The Last Taboo

Money equals power. But so far, it’s been largely left out of the debate over equality for women

- Sallie Krawcheck

WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF A ROBUST NATIONAL conversation about gender. We’re talking about the shifting roles and expectations of men and women, and whether the U.S. is “ready” for a female president. We’re discussing the forces that hold women back in our society—whether it’s sexual harassment in the workplace, girls not having coding experience, or girls being told to be perfect while boys are told to be brave. We’re even talking about how gender itself is defined.

At their core, these conversations are all about power: who has it and who doesn’t. But one thing that has been missing from the debate is money. We cannot talk about power without implicitly talking about money, as the two are inextricably interwoven in a capitalist society. More money equals more power. It confers power in personal relationships, power to give your candidate a better shot at being elected, power to walk away from a job you don’t like, and even the power to parade around in your half-open bathrobe in front of junior employees, as former television host Charlie Rose apparently did, and get away with it for years and years.

As a society, we send the unspoken message that money is a masculine construct, which all genders internalize and which reduces the relative power of women. This starts with the differing messages that we—parents, schools, the media—send to our daughters and sons about money. These messages help to hold women back and push men forward.

For example, recent research tells us that parents tend to talk to girls more about saving money and being careful with money and to boys more about making money and building wealth. Parents typically give girls smaller allowances for the same chores, particularly during the teen years, while teachers give girls lower grades in math for the same answers. (You read that correctly.)