What...
...is financial literacy?
Don't feel bad, lots of people are unfamiliar with this term. It is pretty simple: financial literacy—the ability to use basic economic concepts to make decisions about earning, saving, spending, and sharing money—is a skill. As with reading and writing, a working knowledge of these concepts is essential for future success. And, it can be taught.
What's the problem?
Are you kidding? Where do we begin??!!
- 2 out of 3 women say they feel that they have little knowledge of financial products and services.
- Nine out of ten women will be solely responsible for their finances at some point in their lives, yet research shows they continue to lack confidence when it comes to managing money.
- Women are far less inclined to learn about money and investing, and studies show they are less likely (than men) to answer financial literacy questions correctly.
- 50% of women admit they are often nervous about the financial choices they make.
- Only 51% of girls feel confident making financial decisions, with only 12% considering themselves very confident.
- Because society teaches girls that their role is the caregiver and boys are the provider (i.e. managing finances), when girls grow up and begin to earn money, they do not have the knowledge or confidence to know how to manage it.
Sources: The Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center, Girl Scouts Research Institute, Pew Reports, Federal Reserve
Yikes! What's being done right now?
Currently, economic literacy is not a standard component of the
K−12 education curriculum in the United States and most countries. Often, the responsibility for teaching these skills falls on parents and out-of-school programs.
“ ”
I wish there were easy ways to get the information I need to turn my dreams into something real, taking them from sketches to a full-on business.
Paula, 17, Minneapolis
But that's not working...
- Most women are not confident in their own skills so how can they be expected to pass them onto their daughters?
- Existing programs are scarce and out of touch with young people.
- Most financial literacy programs/apps are geared toward a Millennial (25+) audience—enticing them to save through rewards and gamification. But young Millennials/Gen Zs are more savvy, more sophisticated and demand more from their money, their education and their society, having grown up post-Great Recession.
- A recent study suggests that 3 out of 4 girls have anxiety. Yet no programs address the relationship of mental health and financial stability.
- No programs allow for peer-to-peer learning.
- One of the critical factors in building economic independence is confidence. Yet, no financial program develops girls' self-assurance and tenacity concurrently with financial literacy.
No programs take a holistic approach to economic independence. They might teach a girl how to open a bank account but they never teach them how to negotiate the salary to fill it.
Why...
...does this matter?
Well, if our government isn't going to ratify girls' and women's rights to equal pay and economic parity, and our education system is not going to recognize that financial literacy should be part of every high school curriculum, then girls and women need to get the knowledge (and power) necessary to build a new system themselves.
Enough waiting for somebody else to fix it. Remember, by 2020, two-thirds of U.S. wealth will be in the hands of women. With that much power, isn't it time to stop asking permission?
Why should I care about some girl I don't even know?
Teaching girls financial literacy makes financial sense. When they gain a sense of economic independence, they know how to advocate not only for their economic security, but also the economic security of their friends, their families, their communities, their country and their world.
Not convinced? Ummmmm...
- If we closed the wage-gap the resulting increase in women's salaries (by up to 76%) would translate into a value of 17 trillion USD in the global economy.
- Companies with three or more women in senior management functions score higher in all dimensions of organizational effectiveness.
- When more women work, economies grow. An increase in female labour force participation—or a reduction in the gap between women's and men's labour force participation—results in faster economic growth.
- In the future, women will have greater influence on the U.S. economy, exercising more authority over financial decisions and planning for retirement.
Sources: The Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center, Girl Scouts Research Institute, Pew Reports, Federal Reserve
How's that for WHY??
Dolla Dolla World wants to put an end to these discrepancies and inequalities starting NOW! Time to arm our young women with the confidence, knowledge and opportunities to take control of their personal, professional, and financial futures.
“ ”
Girls are extremely optimistic about their future lives but admit to lacking the financial confidence and knowledge to achieve their dreams.
Girl Scouts Research Institute
How...
...will we do this?
