Women and wealth: Celebrating all the paths to an enriched life

By E. Napoletano | Citizens Contributor

When you think of women and wealth, your first thoughts might trend toward money — how much women earn, save, invest and so on. But wealth isn't solely about money, and it's not something reserved for the elite few. Anyone can be wealthy. Achieving wealth comes down to how you define wealth and the resources you have available to support your goals.

At Citizens, where our workforce is nearly 58% women, we believe that true wealth is having the resources needed to achieve your goals across all dimensions of life. That’s why we are committed to programs and partnerships that promote inclusion for women and provide access to the tools needed to build their own personal definitions of wealth.

When women are empowered to obtain wealth, it helps establish clear paths and level the playing field while also paving the way for future generations of girls to lead enriched lives. Wealth can be paid forward, no matter the form or definition.

Your definition of wealth matters. Here are some of the ways Citizens supports different perspectives on what it means to be wealthy, and how we are helping create inclusive pathways for our female colleagues, community and customers to reach their potential today and be ready for the best possible tomorrow.

Education doesn’t have to end with a degree or diploma. Educational wealth, or continuously learning and expanding your knowledge and skills, is an investment you can make in yourself at any age and in many ways.

• Formal education. College degrees and certification programs can help boost your earning and advancement potential. Employers sometimes will chip in to help with the cost.
• Conferences. Annual events are ripe with learning opportunities from industry leaders, including workshops, lectures and panels.
• Online courses. With sites like Coursera and EdX, learning something new is always within reach and often at a reasonable price point.
• Professional organizations. Many women's professional organizations offer workshops or events exclusively for members.

Citizens strives to help women build educational wealth from an early age. In New Jersey, we proudly support Girls on a Mission with Ambition, an organization that empowers girls from at-risk communities through education and mentorship. Our recent $10,000 grant helped expand the organization's financial literacy programs and covered costs for one hundred girls to learn from pioneering female leaders in their community at its 2023 conference. Also at the conference, Citizens announced a competition for girls to submit ideas on what they would do to improve their community if given $2,500.

Whether through educational opportunities or community grants that help young girls bring ideas forward for their communities, Citizens supports girls on their paths towards developing holistic, well-rounded approaches for meaningful, lifelong wealth building.

You can help young women in your community access critical resources too. Consider mentoring at a high school or hiring college interns for the summer. These and many other creative contributions to education can expand career opportunities and earning potential for women down the road.

Finding ways to take care of your physical and mental health is important to long-term success. When you're wealthy in well-being, you have a balanced approach where your mind, body and spirit align to help you accomplish incredible things.

Fueling your physical self

Your body is the tool that lets you hug a friend, high-five a coworker or play hide-and-seek with your kids in the backyard. It also carries the brain and intellect that enables you to solve hard problems and relish every ounce of your accomplishments. Taking care of your vessel of success today can improve your tomorrow in multiple ways.

An annual physical exam can help you identify ways to improve your health and chart a course for wellness in the year ahead. Exercise boosts endorphins (the feel-good hormones) and helps improve cardiovascular health, giving you the stamina to deal with whatever life brings your way. And eating well fuels your whole self, lowering your risk for a wide range of health complications while giving you moments to savor delicious meals with those you cherish.

Cultivating emotional outlets

You've likely heard the phrase "find your happy place." Investing in your emotional wellness is all about finding yours. Whether you install a meditation app and make it part of your daily routine, find Zen in a weekly yoga class or step outside and marvel at the sky anytime the workday gets rough, finding your happy place is an important act.

While these moments of pause may be frustrating at first because you may not feel you're being actively productive, give them time. Resting, breathing, sighing and stretching are all ways to give your emotional stresses a way to melt away.

Citizens prioritizes colleague health and well-being. This year, in addition to regular paid time off, Citizens provided an additional paid “wellness day” for additional time to recharge.

The beautiful thing about your career and life is that they can be ever-evolving. One way to re-ignite a spark — or start a new intellectual fire — is to invest in your skills. From taking a training program to earning a highly coveted professional certification to attending a workshop, opportunities to get curious and creative abound.

