How women can take control of their finances
The Financial Services Council has launched an industry-wide campaign to help women across Aotearoa grow their financial confidence and wellbeing.
The project, It Starts with Action, is part of FSC’s wider diversity and inclusion initiative which launched in December 2021. The aim is to demystify money for women by spearheading engaging conversations that lead to impactful actions.
The campaign is supported through Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission’s national strategy.
FSC head of content, communications, and marketing Clarissa Hirst (pictured) said she felt privileged to be leading the initiative.
“I personally feel very inspired by this campaign,” Hirst said. “The support that we have had from the financial services industry, and the FSC Board and our members, makes me optimistic that we can really have a meaningful impact.’’
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The goal of the campaign is for women around Aotearoa to be inspired to start their money journeys and feel confident about making financial decisions.
“A world in which women aren’t worrying about money more than men, aren’t worse off in retirement than men, and feel confident to talk about money with their partners, friends and whānau is what we are striving towards,” said Hirst.
She is encouraging women to talk about money, take the plunge into investing, check their KiwiSaver, or take any action that makes a positive difference to women’s financial wellbeing.
The three-month campaign will run from May 02 to July 29 and will cover six themes: financial wellbeing for women and what it looks like; how to make your money work smarter; growing financially resilient kids; protecting what matters; navigating life’s challenges; and the gender retirement gap (and how to fix it).
FSC will run a fortnightly event relating to each theme and will provide marketing resources to supporters through satellite activities, projects, or events.
“Ultimately, it’s not about money in and of itself; it’s about how we women can use it to live the lives we want to lead,” Hirst said.
“That’s the powerful thing about financial confidence – it can be life-changing, and we want every woman in Aotearoa to experience that feeling of empowerment.”
The FSC is calling on members to take part in the campaign and is keen for industry stakeholders, leaders, non-profits, individuals and organisations beyond the financial services sector to help provide knowledge to women. It wants supporters to report their activity to the FSC so it can measure and evaluate the impact of the campaign.
“Whether it’s shining a spotlight on the challenges facing women’s financial wellbeing through our research, sharing stories and content through our consumer platform, or talking about the big issues for female financial advisers, we’re really invested in the experiences of women when it comes to their finances,” Hirst said.