Well, the dreaded “P” word: pop-up. Yup, Dolla Dolla World will launch in NYC with the most exciting and creative “money store” you have ever seen. During Fall 2018, Dolla Dolla World will provide a free space, open to all, with talks, workshops, panels, one-on-one consulting, job fairs and, of course, karaoke (do YOU know a better way to build confidence??).
Got it but what about after the summer?
So happy you asked! We plan to pilot the program with this pop-up (ppppppp) and then take the show on the road. Our dream? Malls. (Come on, isn't that always the dream?) One of a kind spaces in malls where young people can access everything they need to be confident and financially independent.
OK, but what is the programming exactly?
We are Gen Z-led (along with a Millennial or two) and take that seriously. So the programming will be determined by them. Too many old people want to tell younger generations what they need to know and how they should learn. We aren't convinced. We believe that young people can tell us what they want and need and then, together, with our resources, expertise and experience, we can make it happen. It is our responsibility to create the best structure and system for young women to acquire the knowledge and skills they need to go out into the world as dreamers, builders and leaders.
So, everything is determined by girls and guided by adults, but what will you teach exactly?
From 101 foundations like: Credit, Saving, Budgeting, Investing, Student Loans, Taxes, Insurance and Financial Pitfalls, to more nuanced topics like: Entrepreneurship, Philanthropy, Financing Projects, and Ethical and Sustainable Investment—we'll cover a lot of ground.
But in addition to hitting all of the basics, Dolla Dolla World will also offer less orthodox programming that addresses those life skills which are critical complements to money talk. Skills that include: Confidence, Mental Well-Being, Leadership, Happiness, and Social Responsibility. From bite-sized lessons (shown to be as effective as teaching complex concepts in their entirety) on simple financial rules and guidelines on Instagram, to more time-intensive workshops that turn lessons into real-world action, Dolla Dolla World's programming will support young women at every stage of their progress towards economic independence.
Sounds great! Can you give us some examples?
Definitely! Below is a quick snapshot of the type of programs Dolla Dolla World will offer.
TALKS
Weekly panels and discussions on topics like:
- #FirstFails: Everyone fails and hearing from accomplished women about falling flat on their faces is a great reminder that messing up is the secret to success.
- You Do What? : Exploring different jobs and the often non-linear paths people took to get there.
- Passion to Profession: How to turn what you love into what you do is the #1 question from young women. They will get to hear directly from a variety of people who have figured out how to marry the two P's: Passion and Profession.
WORKSHOPS
Workshops led by financial, marketing and start-up experts on How To:
- Build a brand
- Negotiate
- Run a successful Depop Shop
- Create (and stick to) a budget
- Never procrastinate
- Ace an interview
- Start a non-profit
- Advocate for yourself
- Manage student loans
- Survive as a freelancer (getting paid, taxes, healthcare, etc.)
- Invest in the stock market
CASE STUDY CHALLENGES
Young people are rarely taught the knitty-gritty basics of starting a business and even less often told to go ahead and do it. We will take girls' passion points (like fashion, music, art, media, STEM, to name a few) and hold focused summer-long programs in which a new aspect of business building will be taught each week. We'll tackle: how to build a team, how to raise money, how to do a P&L, how to market, how to price and how to distribute.
Each week the girls will be given an assignment and by the end of the program, they will have produced a prototype and, when applicable, be given space in the Dolla Dolla store to sell. Rather than hold yet another zine making workshop, we'll actually show girls how to finance, price, print and distribute the zines they're dreaming of making.
SHADOW CHALLENGES
We have heard that Jeff Bezos selects a “shadow” every year—somebody who spends every day following the master in order to learn how to become the master. We don't know Mr. Bezos (yet!), but we do know many amazing women who are living their professional dreams and want to share a piece of it with a girl. Each week, Dolla Dolla will issue a challenge that girls complete in order to be eligible for the opportunity to shadow a woman who works in a field of interest to our community.
MISC
- Movie Nights: Screenings of films about kicking ass in business (9 to 5, Working Girl, Beauty Shop, The Boss, Legally Blonde) with commentary from experts on business tips and life skills. Want to know how to negotiate? Just watch any episode of Scandal. Seriously.
