I always thought that I had no interest in numbers. This past summer, however, both my dad and I agreed that I needed to understand how to manage my own finances by the time I graduate from Brown — not because I find accounting particularly interesting, but because I am passionate about female empowerment. Having strong financial literacy means not having to depend on men to manage a crucial part of our lives: personal finance. Incentivized by not wanting to have to depend on a man, I found myself excited to analyze the numbers I once found monotonous. Financial literacy is invigorating, especially for young women who do not want to enter the finance sector in a professional capacity. I am personally planning on studying the humanities, but regardless of your major, taking a finance course leads to confidence — a tool that enables female independence and a tool that Brown should support in its curriculum.
Once I got to Brown, I asked some of my “finance bro” friends what the best classes are for non-economics majors who wanted to gain a basic level of financial literacy. Scrolling on the course registry, we couldn’t think of a class that was offering what I was looking for — a fundamental education on personal finance that involved budgeting, filing taxes and making wise personal investments. Classes like ECON 1830: “Behavioral Finance” and ECON 1710: “Investments I” had prerequisites and were not focused on pragmatic and applicable personal finance. I was disappointed but also confused: Surely out of the hundreds of classes offered at Brown this year, at least one had to be tailored to beginners. The best option I found was ECON 0710: “Financial Accounting,” a class without prerequisites that analyzes accounting in businesses and corporations. Still, it is not focused on personal finance, trading applicable lessons on spending, saving and investing for theoretical economic concepts.
The merit of a liberal arts education is that it is not centered around “pre-professional” classes but rather a broader education accessible to all. But without adequate personal finance courses, the Brown curriculum leaves a gap: Hardly any of my friends at Brown consider themselves financially literate, and the University’s economics classes fall short of providing students with an understanding of their personal finances.
While a basic understanding of personal finance would benefit anyone, it is especially empowering for young women to hold an understanding of the concepts that define a typically male-dominated finance world. Women still make less than men, receiving around 83 cents for every dollar a man makes on average. With less income, women invest less, and that’s notwithstanding a variety of historical structural obstacles that have prevented us from investing at the same rate as our male counterparts. Until the passage of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act in 1974, banks could legally refute credit cards and loans to women solely because of their gender. Women also often needed a male co-signer to open a bank account or get credit. These obstacles stretch beyond explicit historical policies — men might know more about personal finance because it is what society expects of them. Traditional gender roles expect women to tackle domestic life in the home and for men to take care of the family’s finances. These rigid and outdated gender roles are harmful because they perpetuate stereotypes that limit the aspirations of young girls and their understanding of their abilities. They promote an exclusionary message that could turn women away from investing.
As young women pursuing higher education, we have an opportunity to push back. Instead of having to rely on others to help explain our finances to us, we can learn for ourselves. Brown should help us do that.
A universally accessible basic personal finance course focused on application does not currently exist. Yes, around two dozen first-year students may enroll in ECON 0160: “Intro to Finance - Money, Markets and You” — which dives into the intense vocabulary and acronyms that define finance — but this seminar has only been offered twice in the past, and both times only once a year; it predominantly covers much of the business of finance rather than the personal focus.
The dream? A class — offered in both fall and spring semesters without enrollment restrictions — that might be called “How To Take Care of Yourself” or “Personal Finance 101.” The curriculum must provide financial education that is inviting to students of all backgrounds, especially those who do not feel included in the conversation or are so overwhelmed that they do not know where to begin. Although this class would touch on topics related to economics, it would be most effective listed as a University Course. These courses are for ideas that require new academic approaches that might be multidisciplinary — focused on practice rather than academic theory. This designation will ensure the course is as accessible as possible.
For now, I plan on settling on “Financial Accounting” because the class will still undoubtedly expand my knowledge. However, there should also be a practical option for understanding our personal choices in the financial system. Not having an approachable financial literacy course will leave many students in the dark about this important facet of our personal lives — especially female students, students of color, students who identify as first-generation or low-income, and any of us who have been historically excluded from financial independence. I haven’t always been passionate about the world of finance, but I have always been a passionate feminist. Personal finance is my next tool for empowerment.
Beatriz Lindemann ’29 can be reached at beatriz_lindemann@brown.edu. Please send responses to this column to letters@browndailyherald.com and other opinions to opinions@browndailyherald.com.
