Who Is Your Under-Earning Serving?
You know about the Gender Pay Gap in US corporations with women getting paid only 67% of what men earn. In small businesses and for minority women, the Gender Pay Gap can be even larger than 67%.
Many women in service businesses do not enjoy the income they desire and deserve.
The average Coach earns $10,000 per year as does the average Realtor. These two industries have a predominance of women in them.
For many women in the US, $10,000 per year is not sufficient to support a family, educate a child, pay for health care, or save for retirement.
Underlying the Gender Pay Gap is a globalized discounting of a woman's contribution to society and the economy. If a father were to have to replace and pay for the services of his children's mother, he would pay $60,000 or more every year.
That's happening "out there" in the culture.
What's happening inside of you that holds this belief in place? The belief that if you do transformational work or serve others, you don’t deserve to be paid?
A clue came to me recently when a friend, a very kind-hearted corporate consultant, and I were talking about money.
She said, "I tend to side with the poor."
I responded, "Yes, I have compassion for the poor too. But does my being poor or struggling financially serve those in need?"
It's an important question to ask.
It explores the belief that you shouldn't be paid to do good. If you do transformational work, you are doing good. Should you do your work for free?
If you are a nun or a monk in a spiritual community, you still need to be supported for your basic needs of food, housing, and clothing. This support comes through the contributions of others.
If you are a mom being completely supported by your partner, you can raise your children and do volunteer work full-time without the need to be paid in money for your service to the community to meet your lifestyle needs.
If you need to support yourself, you can actually help those in need MORE if your own needs are met AND you have extra money to contribute to charitable organizations and people in need.
This week have a look at how much you believe that your Under-Earning is helping others.
Let me know here what you discover and whether it makes a difference in your relationship with money.
PS If you have a service business and know that having more clients would help you stop under-earning, please join me for the next Abundance with Adele live in-person workshop on Wednesday, February 28th, 2018 at the Frontier in Durham, NC.
Can’t make it live? Sign up to be notified of upcoming workshops here. We’ll be going virtual soon so you can live anywhere and attend online. Sign up today to learn when the next live in person workshop and the first virtual Abundance with Adele are happening! See you there.