Phoebe Venable: Teach daughters how to succeed in business

Did you know that there are more women enrolled in higher education today than their male counterparts?

According to the U.S. Department of Education, women comprise 57 percent of all students earning bachelor’s degrees and 60 percent of students earning master’s degrees. Their better education has led to better jobs and better pay. Today 48 percent of working wives provide at least half of their household income, with 30 percent of working wives earning more than their husbands. Sixty-five percent of women in senior management positions have children, according to a Families and Work Institute study. They kept their job and are raising a family.

With our new generation of highly educated, independent women, we are narrowing the salary gap, and women are inching toward those long-underrepresented executive positions. In short, we are modeling leadership and teaching our young girls how to be successful in every area of employment, even industries traditionally dominated my men.

So what can we teach our daughters to continue this upward trend?

Get financially engaged. One of the best things we can do, as the female role models in their lives, is to get engaged with our own finances. Lead by example showing your daughters that managing wealth is an essential skill in becoming a fully functioning adult. If you’re uncomfortable with the idea or need to brush up on your own financial skills, ask to speak with a female adviser at your financial firm, do your own financial investigating on the Web or read “The Financially Intelligent Parent” by Eileen and Jon Gallo. This book provides eight steps to raising successful, generous, responsible children.

Encourage financial education outside of the classroom. Unfortunately, high schools have limited time to teach children the fundamentals of economics, investing and appropriately handling money — laying the responsibility primarily on parents’ shoulders. Look into business camps for children during summer vacation. Money camps have been growing in popularity and number over the years. Just as you can’t expect your child to return from soccer camp ready to make the varsity team, money camp won’t transform your daughters into a financial wizard, but it might enlighten them about personal finance and possibly spark a career interest. Ask your financial advisers if they hold money camps for kids or can recommend a camp.

Invite your daughters (and sons) to come along with you on your trips to the bank and the annual review with your financial adviser. Some financial concepts that seem common to us may be wrapped in mystery for our children. Familiarizing your girls with the entire scope of wealth management will make them comfortable with the process for the future, and according to the statistics, these young girls will be wealth creators.

Arrange meetings with their mentors. If your daughters have females in their lives whom they admire in the business industry, ask these persons if your girls can shadow them for a day. Being able to see their mentors in the workplace could solidify their passion for business, finance or economics, or encourage them to pursue a passion.

Talk about money. For many parents, financial conversations are dreaded more than the birds-and-bees discussions. Learning financial responsibility will give our girls an advantage in life, but it is a learning process. One discussion about managing a bank account simply isn’t enough. Take advantage of all the teachable moments that life as a parent provides which can be financial learning experiences. Engage in discussions about budgets, allowances, proper use of credit cards and why some children have more toys or more expensive clothes than others.

Financial literacy is crucial in improving our daughters’ future financial well-being. Be the cheerleader supporting their way to success.

Phoebe Venable is president and chief operating officer of CapWealth Advisors LLC. Her column appears each Saturday in The Tennessean.