The Taylor Swift effect appears to be happening in financial gender norms.
According to MLC’s 2023 Financial Freedom Report, women are surpassing men in their financial ambitions.
The report found that women are both career and financially driven, with 58% of women aspiring to be financially independent, 37% of women driven to have a successful career and 31% of women developing an additional income stream.
It comes as Taylor Swift mania hits Australian shores with hundreds of thousands of lucky people, (Financy HQ included) are set to pack out stadiums in Melbourne and Sydney over the next couple of weeks.
Swift is a girl on fire at the moment in a financial and artistic sense.
She recently made history by winning the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for the fourth time, an unprecedented achievement in the music industry.
She is also expected to be worth over $1.1 billion according to Forbes.
Key to Swift’s career success, has been tapping into her own voice and staying true to that in her music, leveraging social media, having a business mindset, diversifying her income sources and building and leveraging her brand.
Her influence appears to be having an empowering effect among women, who compared to men, are closer than ever to smashing those high-hitting financial goals.
Australian women are ambitious. They are more likely than males to have thought extensively or a fair bit about their dreams (60% compared to 52%). Additionally, they are highly motivated to achieve their dreams, with over half (55%) reporting to be extremely or very motivated, compared to 44% of males.
However, despite being more ambitious, men are more likely than women to report having already achieved these equivalent goals. This suggests there is still some work to do to ensure women are on track to achieving financial freedom.
MLC’s Financial Freedom Report found the top five aspirations for women after financial independence were taking regular holidays, having a good work life balance, having a trusted group of friends/family around, and owning their own home.
According to Kari Arnison, General Manager of Client Wellbeing at MLC, now is a good time for women to lean into their inner-Swifty and kick off their financial fitness by engaging in longer-term financial strategies to build their wealth and ultimately realise their financial freedom.
Her key tips are:
- Budgeting and saving – Start by assessing your current financial situation. Create a budget to track your income and expenses, identifying areas where you can make savings. Saving consistently, even if it’s a small amount, is the cornerstone of building wealth over time.
- Debt management – If you have outstanding debts, devise a plan to manage and eventually eliminate them. Prioritise paying off high-interest debts first, as they can significantly impede your progress toward financial freedom.
- Investment strategy – Investing is a crucial aspect of achieving financial freedom. Research different investment options based on your risk tolerance and goals. Diversify your investments to minimise risk and consider seeking advice from financial experts if needed.
- Continuous learning – Stay informed about personal finance, investments, and money management. Explore digital tools and calculators that can help you with your budgeting, understand and track your super balance, and assess your insurance needs. The more you understand, the better equipped you’ll be to make informed decisions. Attend workshops, read books, and follow reputable financial blogs to expand your knowledge.
Financy covers gender finance, diversity, inclusion and ESG issues. We advocate for gender equity change through the Women’s Index report and help businesses take action on DEI through tech solutions like IMPACTER.
