Adorning A Room Of One's Own

How ably single women are manging their hard-earned money?

Celebrated British writer Virgina Woolf in one of her works A Room Of One’s Own mentions the importance of a woman having financial independence if she wants to ‘write fiction.’ Drawing upon the statement, it can be said that a woman’s economic empowerment is highly essential—whether she wants to ‘write’ or become an ‘entrepreneur.”

Times are changing. So are societal norms.

By Sampurna Majumder However, imprints of deep-rooted cultural mores are extremely difficult to uproot at one go. Despite facing stiff competition from feminist circles, long-standing patriarchal mores continue to hold sway till date in almost every aspect. Needless to say, women’s financial independence would be any exception, more so, if you happen to be single!

Whether it’s about starting off on your own as a financial advisor or simply experiencing the sheer joy of first employment – for single women the journey of managing finances is somewhat rugged.

Take for example, Sujata Mehta, 37, who has now been working as a financial advisor for 10 years, had to traverse through choppy waters before establishing herself. From acquiring individual clients to convincing asset management companies about her ability to time capital markets—she had lot of challenges to overcome during the initial years. “Many times, it so happened that even after an hourlong meeting, clients would still be somewhat doubtful, just because I was a woman,” recalls Mehta. But, her never-give-up attitude paid off and today her clientele base has increased manifold. However, interestingly, Mehta points out that her female clients still continue to be less in number.