We Should All Be Millionaires summary

You might think that becoming wealthy is out of your reach because, historically, it has been. As the author points out, for millennia, powerful white men essentially made women bystanders when it came to money – and much more. 

It wasn’t until 1963 that the Equal Pay Act, which mandated equal pay for equal work, was passed in the US. Still today, on average, Latina and Native American women make just 54 and 57 cents respectively for every dollar a white man earns doing the same work. Meanwhile, black women make just 62 cents, while white women make 79.

Imagine two different women. One of them has a great job, a loving partner, kids, and a nice home – but she’s always broke. The other also has a great job, partner, kids, and home, and she’s wealthy. Really wealthy, in fact. What’s the difference between them? 

To answer that question, let’s take a closer look at how they live their lives. 

As we saw in the last blink, women often take on the bulk of domestic labor. They run themselves into the ground picking up the slack for their partners, children, loved ones, and friends. Then, at the end of the day, they have no time to pursue their own dreams and goals. 

This doesn’t just happen at home, either. In the workplace, it’s often assumed that women will be the ones that provide all the emotional support, give up their free time, and arrange celebrations for any office birthdays and special occasions. It’s a raw deal. 

Imagine this: you’re about to climb Mount Everest. You prepared with an entire year of mountaineer training and learned how to deal with any emergencies you might encounter while climbing. 

Now ask yourself, “Would I do it alone?” Of course you wouldn’t. Ascending Everest is so dangerous that you need to climb as a member of a party, with an experienced Sherpa guide. Sherpas are an ethnic group native to the mountainous regions of Nepal and are renowned for their mountaineering skill and deep understanding of the region. 

Ever hear a negative little voice in your head? Maybe it says something like, You’re not smart enough for this. You’re not decisive enough for that. You don’t have the faintest idea what you’re doing. That little voice is called impostor syndrome. And, sadly, it afflicts many professional women. 

One of its consequences is that women often seriously undercharge for their time and labor. If you don’t believe in yourself, you’re likely to sell yourself short when it comes to sending off that invoice or asking for a raise. That’s something you need to change.

When you’ve achieved financial success, you’ll flourish in ways you might not be able to predict. 

You’ll have more of that precious resource, time. So you’ll be able to spend more time with the people you love, doing the things you love. You’ll be able to own the house you’ve been scrimping for, afford decent healthcare, and make sure your family is secure.