Looking Back, Looking Ahead, Investing

After reading an article in Huffington Post today regarding the pay inequity statistics and what Women still need to work on for the coming new year, I stumbled upon this article which looks at why the bias with money, which I feel is dead on from ecosalon http://ecosalon.com/investing-in-women/

I am in total agreement that it is “Fear, and not Loathing”, and that people and men are just more comfortable with ..”all things like ourselves” and that is the reason why money and opportunity biases happen when it comes to doling out the investment capital to women. It is not an issue of whether a woman can or can’t do the same job, they clearly can, but their approach and method is different. I couldn’t believe it when I read the below paragraph, which was like reading my mind it was so true. It was something I started to notice recently but couldn’t quite clarify yet when dealing with money and the opposite sex.

“When it comes to both playing the role of investor and that of the business person seeking investment, men and women are different,” she says. “Male investors traditionally seek big pay-off opportunities while women, me included, focus on slow growth over time. My husband [prominent investor and entrepreneur Scott Banister] is always looking for a 20-times return, while I look for two- or three- times return over time. I’m seldom wrong and he’s wrong a lot – but when he’s right, he’s right big-time.”

Before I started on my Cabana I was told I didn’t have the money, I needed a work crew, heavy equipment, that I couldn’t manage physically. But I knew I could manage if I changed the playing field, and starting using pieces that were smaller for my build to handle. Not building so big as to require heavy machinery, etc.. though, a woman loves her power tools the same like a guy does! The methods of construction were good for men, because men have been traditionally doing construction, and this is the way they did it, in a way that accommodated them. Big, bad, and fast. What says I must do it the same way? It doesn’t mean that any method is better, only that the same thing can be arrived at in a different way. Women were often silent helpers to their mates in construction, but no one thought to alter the construction template in a way to include and enable women to be equal partners, not just silent assistants. And, you can argue that women weren’t into the heavy lifting and brawn of it, most married men will readily admit they couldn’t have done it without their mate who landed up at the other end of the window or beam when they needed it anyway by necessity!

And as any Do It Yourself person will tell you, doing it yourself has it’s pluses. Not getting stuck with shoddy workmanship for one, and being able to tailor craft to your needs. With my Cabana there were also pros and cons to working with a different construction formula. Working small was often time consuming, but on the plus side I noticed that when the whole thing was put together the smaller pieces acted in a way that reinforced each other and made it stronger. The pieces were easy to replace when they went astray or got damaged. One of the plywood pieces on the floor needs to be replaced, and I don’t have to rip out the whole floor, only the piece.

In any case, I learned a lot this year, and I feel internally changed forever by the experience of it. I look forward to a new year, and to embracing the financial challenges of demolishing or renovating my sisters place. The article also notes that women tend not to “pitch” high enough, and I think perhaps it’s true also, so I resolve to get my swinging arm limbered up to aim higher regarding getting financial assistance and acquiring fund-raising skills to complete my project for next year. I wish everyone a happy New Year!