with Janine Rogan
CPA / Speaker / Bestselling Author / Financial Equality Expert
When it comes to overall well-being, finances play a key role. Fear over finances is a major cause of stress, and I know many people and relationships struggle when it comes to money. This is why I brought Janine Rogan on the podcast to speak about the connection between money and well-being, and the harmful impacts of the “pink tax.”
Janine is an international influencer on this topic, bringing a wealth of knowledge and insights around money. She is an award-winning CPA, and Founder and CEO of the Wealth Building Academy Inc. She is on a personal mission to dispel the taboos around talking about money, while making the case that the lack of equity on the financial playing field actually harms us all.
Episode 68 | Money and Well-Being: How the Pink Tax Harms Us All
Janine Rogan explains how [The Pink Tax] is not just about saving or cutting expenses, but about the broader impacts the systems have on women.
Tell us why you focus on financial well-being, Janine.
Janine explains how when she was doing her accounting degree and CPA designation, she was learning how to manage and audit the financials for some of the most prominent organizations in the country. Ironically, nobody was learning how to manage their own money. “There was a financial literacy gap in the CPA community, so if we’re dealing with this of course the general public would be,” she explains.
Within the past five years, Janine started to look at the impact society has on women’s money. She saw that women were being given messages about why they couldn’t build wealth that didn’t hold true, such as buying too many lattes. “I knew this couldn’t be why women held less wealth worldwide, which is why I embarked on the research for my book The Pink Tax.
Tell us more about your book The Pink Tax and the impacts it has had so far.
Janine Rogan explains how it’s not just about saving or cutting expenses, but about the broader impacts the systems have on women. The book explores how to take action both in your own finances and in your community to achieve greater financial equity. “It has been amazing to hear some of the impacts and changes women have made,” Janine explains.
From my own perspective, I brought up to Janine how I find all the acronyms tricky and getting to know the terms has been a challenge. Indeed, Janine concurs that the financial industry was set up in a way where it’s confusing and challenging to learn and we’re not taught it in school. “It’s okay to have a beginner’s mindset with this and it’s okay to ask questions and not have the fear of judgment or shame.”
Janine has built an online investing course geared towards women that walks through all the acronyms and terms and instructs on how to build an investment portfolio to help you grow your wealth in the long term so you can live the life you enjoy living. Learn more at Wealth Building Academy.
These concepts are applicable across diverse groups. For example, the financial gap widens when we add intersectionality, explains Janine. White women earn 84 cents on the dollar, compared to men, whereas women of color earn only 62 cents on the dollar.
Do the concepts in The Pink Tax apply to other diverse groups besides women?
Yes, indeed, these concepts are applicable across diverse groups. For example, the financial gap widens when we add intersectionality, explains Janine. White women earn 84 cents on the dollar, compared to men, whereas women of color earn only 62 cents on the dollar! White women have 30% of the worldwide wealth but women of color have only 2%! In the LGBQT2S+ community, we don’t have a lot of data so far, according to Janine. This is a good reminder that we need to look at financial data from the lens of different minority groups.
What are a couple of key takeaways we can apply immediately from The Pink Tax?
Two key areas stand out when it comes to women’s personal finances:
1) Negotiation: Women under-negotiate. Every $5000 in salary you negotiate in your early career can translate to over $750,000 in wages over the course of your career. And it doesn’t just have to be negotiating salary, it can be vacation or work from home. The more we can practice our negotiating muscle, like negotiating our cell phone plans for more data or upgrades, the better equipped we will be when it comes to job-related negotiations. “Say Less, Get More” by Fotini Iconomopoulos is a great book on negotiation that Janine recommends.
2) Investing: If you aren’t already investing you absolutely need to be! The difference between someone who saves money to retire versus saves to invest is multiple millions over the course of their lifetime. The only way we can close the wealth gap is by investing, explains Janine. Things like pensions may not be a given in the future so a lot of retirement will be on us. It can be overwhelming to know where to begin, but starting to educate yourself is a great first step.
