The Fairer Cents: Women, Money and the Fight to Get Equal

Season 4 has been our favorite season yet of The Fairer Cents, and today we're talking about our favorite moments and reading lots of listener mail we've received, some of it inspiring to financial feminists everywhere, and some of it heartbreaking. We'll be back soon, so make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss any new episodes when they're ready. And in the off-season, check out the links below for all the places you can find Kara and Tanja online. Stay safe and healthy! Kara: Kara's site, BravelyKara's InstagramKara's Twitter Tanja: Tanja's site, Our Next LifeTanja's book, Work OptionalTanja's InstagramTanja's TwitterTanja's Facebook page

This is the second episode in a two-part mini series on money in our relationships, today exploring money and family (most especially parents), AND it’s the last full episode of season 4. Before we dive in to talk about family, we’re talking about the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and the stock markets crashing, because they’re way too important not to discuss, including steps to take with your money and how to make sure you prioritize self care at a time that feels completely chaotic, especially for women. Our guests to talk about navigating financial family relationships are Cameron Huddleston, author of Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk: How to Have Essential Conversations with Your Parents About Their Finances, and Revanche, author of the blog A Gai Shan Life. They both share advice and stories of navigating tricky money relationships as women, both positive and negative, and looking out for yourself in the process. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss our season 4 wrap-up episode and any bonus or mini-series episodes we drop, as well as our season 5 premiere when it’s time. Thanks for being a part of The Fairer Cents community. Stay rad! Links from the show: BuzzFeed debunking coronavirus mythsCameron Huddleston’s bookCameron’s TwitterRevanche’s blog, A Gai Shan LifeRevanche’s TwitterRevanche’s blog posts on cutting off her dad

This is the first episode in a two-parter about how money impacts our relationships, and how we talk about money within those relationships. Within friendships, it’s a big social taboo to discuss money, right up there with politics and religion, but there are massive benefits that can come from breaking that taboo, from getting to know your friends on a deeper level, to feeling seen and known yourself, to even opening up the opportunity to do cool projects with friends (like this podcast!). Our guest is Kiersten Saunders, who writes the blog Rich & Regular with her husband Julien, and who fights for inclusion and racial equality in the financial independence space. Links: Ecuador Chautauqua informationKiersten Saunders’ blog, Rich & Regular New York Times story on women in the FIRE movement Bank of America survey on money and friendships Away CEO expose on The Verge

This is the second in a two-part series on the evolving nature of careers, especially as it pertains to women and people of color, today focusing on the myriad ways our current work world doesn't work for women. We've talked before about the economic disadvantages that mothers face in the workplace and across their entire careers, as well as the costs of beauty double standards, but we're now layering in the costs of disability -- which will affect 1 in 4 women during our lifetimes -- and how our economy forces many women to be seen as disruptors whether they want to be or not. Our guests are Tiara Mercius, who has a legal career and advocates on behalf of disabled people, and Christabel Nsiah-Buadi, a journalist working to share stories from unrepresented voices, but who has had to create her own path to do so. Links from the show: Ecuador FI retreat with Kara & TanjaTiara Mercius's blogTiara's blog post: An ADA FailChristabel Nsiah-Buadi on TwitterChristabel Nsiah-Buadi's websiteMy Lens Media pieces on PRXThe Media Disruptors on PRICDC Statistics on Disability

This is the first in a two-part series on the evolving nature of careers, especially as it pertains to women and people of color, today focusing on creating your own path when there is no road map, whether that's because you're trying to break into a legacy industry without connections, or because you're literally heading out into uncharted territory. Our guests are Jada Gomez, senior platform editor at Medium (and formerly of Bustle, Time, People and a slew of other prestigious media outlets), and Paula Pant, creator and host of the Afford Anything podcast and blog, both of whom got where they are today despite there not being a well-trod path laid out in front of them. Links from the episode: Jada Gomez on TwitterJada Gomez on MediumPaula Pant's Afford Anything blog and podcastPaula Pant on TwitterTanja's blog post about keeping money and creativity separate

