Making Money Work For The Millennial Woman

Today’s savvy, career woman realises the importance of financial independence but often falls short when it comes to planning for the future, says Rimme Dirchi.

- Rimme Dirchi

There’s something different about the career-oriented, self-aware woman of today. The millennial working woman doesn’t look at career as a mere option, nor does she take financial independence and stability lightly. Young female professionals have achieved goals in education, career, and income that their mothers and grandmothers could only dare to dream of, moving far beyond what was considered ‘suitable’ work for women.

In such a world, more and more women are opening up to the idea of entrepreneurship, forcing government bodies to introduce schemes to facilitate the process. According to financial planner Bhaktee Rasal, “Compared to Generation X, millennial women are assertive and guilt-free when they spend money on themselves. There is no confusion about what they want from life. They are clear and well-connected with the world around them via digital life.”

India is the second most populous country in the world and women constitute 48.5 per cent of this popilation. According to a report by Catalyst, a global nonprofit organisation, the Indian youth population is the largest in the world and the median age is 27.6 years. It states that India will add 110 million people to its labour force over the next decade, and this naturally includes young women. Over the next 40 years, India is projected to add 424 million working-age adults. If the country can increase women’s labour force participation by 10 percentage points (which is 68 million more women) by 2025, it could increase its GDP by 16 per cent.

Money and beyond

In her critically acclaimed book Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg, the current Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, observes, “A truly equal world would be one where women ran half our countries and companies and men ran half our homes.”