I am an entrepreneur who has spent my adult life inspiring and facilitating change and growth. I help business owners and entrepreneurs discover clarity on a personal level and within their business message and marketing.  I write and speak about Women’s Relationship with Money.

35 years ago, when I graduated from college, women were  marching for equality. Though Women’s Lib began over 40 years ago, still the majority of CEOs of major companies are men, and  the majority of Presidents and Prime Ministers of countries are men.  Most of the wealth of the world is in the pockets of men. There are exceptions of course. In this article we will be exploring why this is – not to bash men in any way – but to explore what you can do about it whether you are woman or a man.

There are multiple levels to this problem if you consider it a problem.

I do.

It’s complex on a number of levels.

It’s a problem on a cultural level,  on a societal level,  on a worldwide level and an internal perception level.  There are so many layers.  My hope is that by opening up this discussion of Women’s Relationship with Money – by presenting some of these ideas – it will  begin to inspire a  shift in your mind  and in your perceptions. Thus benefiting not only your own business journey, but your family, community and the world at large.

My hope is that you will look at your own relationship to money and that you will explore the messages that you’ve heard and taken in throughout your life . I invite you to bring some of the money baggage both from your own life and from the entire history of humankind to the forefront of your brain and consciously begin to make a shift.

There are unconscious beliefs are women and money, that don’t even seem like they exist, because we view them through a filter.  This is true whether you are male or female You don’t see them yet. They just seem normal until they’re pointed to you. This is true for men and women.

There are biases still in workplaces throughout the world.  There are biases in our own minds.  There are biases in relationships, and in how our  family dynamics unfold.

For all of humanity until  now (the past 50 years = now), creating money has been in the domain of men. This has been true since the beginning of money.

Women’s role, if anything, was in managing the home and possibly managing the finances in the last hundred years

or so. But that was it.  Women in the entire history of human-kind never had to price themselves (in the mainstream marketplace). Until the late 1800’s women were not even allowed to go shopping on their own because they were not supposed to deal with money.  In our collective Jungian consciousness there is no precedent for women valuing themselves from a financial perspective, nor interacting with money. Women’s relationship with money is a relatively new phenomenal in human history.

For many centuries money was used to enslave women, hurt women and have power over women . Money was born out of trading which was a masculine process. Women didn’t have anything to do with trading or business until fairly recently

What we must do is change the definition of money – change the feelings around money. Money still carries a lot of perceptions that are in fact layers placed on it – NOT the fact of the money itself.

For example: Money is greed. Money is masculine. Money is evil. Money is freedom. Money is power.

There are many more perceptions, some inherently positive, some negative, some neutral.

I’d like to propose, that it is time for there to be a new definition and a new balance of money and wealth between men and women. In our recent and ancient history, there’s been too much greed – there’s been too much aggression – there’s been too much pushiness. This world is now requiring something different. This century does not need more greed.  It does not need more power hungry leaders.  In fact this world needs more collaboration.  This world needs more communication. This world needs more entrepreneurship and innovation. This world needs more focus on health of women and children. This world needs many things that exist naturally within the inherent gifts of women. These things that our society now crave is in the feminine domain in terms of how brains work physiologically and chemically.

And yet in order for women to have that power – to shift our world –  they have got to make friends with money on a very deep authentic level now and for generations to come. Women’s relationship with money must change, because  the reality is that those who have the money have the power. We need women to join with men, to change the world. Our world is  deeply disturbed and hurting on many levels.  In order to become more feminine based on how the world operates, and ultimately more balanced between the masculine and feminine, women need to step up. It is women who must to embrace the role of money in their lives. It is women who must take the initiative to shift their relationship to money.

And men must also shift in their relationship to money. While women must step up, men must re-think the meaning of money and the meaning of work. They must also look within themselves. Men traditionally are caretakers of the family from a financial perspective. It is in their collective DNA and in the very makeup of their brain chemistry.  It is a positive thing – this great depth of feeling of responsibility to support  their family. Money is a huge part of this. The balance is the ability to hold that part high, while not de-valuing women who have a different family role and a different relationship to money. The collaboration between men and women is where the power truly lays.

I have heard many men say “my wife doesn’t work – she just takes care of the kids (and the house and the shopping and the meals)”. I’ve heard women say they do all the bookkeeping for their husband’s business and yet they don’t “work”, they just “help”.

Within the home and within the workplace, while women are demanding their true value – men must cheer them on and also being an active part of the shift. Men in corporate power positions must examine their preconceived notions. When a woman steps into the elevator, is the first thought that she is an administrative assistant of a senior VP? Women too must be aware of this same type of perceptual error.

Because women historically have not been in control of the money  and because it’s so new in the greater scheme of humankind,  society has expectations and biases and women and men within themselves have expectations and biases.

Yes, even now in 2015.

I don’t know if I’ve ever heard a man say, “I don’t need a lot of money I just want to help people”. I’m sure there are those who do say that – but it’s rare. Women still hear stories that nice girls don’t want to bother themselves with all of that money stuff. Women don’t want to be greedy. Women associate money with greed though it’s not greed in and of itself. But that is part of the collective stories in our societal consciousness.

Barbara Turley, owner of EnergiseWealth dot com,  wants women to know that there is money waiting out there to be told what to do. That is – there is money to be earned by smart women and used for all types of things that are polar opposites of greed. If you don’t want a lot of money don’t keep it. There are many, many places that need your money. Give it away if you don’t want to be wealthy or if you have some feelings of discomfort with doing things for the money. Barbara is inspiring women to step up into a relationship money.

Barbara Turley wants to say to women, “You were born into the best time right now – and who are you not to go out and make a lot of money with your skills?  It is passion and money combined that will create massive change in our society.”

I say, isn’t this the driving force for entrepreneurs?

Businesses are born from passion and a drive for sustainable wealth. The shift of women’s relationship with money and the entrepreneurial pulse of this century and this decade are a perfect match!

Let’s continue this conversation on Twitter about Women’s Relationship with Money in general and your personal take on this topic, in particular.