This is the second part in a two-part series on women speaking, focusing today on our actual voices and how they are heard (or not heard) by our bias-filled culture. There is a ton of research showing that women and men are perceived differently when we speak, and that's both socially wired and generational. Like in so many parts of the economy, women are held to an impossible standard where you lose no matter what: either you're too assertive or you're not assertive enough. You're not authoritative enough or you're bossy. Our guests are Kristen Meinzer (host of the By the Book podcast along with Jolenta Greenberg, and author of the book "So You Want to Start a Podcast: Finding Your Voice, Telling Your Story, and Building a Community that Will Listen" and, along with Jolenta, the forthcoming book "How to Be Fine: What We Learned from Living by the Rules of 50 Self-Help Books") and Tamara Keith (National Public Radio's White House correspondent and host of the NPR Politics Podcast). While not every woman needs to speak on the air like they both do, their experience tells us a lot about what women are up against in our economy when we speak. Links from the episode: Kristen Meinzer on TwitterKristen’s book, So You Want to Start a PodcastBy the Book podcastTamara Keith on TwitterNPR Politics podcast Katie Mingle’s autoreply at 99 Percent Invisible Study on vocal fry and success of young women in the labor market Study on preference for leaders with masculine voices This American Life piece on vocal fry and women’s voices: “Freedom Fries” Fresh Air interview on policing young women’s voices NPR story: “Sounding Like a Reporter – And a Real Person, Too”Transom.org opinion piece by Chenjerai Kumanyika about vocal color in public radio Naomi Wolf’s misguided Guardian piece on women’s voices Fast Company piece victim blaming women for our voices and how others discriminate on that basis Atlantic story on bias against women’s voices in hiring

This is the first part in a two-part series that is years in the making, and a topic close to our hearts. The fact is that when women and people from marginalized groups speak, it’s heard differently than it is when men speak. So we’re digging into that, today starting with the more figurative meaning of women’s voices, as in women daring to speak up and fight for something they believe in. Our guests are Noami Grevemberg who Instagrams about the lack of inclusivity in #vanlife at @irietoaurora, and Julia, a trans woman suing the state of North Carolina for its discriminatory health care policies that specifically target transgender people. Both of them are speaking up and willing to be visible even though it’s not always safe to do so, and we talked to them about weighing the risks -- including the financial risks -- of speaking up against what we all gain when women speak up in spite of those risks. In part 2, coming in two weeks, we’re talking about women’s actual voices, how the world hears us, and how we can push back. Links from the episode: Diversify Vanlife essay on GnomadHome.comNoami on InstagramJulia’s Twitter account

Today we’re completing the two-part series on the economic implications of reproducing, talking about the costs – often mysterious -- of giving birth for women and others who can get pregnant, especially in the U.S. In this episode, Kara talks to Carol Sakala from the National Partnership for Women & Families about the actual costs of delivering a baby, and shares an audio essay on the range of known and unknown stats a mother must contend with when pondering the costs of delivery. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the episode, so please email us at fairercents@gmail.com or hit us up on Twitter or Instagram at @fairercents. Thanks to our sponsor Freshbooks for their support of the show. Links: Carol Sakala, director of childbirth connection programs at the National Partnership for Women & FamiliesVox video on the mysterious costs of giving birth The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecolegists position paper on home births

Today’s show is the first in a two-part series all about the economic implications of reproducing — or not reproducing. On the next episode, we’ll talk about the wide range of financial implications of giving birth for women and others who can get pregnant, but today we’re talking about the massive financial impacts of not being forced to have children you don’t want to have for any number of reasons, impacts that go well beyond women themselves. In this episode, Tanja talks to Brigette Courtot of Urban Institute about the economic impacts on women of having access to birth control, and Kara talks to Anna Bernstein of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research about the economic impacts of abortion. Thanks to our sponsors Upstart and Freshbooks for their support of the show. Links: Urban Institute Health Policy Center reproductive health and access data and analysisBrigette Courtot’s bio and publicationsAnna Bernstein’s bio and publications IWPR’s Fact Sheet: “The Economic Effects of Contraceptive Access: A Review of the Evidence” New York Times piece by Lyndsay Werking-Yip: “I Had a Late-Term Abortion. I Am Not a Monster.” Vox piece by Dr. Cheryl Axelrod: “I’m an OB-GYN who had a 2nd-trimester abortion. The 20-week ban bill is dangerous.” Slate piece by Margot Finn: “I Had a Late-Term Abortion. President Trump and Pro-Lifers Have No Right to Call Me a Murderer.” From The Guardian: “Ohio bill orders doctors to ‘reimplant ectopic pregnancy’ or face ‘abortion murder’ charges”

