Page 20 - horizons - 518 Issue

HOW WOMEN

PERCEIVE MONEY

AN EXCERPT FROM MONEY, MANIFESTATION & MIRACLES

Meriflor Toneatto is the author of Money, Manifestation & Miracles. As the CEO and
founder of Power With Soul, she specializes in helping ambitious women entrepreneurs,
professionals and leaders reach financial prosperity and success while fulfilling their
social promise to the world. Her work has been featured internationally in media outlets like Yahoo! Finance,
Washington Post, International Business Times, Los Angeles Times, and more. Visit her at www.meriflor.co.

When women are empowered with money, they be- For women, the motivation to have money is about relation-
come “difference makers.” They transform not only ships and how we can use money to express love — by taking
their own lives but also those of their children, their care of ourselves or our loved ones, or giving money away to
families, and their communities at large. help others. This is a distinctive quality of the feminine con-
nection to money.
In the book The Female Brain, neuropsychiatrist Dr. Louann
Brizendine describes the differences between women’s and For men, however, money often signifies power and position
men’s brains in terms of structure and functionality. The and can play out in scenes of competition and accumulation.
female brain, for example, has considerably more connecting Men may use money to establish their stature in society and
brain cells than the male brain. This means that women can to assert their masculinity and power, as reflected in business-
hold more information at once and have a greater ability to page stories about deals, acquisitions, and mergers of com-
multitask. Men’s brains, on the other hand, are wired to focus panies. From my personal experience and my work with other
on one task at a time. Women’s brains are also more amenable women, I would say that the difference between women and
to change and thinking about things from different perspec- men in regards to money can be summed up this way: men ask
tives to incorporate more information. For males, the empha- for what they want, while women ask for what they think they
sis is on linear thinking, facts, and figures. deserve.

Another interesting aspect regarding the female brain is that Women have tried to conform to capitalism’s norms by adopt-
women have a larger capacity for emotion, language, com- ing more masculine behaviors with money, behaviors that ex-
munication, and memory. On average, women are better at emplify individualism, aggressiveness, and power. An example
expressing emotions, forming connections, being emotionally of this kind of behavior is the emphasis on profits alone as the
sensitive, and remembering details. Women’s thoughts and primary measure of success, often at the expense of employ-
speech are informed by a sense of empathy, cues to body lan- ees and their well-being. In the process, the feminine values
guage, and intuition. In fact, according to Brizendine, during of interdependence, connections, and caring have become less
the first three months of life, a baby girl’s skills in making eye recognized.
contact and mutual facial gazing will increase at a rate of over
400 percent, whereas facial gazing skills in a baby boy will not The truth is that in regards to money, and indeed all other
increase at all. things, a balance of both the feminine and masculine is need-
ed, since there are also some challenges with adopting solely
Baby girls are born already interested in emotional expres- feminine energy. For example, women’s desire for inclusive-
sions. They take meaning about themselves from a look, a ness can lead to problems with setting boundaries and having
touch, and every reaction they receive from the people they appropriate limits. But never fear. The steps put forth in this
interact with. Based on the cues they receive, baby girls begin book will help you develop a more harmonious and balanced
to discover their sense of self and whether they are worthy, relationship with money and with yourself.
lovable, or bothersome.
A TURNING POINT
So what does this have to do with money? Since they have
more connecting brain cells than men, women do not see We are at a pivotal juncture in our history where there is
money in isolation. Rather, we see it as a part of a web of heightened awareness and support of women’s empowerment,
relationships. This means that you are more likely to take your particularly with advancing women’s economic empowerment.
strong feelings for others, as well as your relationships, into I believe that each of us must be awake to our good. We must
consideration when making money-related decisions. You are
also likely to take into consideration how you can share what
you have with others who are less fortunate.
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