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22 April 2022
Courier Weekly provides inspiration and tools to help you work better and live smarter.
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Brought to you this week by GANT.
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Your weekly round-up of briefings, trends and news.
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Money moves
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‘It seems radical to build something for women specifically, but we need to realize that most other products have been built by men for men,’ says Margot De Broglie, co-founder of Your Juno, a financial education app for women and non-binary people.
Your Juno is one of many female-focused financial platforms – along with Ellevest, The Financial Diet, Her First $100K and more – to have emerged in the past few years. They're all part of a burgeoning ‘financial feminism’ trend – a movement that aims to bridge the gender wealth gap by educating and encouraging women. But is empowering women to take control of their finances enough?
‘We're taking a step forward when we educate women about their personal finance management, but it's just a step,’ says Nina Mohanty, co-founder of Bloom Money, a fintech company that provides fair financial services to migrants and refugees. ‘This, in a vacuum, won't close the gender wealth gap. Why? Because there are systemic barriers to overcome.’
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Representation matters
Starling Bank worked with researchers at Brunel University to analyze articles about finance as part of its #MakeMoneyEqual campaign. The research found that men were shown as being in control and making financial decisions, while women were typically shown counting pennies. The analysis even showed that 90% of articles on money written for women were about saving and budgeting, while 73% of articles targeted at men are about making large investments.
Gender representation in finance has real consequences on how women think about money. A survey experiment by the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center shows that women are less financially literate than men, with one-third of this gap due to lack of confidence. In its research, women were more likely to answer ‘I don't know’ to questions measuring financial knowledge but, when this option was removed, they often chose the correct answer.
But there are a lot more barriers. Women have to navigate a discriminatory and predatory economic system. For starters, women earn less than men and tend to stop getting raises a decade earlier – if they even get them to begin with. The playing field is all but level, and it has a compounding effect on women's long-term financial health.
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Problems with empowerment
Despite these very real and very large institutional barriers, many messages women receive about financial empowerment shift the responsibility of the systemic challenges that they face onto women themselves. It's as though financial feminism lures you in with the promise of societal change when, at its core, it pushes for personal responsibility.
‘Making more women millionaires has almost nothing to do with feminism and isn't a form of empowerment,’ says Chelsea Fagan, co-founder and CEO of online money platform The Financial Diet. ‘Insinuating that this is how women's issues can be resolved is very naive.’
The rise of financial feminism may have brought awareness to these issues, and advocating for financial literacy (for any gender) is a worthy cause. But no amount of platitudes or budgeting advice will make up for a financial system that actively discriminates against women.
For more on how female-focused fintech is falling short, read the full article here.
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Inspiration for the home, plus things to eat, drink and wear.
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Take the road less traveled
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In the age of Google Maps, a physical guidebook seems like a lost relic. These four brands are proving there's a reason to roam offline.
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These City Guides from design publication Wallpaper* offer a curated rundown of a town's design and architecture, as well as bars, hotels, museums and more selected by the brand's on-the-ground correspondents. |
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If you want to go off the beaten path, these guides from travel brand LOST iN suggest destinations beyond tourist hotspots and include interviews with locals on what they love about their city. |
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It can be overwhelming to go somewhere new, but a themed set of sites can help focus your wandering. Travel guide and stationery brand Herb Lester offers titles like Occult London and Havana: Right Now. |
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Travel brand Wildsam's US-focused guides are less of an itinerary and more about exploring the stories of a place. Its Memphis guide includes illustrated maps based on rock ‘n’ roll, Civil Rights history and barbecue. |
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BRAND PARTNER: GANT
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Come see creative, courageous retail
GANT and Courier are excited to announce the first GANT Talk of the season, taking place at the clothing brand's London flagship store on Thursday 28 April. Come along to hear artist and designer Kelly Anna and Courier's lifestyle editor Bre Graham talk about the inspiration behind the ‘MOTHER AND I’ window installation at the Regent Street store, Kelly Anna's creative journey so far and everything in between. RSVP to secure your spot at uk.events@gant.com.
Find out more here
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Tips and tools to become better at life and work.
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It's good to be bored sometimes
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There's a benefit to being bored. This is something that life coach Zoe Mallett is proud to preach and is a core part of how she helps creatives connect with themselves on a deeper level. In her workshops with brands, individuals and businesses, she teaches how to integrate the beauty of boredom into our daily lives.
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Boredom is important for creatives
‘[Boredom] creates an opportunity for the mind to be still and allows for our thoughts to wander freely. When we're rushing around, focusing on projects, immersed in a creative lead and in meetings with expected outcomes, our minds are often busy, somewhat too focused – which doesn't always allow a sense of freedom. You're allowing your mind some breathing time, a time to catch up and refocus on the simple things.’
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What are your three tips for building boredom into your creative life?
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‘Block out regular time to be bored – an evening, a morning, an afternoon. Try to set up some time where there's little distraction, away from phones, laptops and TVs. Speak to the people around you and explain how you're trying to do nothing for a few hours and you'd prefer not to be distracted.’ |
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‘Let go of any expectations during this time. Don't make any plans, sit somewhere in your home or office (ideally where you can be alone) or go for a walk, but don't think about where you want to walk – just start walking.’ |
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‘See it as part of your wellness regime. Being bored can also offer time to reflect inwards, which can improve how you interact with others. Improving personal skills is needed when working collaboratively with others.’ |
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Want more tips and tools on working effectively and living smarter?
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Other great stuff we loved this week.
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