This week, we conclude our two-part series on wellness by focusing on diet and weight loss, the real centerpiece of the entire wellness industry. Just how big a business it is, the lengths the industry goes to to hide itself, and how it hurts us as women in particular. Feminist dietician Rachael Hartley talks to us about how we’ve focused too much on diet and fitness in our quest to be healthier (or, really, thinner), and Tanja looks at the fat phobia that’s the real motivator behind so much of our wellness and weight loss obsession. Big thanks to Freshbooks for sponsoring season 4 of The Fairer Cents. If you’d like to try their cloud accounting software for free, go to freshbooks.com/tfc and enter “the fairer cents” in the How did you hear about us? Links from the episode: Smash the Wellness Industry by Jessica Knoll in the New York TimesRachael Hartley NutritionRachael Hartley on InstagramRachael on Twitter Food, Dieting & FeminismEverything You Know About Obesity Is Wrong Diet industry research French women would rather be fat than dead Yale research on trading life or limb not to be fat Melinda Parrish video on Huff PostStephanie Shames TEDx talkSamantha Bee Full Frontal clip

This week’s show is part 1 of a 2-part series on the wellness industrial complex, and all the ways it manipulates women and makes us poorer. First up, we’re tackling yoga culture in particular, because of how ubiquitous it has become in western society, and just how problematic that is. We talk with Tejal Patel and Jesal Parikh of the Yoga Is Dead podcast about how yoga has been culturally appropriated from its roots in India and from Desi people today, and Tanja draws on her long career teaching yoga to delve into yoga’s problems with economics and inclusivity. Big thanks to Freshbooks for sponsoring season 4 of The Fairer Cents. If you’d like to try their cloud accounting software for free, go to freshbooks.com/tfc and enter “the fairer cents” in the How did you hear about us? Links from the episode: Yoga Is Dead podcastYoga Is Dead on InstagramHow Teaching Yoga Is Like Multilevel Marketing Yoga Alliance and Ipsos 2014 survey International Association of Yoga Therapists 2004 studySpiritually Bankrupt: How I Went Broke Trying to Teach Yoga PayScale data on yoga instructor hourly payWhy Your Yoga Class Is So White “What’s the Difference Between Cultural Appropriation and Cultural Appreciation?”(More) Reasons Why Your Yoga Class Is So White The cover shoot that brought me face to face with racism in the wellness industryJessamyn Stanley and the Yoga Journal Debacle

Today we’re closing season 3 with the ur-topic of personal finance: is your success in life ultimately a product of the amount of personal responsibility you exercise or the systemic barriers that surround you? To answer this question, we talk to two experts: Diana Elliott, a sociologist and researcher at Urban Institute who studies systemic barriers, and Charlotte Cowles, a journalist who writes about money for New York Magazine’s The Cut and New York Times and has interviewed hundreds of people about their money habits. Make sure you're subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts so you get bonus episodes that we share this summer, as well as news when season 4 drops in late summer 2019. Links from the show: Diana Elliott’s bioDiana Elliott’s TwitterUrban InstituteCharlotte Cowles on The CutCharlotte Cowles’ Twitter Kellogg School report on economic mobility perceptions“Behind the Curve” flat Earth documentaryBreakmaster Cylinder on Bandcamp

Though we usually focus on bigger picture topics like systemic issues within our economy that disproportionately affect women, this week we’re getting tactical, and sharing actionable tips that can improve your finances today, with a little help from some friends of the podcast. Be sure to check out the links here in the shownotes to find all of the awesome financial pros and content creators we heard from and referenced. Links from the show : Broke Millennial Takes on InvestingBeyond the DollarFinancial GrownupHey BernaShe Picks Up PenniesPenny’s TwitterHow You Spend Your Days I’m a Financial Professional and I Have Hella Financial AnxietyWork Optional

In the era of the #MeToo movement, Black Lives Matter and a torrent of books on the subject, it’s a time when women’s anger at the inequality built into our financial, economic and social systems is finally being heard. Or at least some women’s anger is. In this week’s episode, we’re talking with emotional labor expert and author Gemma Hartley, and comedian and author Sarah Cooper, about the moment women’s rage is having, the steps that most of us must still take to function in a male-oriented career world, and the tired old stereotype of the angry black woman. Links from the show: Tanja Hester and her husbandFed UpHow to Be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s AngerRage Becomes HerBurn It Down: Writing About Women’s Anger

