financial independence. The truth is that many women are more likely to switch roles and learn how to manage family finances; budget, prioritize, save for retirement, protect themselves and their families and get financial educations at a point in their lives. It is of great importance for women, irrespective of marital status; single, divorced, widowed or married, social status or academic qualification, to take a much more active role in their financial lives.
By taking a more active role in issue of finance and having a source of income, women will gain more clarity, confidence and control of their lives. And to do this, they need to have a steady source of income and learn as much as possible about money for diverse reasons; prevalent on the list is the fact that liberalisation and inflation has led to a higher standard of living for every household and the reality of inadequate income becomes more obvious as more households are unable to meet their expenses and manage some savings.
This means a single income can never be enough and it is past time where a man goes to find money and a woman stays at home doing nothing to augment the income. There is a need for a woman to be prepared financially to be able to bridge the gap if anything happens to the main source of finance for the family.
The complaint that managing work and family has worn thin because over the decades, women of earlier generations did not give themselves a choice because the income they earned was important to the family’s survival and staying off work translates to compromising the comfort of the whole family; good food, clothing, higher education of children, healthcare for the family, rent etc
The trend of staying at home is usually triggered by a sense of economic affluence and prosperity from the husband which has far reaching effects on the woman later.
To be continued
and then