On January 21, 2017 the largest single day protest in U.S. history occurred. In cities across the U.S. and around the world, an estimated 7 million women marched in protest of a wave of anti-women rhetoric spurred by the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States. It was also the day after his inauguration.
Nine months pregnant, I marched with three friends in New Orleans that day. It was my first blush with a protest movement in my life, but I knew I couldn’t miss it. I felt myself standing in solidarity with the women who marched 40 years earlier and paved the way for many opportunities I enjoy today. There was an electric mood in the air that day as thousands of women, and some men, peacefully marched through the French Quarter and Central Business District of New Orleans.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPikOtdF3NL/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Among the many creative signs I saw that day, my favorite was one the read: “I want the whole dollar”. This of course alluded to the persistent gender wage gap. Women earn 78 cents for every dollar a man earns in this country. At our current level of progress, the gap will not close for more than 100 years. My state, Louisiana, has one of the highest gender pay gaps in the nation. Louisiana women earn less than 60 cents for every dollar earned by a man.
There’s also a shortage of women working in financial advice fields. I wrote about this in a New York Times opinion piece back in January. Whenever I attend an industry conference, it’s the same sea of men in dark suits and zero wait times in the line for the ladies restroom. No offense, most of those guys are great colleagues whose company and conversation I enjoy. But since we are hosting a conference with Inside ETFs in Scottsdale in September, we want to do everything we can to change the gender ratio of attendees.
So I was thrilled last week when Josh called to tell me we are offering a special promotion for female advisors who attend our conference.
In deference to the gender wage gap, women can purchase tickets to Wealth/Stack for 78 cents on the dollar.
They can register here with the discount code already applied:
https://finance.knect365.com/wealth-stack/purchase/select-package?vip_code=EQUALITY
Or, they can visit the main registration page and add the VIP code: EQUALITY
https://finance.knect365.com/wealth-stack/
It’s a small consolation with a much larger intention. So please share the link with all of your female advisor friends and colleagues and join us for the best opportunity to network with the most progressive and successful advisors in the industry.
We made a real effort to flip the gender ratio in our speaker line-up as well. In addition to keynotes from author Allison Shrager, Barbara Roper of the Consumer Federation of America, and Dani Fava from TD Ameritrade, we have superstars Nina O’Neal, Kristen Schmidt, and Terri Shepherd on panels. Some of the men are great, too. Look for more speaker announcements over the summer.
So come on ladies! I need someone to hang out with during the NFL kickoff tailgate party on Sunday night. I hope to see you there.
