What Women Should Know About Their Investing Power and Needs
Jessica Spangler, author of the newly released “Invest Like a Girl,” realizes that her book’s title might raise questions for some readers.
“I think there’s an irony when it comes to investing for women, like we have ballpoint pens for women and razors for women,” Spangler says. “You see products that are supposed to be different because they’re for women, and a lot of that is hokey-pokey garbage.” Likewise, she adds, investing fundamentals don’t change based on gender identity.
But there are significant gender differences when it comes to investing that are important to explore: Women tend to live longer, for example, which means they need more money to support themselves post-retirement. They are also more likely to experience career breaks because of caregiving responsibilities and earn less because of the wage gap in this country, all of which can impact their investing strategy, Spangler says.