Gouri Sharma is an internationally renowned independent journalist from London living in Berlin writing for international media sites including Al Jazeera English and Deutsche Welle. Amid a career spanning nearly two decades, including five years on the production desk for Al Jazeera's flagship media critique show The Listening Post, Gouri now writes on issues such as race, culture, migration, history, and sexual health and wellness. With each report, she aims to draw out the individual story amid the wider political or historical context; centring the human story is a priority, in particular amplifying the voices of those from marginalised communities whose stories are not as visible.

From decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs)  run on Discord to city-wide mutual aid groups, people are finding safety and optimism in numbers. For growing numbers of people, collective action is emerging as the only viable solution to compounding crises and deepening alienation.

World Builders

As the new post-pandemic normal settles in and people adapt to a context of uncertainty, constant adversities, and pessimism, we are moving away from a moment in which consumers expected brands to rise up to society's challenges and into one when they’re demanding genuine allyship from businesses.

Shared Values

In October 2022, Vestpod, a community-focused digital platform aiming to financially empower women, hosted its first 

 next to the Bank of England in the heart of London’s financial district. The sold-out event brought together nearly 300 women for a day of talks featuring 22 speakers that covered a range of topics such as homeownership, investment, and better money management.

Founded in 2016 by former Lehman Brothers employee and author Emilie Bellet, the Vestpod brand has come to include an active online community on Facebook with over 3,000 members and an award-winning podcast called 

. Its mission is to financially educate its members through meet-ups in London, Brighton, and Manchester and regular online workshops, while six-week boot camps on money and investing are also available. The target audience is women – the company says its network largely consists of women aged 25 to 40 with varying degrees of wealth and different occupations. As well as offering financial education in clear and concise language across different platforms, its broad appeal lies in Bellet’s trustworthiness and personability, giving it an edge over major competitors.

The popularity of its first festival, sponsored by the likes of Barclays Bank, 

, Vodafone, and JPMorgan Chase, demonstrates the demand among women for community-driven digital platforms and networks focused on money management and growth. With research finding that women are less likely than men to turn to their banks for financial advice amid the cost of living crisis, despite 

 being disproportionately impacted, more women will look to platforms like Vestpod for advice and guidance on money matters across the board. 

Deloitte

 What then can brands learn about the consumer values that this growing interest is highlighting? And how can they further tailor their products to better meet the money management needs of women?

The pandemic and the cost of living crisis have led to a rise in financial awareness among women in the UK. “What the cost of living crisis is doing, particularly to women, is making us move away from long-term planning to financing for today,” says Lynn Beattie, the CEO and founder of Mrs Mummypenny. “We have the economy totally against us, and women, who tend to run the household finances, are worrying about how to survive week to week, month to month. Spare money in the family budget that might’ve been put aside before for a holiday, an investment account, or a pension isn’t there anymore.” 

Interview with Lynn Beattie conducted by the author

 That fear around instability has seen women move to generate greater agency over their finances. A report on women’s financial wellness, which surveyed 2,500 women across the globe for three years between April 2019 and April 2022, found that when women self-rated their financial health each year, the average score increased from 4.8 out of ten pre-pandemic to 5.2 out of ten post-pandemic. 

FT Advisor

, a mother who started by documenting her journey out of debt worth nearly £30,000, represents a new wave of influencers who are helping to empower women around their finances. She offers financial advice across a number of topics including debt, mental health, and money culture to an audience of over 100,000 followers.

With research finding that three in four bitcoin investors lost money in investments in 2022, there’s a backdrop of scepticism around alternative finance. 

Barrons

 In this context, analysts report that women are looking for safety and security when investing, something community platforms like Vestpod are providing. “There're so many untrustworthy and unreliable people operating in the finance world and there are many unqualified people who brand themselves as an expert because they have had jobs such as managing company budgets,” says Beattie. “A big part of Vestpod’s appeal is its founder Emilie Bellet. She’s one of the more trusted people in our industry because she's going out and actually talking to people. And with her well-known background in the corporate finance world, she’s considered to have authority.” 

 is another fintech platform forging trust among women, empowering members against the ‘she-cession’ through financial advice, monthly masterclasses, and access to an active community.

