Mars, Venus, and Money

by Mr. Berns

"Women grow up to equate money with safety and security, while men see money as power, enhancing their sense of masculinity and competence."

Earning Styles
MEN
· Stake his masculinity on being a strong financial provider
· View compensation as only one measure of their professional achievement
· Earn 28% more than female counterparts
· See money as a flow that keeps on coming

WOMEN
· Few associate having more money with more femininity
· More likely to consider stimulating work as a key reason instead of the pay
· Less earnings = less confidence about their earning power
· See money as a pool that can be drained dry

Spending Styles

MEN
· Tend to have an enduring passion for power toys: cars, gadgets, etc.
· They evolve into megashoppers as they grow older and experience financial success
· More likely to boast about the amount of money they spend on a car, trip, or house

WOMEN
· Tend to treat themselves to clothing, jewelry and beauty treatments- items that enhance their value
· Particularly indulgent in the first few years of their careers, doing so as a declaration of freedom
Saving Styles

WOMEN
· Women save only half of what men do, on average
· Start saving later than their male counterpart

Investing Styles

MEN
· More willing to shoulder investment risk
· Know more than women about investing, or think they do
· Worry less about risk of losing if there’s a probability of a healthy profit someday
· More likely to invest in stocks or stock funds

WOMEN
· See only one dimension of investing: risk: the risk of losing money. They totally ignore the second and potentially more devastating risk – the inflation
· Many are jittery about investing, wind up being overly cautious and keep cash in bank CDs or Treasury Bills

Borrowing Styles

MEN
· Tends to borrow up to his limit
· More likely to get into debt trouble, higher average debt load than women

WOMEN
· Tends to borrow only what she needs
· Risk-aversion limits their opportunities, prevent them from starting their business, etc.

References:
Gender Differences in Personal Financial Literacy Among College Students (Chen Haiayang - Financial Services Review, Oct 2002)
Strong Evidence for Gender Differences in Investment (Charness, Gneezy - Sept.2007
The Money Book of Personal Finance (Eisenberg, 1998)
Gender earnings inequality in the service and manufacturing industries in the U.S (Greene, Hofnar - Jan.1995)
Spending patterns of men and women (Shipp - Monthly Labor Review, 1998)
Who Buys What: Identifying international spending patterns (Nicholas - Feb.2007)