Lesley-Anne Scorgie – founder of MeVest, a financial education company – was meeting a highly recommended investment advisor recently with one of her clients, also a woman.
“At the end of the meeting, he said, ‘Go girls! You go!” recalls Ms. Scorgie, in one example of many times she has seen men in personal finance talk down to women or imply it’s atypical for them to manage their money or understand finances. “It was so uncomfortable for my client and myself.”
For many women, the world of financial advice can still feel paternalistic, or at the very least, more geared to men. A wave of personal finance experts targeting women on social media has responded with a different type of money information, offering clear communication that isn’t belittling, helping their online followers build confidence and get used to talking about money.
“I think as the banks and the whole industry start to understand how much money is being transferred to women, there’s been this sharp and uncomfortable pivot, and no one knows what to do,” says Ms. Scorgie, who is based in Toronto. “What I am seeing on social media is really exciting: content for women, and new women-focused investing apps and educational sites.”
Ms. Scorgie, who has more than 8,600 Instagram followers, posts about money topics, breaking them down into simple rules or bite-sized bits that are easier to explain on social media.
“I like to sprinkle in education, empowerment, and the next step,” she says. “I’ve seen the incredible benefits of that combo of education.
“Most women can usually take something and apply it right then and there.”
Melissa Leong – one of Ms. Scorgie’s favourite “finfluencers” – says her followers “appreciate actionable and practical tips,” as well as empowerment and authenticity.
She adds the increased amount of discussion about how women’s finances differ from men’s, such as why they make less and how that affects them in the long-term, has helped women understand why they are in the money situations they are facing, and has also created online communities where people feel supported.
“The benchmarks, rules of thumbs and advice provided by the financial industry have historically been homogenous and not inclusive” of racialized people and women, explains Ms. Leong, who lives in Toronto and often gives money advice on the TV show The Social.
“For example, retirement calculators don’t take into account the time that women take away from work for childcare. Savings benchmarks don’t account for the wage gap. Social media has democratized access to financial information and has created communities where women can relate, share experiences and support one another.”
Marissa Epp started creating social media content about eight years ago when she realized there was a big gap between what financial information she believed people should know and the reality. Ms. Epp’s posts reflect topics that come up in her work as a professional financial advisor in Rosthern, Sask., a town of less than 2,000 people, about 65 kilometres north of Saskatoon. Her money and insurance content is aimed at rural women, and is interspersed with posts about horseback-riding, ranching and her family.
She says social media has helped her grow her client list, as people see both her personality and her financial values through her posts, giving them a sense for whether they’d like to work with her.
“It allows people to get to know somebody without cold-calling,” she says. “They can follow different people for a while and see, ‘Do I like them?’ "
While many “finfluencers” are targeting young people on TikTok, Ms. Epp’s posts are often aimed at women in their thirties, forties and fifties – a demographic she connects with best on Facebook, although she posts on Instagram as well. “People trust who their people trust,” she says, so Facebook has been a great way for people to see who their peers go to for information.
But it’s important users verify that the content they consume is coming from someone trustworthy, she adds.
Julia Chung, a certified financial planner in South Surrey, B.C. and chief executive officer of Spring Plans, echoes that sentiment. Financial advice online is like every other kind of information on the internet – rife with scammers and falsities – so buyer and viewer beware, she says.
“A lot of these folks producing social media content around finance that have no financial education and are not licensed or overseen by any professional body,” she says. “Would you believe someone at the grocery store who said ‘I am a finance expert and there’s 10,000 people who believe me. You should believe me too?’ It’s about asking, ‘what license do you have, what education, and what is your actual experience?’ "
Ms. Chung notes that multi-level marketing and other scams often present themselves as personal finance content online and notes much of the untrustworthy content is targeted at groups that may not have access to high-quality personal finance advice, such as recent immigrants, people with disabilities and women.
“They are more likely to be feeding into an insecurity you have,” she says. “Society is telling women they don’t know much about math, now they’re going to tell you women don’t know much about money.”
She says her experience shows women are great money managers but often don’t trust their instincts because society has not always made them feel confident in their financial abilities.
“I do think women lack financial confidence, but I don’t think women lack financial literacy.”
Who They Follow
Some of the social media accounts the experts we interviewed are following.
Lesley-Anne Scorgie, finance author and founder of MeVest: Jessica Moorhouse, Michelle Robertson (ms.moneyandmath), the.canadian.budgeter, Janine Rogan, mixedupmoney, Melissa Leong (lisleong)
Melissa Leong, author of Happy Go Money: Bridget Casey (@moneyaftergrad), Desirae Odjick (@half_banked), Tori Dunlap (herfirst100K), Bola Sokunbi (Clever Girl Finance), Erin Lowry (Broke Millennial), Farnoosh Torabi, Tiffany Aliche (The Budgetnista), Tonya Rapley (My Fab Finance), Berna Anat (Hey Berna)
Julia Chung, board chair of the Financial Planning Association of Canada: Kerry K. Taylor (@squawkfox), Elizabeth Naumovski (@EmpoweredwithElizabeth on YouTube), Kelley Keehn (@kelleykeehnbiz), Shannon Lee Simmons (@shanleesimmons)
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