Today we’re finally tackling the topic that we suspect some of you initially came to The Fairer Cents expecting to hear about: early retirement, financial independence and the FIRE movement or community. But because it’s us, we’re not just going to say “here’s how to retire early, now go buy some Vanguard funds and off you go.” Instead, we’re talking about how to broaden the conversation around FIRE, namely how to diversify it so more people feel welcome. Because it’s not just white tech bros here, and talking about it that way sells the whole movement short. Our guests today include Vicki Robin, the New York Times bestselling co-author of Your Money Or Your Life, and a panel of diverse voices from across the FIRE community who are all working to break down those stereotypes about who can achieve FIRE. Links from the show: Tanja’s TwitterUrban Institute analysis on workers over 50 being forced outYour Money Or Your Life by Vicki RobinJamila Souffrant, Journey to LaunchKiersten & Julien Saunders, Rich & RegularBethany Mccamish, His & Her FIFelicity, Fetching Financial FreedomTanja’s blog post, “Of Boosts and Bootstraps”Talia Jane Vice piece, “Most Money Advice Is Worthless When You’re Poor”Afford Anything podcast episode with Suze Orman

Today’s show is the second of two parts focusing on how we can be the best possible financial allies to those around us. In part 2, we’re talking about how white women can do better about being allies to women of color, in particular by not being “white feminists TM.” That goes for in financial spaces, and just in general. Our guests are two women of color who've thought a lot about this: Kiona of How Not to Travel Like a Basic Bitch and Marivette Navarette of The Mujerista. Links from the show: How Not to Travel Like a Basic BitchThe Mujerista

Today we’re celebrating something HUGE in The Fairer Cents family: the publication of Tanja’s book, Work Optional: Retire Early the Non-Penny-Pinching Way! But we’re not just talking about that today. Instead we’re talking about everything that goes into women achieving creative dreams, from the glory of the finished product to the misery and messiness that can go into getting there, and even what creativity is in the first place. Our guest today is Claire Zinnecker, and interior designer and Instagram influencer in Austin, Texas, who creates beautiful rooms, but also keeps it real. Links in the show: Work Optional: Retire Early the Non-Penny-Pinching WayClaire Zinnecker’s InstagramBig MagicAn Assortment of Animals

Today’s show is the first of two parts focusing on how we can be the best possible financial allies to those around us, whether that’s online or offline. In part 1, we’re talking about male allies: why we need them, and how men can be them. Our guests are Cord Jefferson, TV writer and outspoken feminist extraordinaire, and personal finance bloggers Matt Lane of Optimize Your Life and Brian of Done By 40. They’re all incredible allies to women, and they get vulnerable with us about how they speak up to help the feminist cause, as well as where they still struggle. Links from the show: Work Optional: Retire Early the Non-Penny-Pinching Way TumblrMedium pageTwitter Optimize Your Life how advocating for women has helped his careerTwitter Done By Forty the wage gap and sharing salary with womenTwitter

This week we’re doing something we’ve never done before on the podcast: recording live! This episode was recorded live at the first Cents Positive retreat for women interested in financial independence (so you’ll notice that we talk about financial independence and early retirement a little more than usual), and included wide-ranging conversations on the origins of the podcast, why women need safe spaces for all things but especially money conversations, how money and emotion are intertwined (and that’s okay!) and some great questions from attendees. Links: Cents Positive websiteCents Positive Twitter

The economic and social system we live in affects so much about our financial lives as women. So how do we change that? A big part of it is advocating for other women (and ourselves), and so today we’re talking to two incredible women from different generations who do exactly that, but in very different ways: Mary Beth Cahill, former executive director of Emily’s List, as well as long-time chief of staff for Senator Ted Kennedy and campaign manager for John Kerry’s presidential run in 2004; and Gaby Dunn, the writer and performer best known for her podcast and book, both titled Bad With Money. We talk about who they each see themselves fighting for, the economic impact of that and what it means to be an advocate in today's world. Links from the show: Gaby’s podcastGaby’s bookHand to Mouth