On average, women in the UK take home £564 less than men each month, and nearly 70% of women say they struggled to pay their household bills in the six months to November 2022, rising to 80% for Black and minority ethnic women. 

Fair Play Talks

 With these financial pressures rising, many are seeking out communities for support. “What’s been emerging in recent years are some incredible community networks on platforms such as Instagram that cover every financial issue,” says Beattie. “These spaces also provide an area in which women can talk about the extent of the inequalities – it’s not just a gender pay gap, it's not just a gender pension gap, it’s the gender credit gap. More and more women are talking about this, which is helpful for them, and for chipping away at the issue.” 

 Vestpod has successfully created a community for a demographic traditionally overlooked by mainstream financial institutions, and one still impacted by a gender pay gap. Other community digital platforms are emerging to help specific demographics in their financial journeys, including 

, which helps migrant communities invest and grow their cash as part of a collective, and 

, a platform aimed at supporting young people in the UK to navigate the world of finance.

Build confidence through secure opportunities

Amid concerns around economic safety in investments amid the cost of living crisis, 

 and flexible product delivery can support people at multiple moments in their daily routines. “ Women have a lot to deal with, particularly if they've got children, and they are also likely to be working,” says Beattie. “So they need products that are tailored to this sort of lifestyle.” 

 podcast has also captured the trust of a large chunk of the women’s finance audience. Led by Simran Kaur and Sonya Gupthan, the New Zealand-based duo’s podcast, with its clear, concise, and reliable information, has clocked up over 2.5 million podcast downloads, which laid the groundwork for a 

A growing openness around financial discussions on social media has created a backlash against companies seen to be exploiting people. The onus, Beattie says, is on brands in this sector to offer greater transparency. “Transparency is hugely, hugely important and it's something that people in my field are not good at,” she says. “It’s important that brands and experts make clear if they have been paid or sponsored, yet that doesn’t always happen. I’m very honest with my followers about things like this and they say they appreciate the honesty. I also stick to promoting the brands and don’t switch back and forth between those I support – this has also shown to build up trust and authenticity.” Bettie adds that being transparent about your own story is also a useful tool – people invest in real people, and Vestpod founder Bellet’s popularity highlights that. 

, the US-based founder and CEO of Clever Girl Finance, ensures transparency and resource sharing through her brand, offering free online courses, videos, podcasts, and coaching sessions – resulting in a significant online following, including a growing 

Figures show that the cost of living crisis is forcing people to move away from sustainable choices, with 59% of Britons saying they’ve been forced to shop with affordability over green products, while 74% want the government to take steps to make sustainable behaviour and products more cost-effective. 

Independent

 “Being environmentally friendly is very important to women,” says Beattie. “However, brands need to ensure there’s a level of affordability attached to these products. And in terms of ESG values, it's really important that a company offers good customer service, and that they’re financially stable and ethical.” 

 As people turn to brands to support them with sustainable choices, they’re looking for consistency from businesses that are built around a particular value set. “Starling Bank got some stick going against its anti-fossil fuels stance after receiving money from gas-rich Qatar,” adds Beattie. “Companies need to think carefully about where they get their money from, as well as how they spend it and market it, because consumers and journalists can dig this information out.”

The average self-rating of women’s financial health increased from 

 of women say they struggled to pay their household bills in the six months to November 2022, rising to 

Vestpod is a community-focused digital platform aiming to financially empower women through meet-ups, online workshops, boot camps, and festivals

The fear around financial instability amid the cost of living crisis has seen women move towards supportive communities to generate greater agency over their money

Amid scepticism around alternative finance such as cryptocurrency, women are looking for security and transparency when investing and managing their money

Lynn Beattie is the CEO and founder of Mrs Mummypenny, a UK-based personal finance website for women that addresses several money-related matters such as debt, budgeting, money saving, and pensions. She’s a regular commentator in UK print and broadcast media, including 

, BBC, and ITV. Before launching the website in 2013, the single mum-of-three, who has a background as an ACMA management accountant, worked in commercial finance within Tesco, EE, and HSBC.

Gen Y (born 1982-1996)

United Kingdom

Money

Savings and investments

In the UK, many women are turning to online communities for financial education and to develop greater autonomy over their money. Vestpod, a platform that hosts a podcast alongside a variety of in-person and virtual events, delivers community-focused support for financially independent women.

World Builders

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