- Karaoke Nights: Because we do not know a better way to get comfortable with risk and failure than singing in front of a bunch of people.
- Job Fairs: Companies come and talk about different job possibilities and how to get them: What degree or experience do you need? How do you apply? What skills are helpful? What do they look for in candidates?
- Ask an Intern: Intern-hopefuls ask current interns all their burning questions.
- You Reviews: Weekly sessions to address how to perfect presenting your professional self: resume and cover letter writing, college applications and portfolio presentations.
- Office Etiquette 911: Open panels where people can ask all their awkward questions about office etiquette and how to handle tricky situations.
- Field Trip Fridays: Weekly trips to different businesses where a professional will show girls the ropes.
- Anti-Selfie Saturdays: Weekly event where girls can have a LinkedIn ready “headshot” taken by a professional photographer.
- Dolla Dolla Market: A shop and showcase where girls can apply to sell their wares.
Do you really think that young women dictating programming, as well as in some cases teaching each other, will actually be effective?
Yup, we do. Everyone on the Dolla Dolla team has been a long-time fan of something called Connected Learning. We won’t bore you with the details (which we don’t actually think are boring at all!) but basically, Connected Learning is a design system for learning where you start with a person’s interest(s), add a bit of peer support, ground the whole thing in group purpose with a production-centered methodology, and move learning beyond traditional spaces, taking advantage of opportunities to learn online and off, in all areas of students’ lives.
So while Dolla Dolla World doesn’t follow the exact model of Connected Learning, it operates according to similar principles: build learning around things that young women want, in a space where they feel supported by their peers and give it some academic rigor and real world application.
“ ”
94% of girls would rather make their own money than rely on their parents, and 80% would rather make their own money than marry someone who would support them financially.
Girl Scouts Research Institute
Last question...what if i am not in NYC this summer and I still want to talk money?!
Who...
US
Dolla Dolla World comes to you from the Founder of School of Doodle and the team at Irregular Labs, a Gen Z-run company that connects the ideas, opinions and imaginations of girl and gender nonconforming Gen Zs to the world.
Advisory Board
We rely upon our amazing Advisory Board of young and old to keep us in line and make Dolla Dolla World, well, dolla-tastic!
Cameron Lawrence (Student)
Dayna Evans (Writer/Editor)
Jennifer Arceneaux (Chief Brand & Development Officer, Acorns)
Jennifer Justice (President, Corporate Development, Superfly)
Joan Hornig (Founder, Joan Hornig Jewelry)
Maluca Mala (Musician)
Robin Shapiro (Founder, seek Food)
“ ”
I wish there were easy ways to get the information I need to turn my dreams into something real, taking them from sketches to a full-on business.
Paula, 17, Minneapolis
Etc...
What do you mean by girls and women? What about people who don’t subscribe to gender binaries?
Language around gender is a bit funny but we want to be clear that Dolla Dolla World is for girls, young women, femmes and gender nonconforming people who are institutionally and systemically excluded from those financial learning (and earning) opportunities afforded to “men."
What’s the difference between financial literacy and economic empowerment?
Honestly, not much. We happen to prefer the term economic independence since we believe that in addition to learning how to save money, girls and women need to learn how to make money on their terms.
Is this like home economics classes from the 1960’s?
Yes, a bit. While this bygone staple of a girl’s high school education seems more finishing school than feminist, that isn’t how they started. Did you know that home ec was created by a few awesome women (scientists + MIT grads!) at the turn of the century to teach women (who suddenly had huge amounts of purchasing power and department stores instead of farms) how to effectively manage a household and its finances? The intention was to give women financial literacy so they could make the best decisions … so THEY could make them, not their husbands, their fathers, their children. Them. Women. Make smart choices. Fact is, the history of home ec is deeply feminist and we think it is a pretty stellar model for a little 2018 reinvention.
*Dolla Dolla World is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization.
