The financial literacy concepts encompassing budgeting, saving, investing, and managing debt are fundamentally vital for creating a healthy relationship with money. Unfortunately, these essential concepts are not commonly part of the school curriculum, despite their immense practical importance. For women, who face many gender-specific challenges when it comes to finances, learning these skills is vital.
Why a Focus on Women?
In Boston, 70% of families living in poverty are women and their children. Therefore, addressing this financial education gap is especially important for those in under-resourced communities. Empowering people with the knowledge and tools they need to make informed financial decisions, help foster financial independence, reduce economic disparities, and build a more financially inclusive society.
Challenges Women Face
Women encounter unique obstacles when it comes to finances, including inequity in pay versus men, a disruption in wage increases due to having children, and less access to financial literacy programs. Single parent lower-income families led by women face the additional challenges of having lower confidence levels when it comes to making decisions about money. This lack of confidence is exacerbated by limited access to education focused on managing finances. Programs that help navigate these challenges can positively impact families and their communities. The nonprofit Women’s Money Matters (WMM), a grantee partner of the Women’s Foundation of Boston, is working to create a world where all women are financially empowered.
WMM Provides Women with the Tools they Need to Succeed
Women’s Money Matters (WMM) offers financial wellness workshops, individual mentoring, and peer support groups to women aged 14 and over. The goal of these programs is to empower women to lead financially stable lives. WFBoston has supported WMM through several grants, totaling $600,000. Our 2023, three-year $300,000 grant enabled WMM to hire a Community Engagement Coordinator to scale up their existing financial wellness programs.
How WMM Is Making an Impact
WMM was started by two mothers who, through their research, found a dearth of financial literacy education programs for low-income women. These mothers created a network of volunteers who run workshops and provide mentoring to those in need of guidance. Since 2010, Women’s Money Matters has been making an impact by:
- Providing more than 160 programs
- Serving more than 1,700 participants
- Engaging more than 1,500 volunteers
Invest in Helping Women Become Economically Independent
Warren Buffet once said, “Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.” If you give someone the tools they need to make educated financial decisions, you empower them to establish a financially stable life. Make an impact today by donating to the Women’s Foundation of Boston. Your generosity will ensure that organizations like Women’s Money Matters continue to support the needs of women and girls and that the Foundation can expand its mission of economically empowering more females in more communities across Massachusetts. Donate today!
Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, was named President and CEO of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2016. She is also Director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and the Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Previously, she was the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean and Professor of Medicine of Weill Cornell Medicine and Provost for Medical Affairs of Cornell University. Dr. Glimcher is a distinguished immunologist, widely renowned for her work in one of the most promising areas of cancer research.
Linda Henry is the CEO of the Boston Globe Media Partners. She is a co-founder of HUBweek, a civic collaboration between the Boston Globe, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, and MIT that explores the future being built at the intersection of art, science and technology. Linda is also an early-stage impact investor, an Emmy-Award winning television producer with two shows currently airing, and a community activist. She serves as a director of the Red Sox Foundation, is a trustee of the Liverpool Football Club Foundation, chair of the Boston Globe Foundation, and chairman of the John W. Henry Family Foundation. In addition, she is a founder of the Boston Public Market, serves on the advisory board of MassChallenge, and is on the board of the Engine at MIT. She earned a BS from Babson College and her MS from MIT.
Bekah Salwasser joined the Red Sox Foundation as the Executive Director in January of 2018. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Brown University and has extensive experience in philanthropy and both professional and semi-professional sports. After four years working as Community Relations Director for the Boston Celtics, Bekah went on to lead Scholar Athletes as its Executive Director, a program that supports public high school athletes with both their athletic and academic achievements. Earlier in her career, Bekah served as a professional soccer player for the Boston Breakers and as Executive Director of the Charlestown Lacrosse and Learning Center.
Kimberly Fay Boucher is a business executive who has driven high performance organizations in technology, consumer products and social enterprise/nonprofit industries over the past 25 years. She is currently the Technology Commercialization Business Leader for the CTO at Analog Devices, where she is responsible for driving new technologies from incubation stages to successful businesses. Kim is also a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she teaches Disciplined Entrepreneurship in the Martin Trust Center. She holds a BS in Management Industrial Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a NCAA Academic All-American Women’s Basketball player and has been inducted into the WPI Hall of Fame.
Ami Kuan Danoff (Co-Founder and CFO) is a private investor and the trustee of a foundation. She is a Harvard Quantum Founder and a member of the Harvard FAS Dean’s Council. Ami earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in Visual and Environmental Studies and holds a dual master’s degree in Applied Economics and International Finance from the Sloan School of Management at MIT. She was a portfolio manager in global equities at Putnam Investments and co-manager of the Putnam International New Opportunities Fund, and also worked as an international equities analyst at Fidelity Investments.
Christina Heenan Suh holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in English and Marketing and a master’s from Columbia University. A former management consultant, her work focused on strategy and implementation projects for Fortune 100 clients. She was also an account executive at Hill+Knowlton (WPP) marketing consumer packaged goods. As an Executive Board Member of the Brookline Education Foundation, which funds professional development in the Brookline Public Schools, Christina led their Grant and Oversight Committees. She currently sits on the board of the Brookline Library Foundation and teaches ESL at Rosie’s Place in Boston.
Christina Gordon (Co-Founder and CEO) holds a dual master’s degree in International Finance and Applied Economics from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Boston University and also studied for a joint master’s degree in Women’s Studies and Sociology at Brandeis with a focus on women in the workplace. Christina is a former assistant fund manager and technology industry equity analyst at Wellington Management. She also worked as a stock analyst at Fidelity Investments. She is a trustee of a private foundation, a member of Women Moving Millions and currently sits on the board of Rosie’s Place, a sanctuary for poor and homeless women in Boston.