Side note from Dr. Laura: I find that there are a lot of financial planners out there and it’s hard to separate the ones who know what they’re doing versus those who don’t or who have selfish motives. Janine recommends that the number one thing you need to understand is how they are compensated. Whether hiring a CFP or a realtor, for example, if you understand how they’re compensated, you will better understand their bias. Without understanding this, you may be pulled into investments with higher fees than you would have been able to get elsewhere.
“Financial literacy is a muscle you have to practice,” according to Janine.
How can we take action towards financial equity for women and other diverse groups?
There are three personas people take on where they can impact change:
- Individual level: Making sure you’re investing, negotiating, properly insured, and set up well financially.
- Employee or manager in an organization: Within our organizations, we can advocate for fairer policies for underserved/underrepresented individuals, such as maternity or paternity leave top-ups or health and drug plans for LGBQT2S+ communities. If you are in a position to make a change, it’s important you advocate for it.
- As a global citizen: What can you do to further the agenda of equality? “I do think talking about politics is very important and money impacts politics. How they treat women and diverse groups is worth exploring as you vote.”
How does our current financial system impact people’s well-being?
It is a very stressful time for people as we’re in a cost-of-living crisis. Janine asserts that if people are struggling to find a place to live how will they get to a point of negotiating their salary? Many are under a ton of financial stress, and that impacts their well-being.
“Building wealth is actually a form of self-care,” says Janine. Having the money to fall back on should things take a turn for the worse helps you know you are going to be okay.
Debt is the other piece that impacts people, especially high-interest debt. It can be extremely overwhelming and challenging for people and weighs on their mental health and well-being. There is much stress, anxiety and depression that results from the shame of having so much debt.
Sadly, some people spend more when they are tight financially. Janine explains how impulse spending releases a temporary dopamine hit. “When you come down off of this you can start having negative feelings around spending and feeling overwhelmed and guilty.” This can lead to spending more or other forms of addiction.
Overall, financial literacy brings financial health. Janine would love to see more companies offer education around financial well-being for their workforce. People who are in a financially precarious situation are less productive at work due to their ongoing stress. Organizations should give them the tools to address their money challenges.
“Building wealth is actually a form of self-care,” says Janine. Having the money to fall back on should things take a turn for the worse helps you know you are going to be okay.
What do you read and or listen to for your own growth and development?
“Wordslut” by Amanda Montell – how our language impacts equality.
“Cultish” by Amanda Montell – Janine has always had a fascination with cults.
Goal Digger Podcast by Jenna Kutcher
Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast by Amy Porterfield
If you could have one wish for a better world when it comes to financial equity, what would it be?
Having appropriate compensation for maternity and paternity leaves. In Canada, we may have more opportunities to take maternity leave, but our income is drastically slashed at a time when it’s expensive and stressful with a new baby. “You’re making a lot less money and we haven’t seen increases in the top end since the 1950s. I would love to see more men taking leave as well, as this makes it more equal in the corporate world.” Men not having their entire identity tied to their work would make a big difference to their well-being.
Janine also wishes for a universal basic income. “We’ve seen enough advances in our society, I don’t think anybody should not be able to eat or have a warm place to sleep. This should be a basic right versus being tied to employment.”
About Janine Rogan:
Janine Rogan, CPA, is a passionate keynote and TEDx speaker. She is the Founder and CEO of The Wealth Building Academy Inc., and an award winning CPA. Her mission is to educate and empower women to confidently and profitably grow their wealth, through financial feminism – financial equality for all.
Janine has been featured internationally by a number of publications and has delivered keynotes to thousands of individuals and companies around the world. She currently sits on the CPA Alberta Education Foundation board, the board of FESA, and the planning committee of the AICPA Global Women’s Leadership Summit. Her debut book “The Pink Tax” will be every books are sold in May 2023.
Janine is a University of Alberta alumni, born and raised in Edmonton, Canada. She is currently based out of Calgary where she lives with her husband Andrew and son Theodore.
Websites: JanineRogan.com | The Wealth Building Academy
Book: The Pink Tax