The perks of professional development

Building a career you love is a path of endless learning both about yourself and the skills you need to fulfill your idea of professional wealth as well as prioritizing time to focus on building your superpowers. If you're early or mid-career, additional credentials and certifications could boost your advancement and earning potential. If you're looking to advance in the C-suite, a leadership course or an executive mastermind group could give you the foundation and ongoing support you need to lead with confidence.

There's also much to be said about the magic of mentors on a woman's path to building professional wealth. By leveraging the experience of accomplished women, you can find the support and guidance necessary to reach your professional goals — much like the participants in Citizens Progressing Our Women do. Through this initiative, women in our organization can attend speaking events and take advantage of mentoring and internal training programs that develop essential skills. For further support, they can join WIN (Women's Impact Network), Citizens' largest business resource group for women and allies, which helps women establish healthy social connections and strengthen their professional support network within the company.

Why "me moments" are imperative

How many times have you heard someone describe a cool weekend adventure or activity and find yourself thinking that you've always wanted to try that? From hiking to glass blowing to improv comedy and anywhere your interests take you, it's never too late to develop yourself outside the boundaries of work and home life by expanding your personal skillset. You can usually find one-off experiences or trial runs through apps or local shops, organizations or community colleges that offer low-cost ways for you to try it before you fully dive in. There's an endless array of ways to experience new challenges, at home or within your community, and remind yourself that you're capable of great things.

Your career is just one aspect of your brilliantly lived life. Your purpose is your reason for being and can include your career but also likely involves family, causes, pursuits and passions that bring you comfort and fulfillment. When women are wealthy in purpose, they know their "why." At Citizens, we believe that women can discover and pursue their purpose at any age and life stage.

Aligning professional and personal purpose

While some companies might expect you to leave your personal life at the door, others make a concerted effort to invest in the women who make up their workforce. It's worth it to shop around for an employer who aligns with your professional and personal purpose. At Citizens, we offer colleagues the opportunity to share their time and talent in a variety of ways and provide all full-time employees with four hours of paid volunteer time off to give back to their communities.

Today, companies are growing more public about commitments to inclusion and diversity and are being recognized for fostering environments where everyone is seen, heard and respected.

Citizens is proud to have been included as a "Best Place to Work" on the 2023-2024 Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index. Additionally, Citizens has been formally recognized as an age-inclusive employer, a top organization for diversity, disability and gender equality and a military friendly company.

Reviewing a company's public-facing information can be a good gut check, helping add or remove companies from consideration throughout your career. During the interview process, don't be shy about questions that dig into a company's resources and benefits for women. From childcare and annual professional development stipends to internal resource groups and training programs that invest in you and your goals, an employer's answers can help you find a workplace that will be a true partner on your path to success in the office and beyond.

Finding big dividends when thinking small

As a financial organization, Citizens knows that small businesses — particularly those owned by women and other underrepresented groups — are essential components of purpose throughout the communities we serve. That's why we leverage our Small Business Community Champion Award to help these business owners fulfill their purposes on a higher level.

The program provides 30 awards of $10,000 annually to minority- and women-owned businesses to expand operations, invest in mentoring programs and support new parents. Part of our purpose as a company is using our resources to help businesses of any size fulfill their missions.

It's imperative to realize that while there are many ways to lead an enriched life, women still need monetary fuel to provide for themselves and those they love — and financial wealth can come from a variety of sources. But how can women find the information and support they need to identify the right financial tools for their toolboxes? Sometimes all it takes is connecting with the right organization, the right tools or the right community.

Companies that value women's wealth

When considering your next position, you may want to consider working for a company with a 401(k) match that meets your financial goals. When a company makes contributions to your retirement, your savings growth can accelerate exponentially.

Let financial literacy flow

A little bit of financial literacy can lead to a lot of empowerment, and it's important for those who have financial know-how to actively take down barriers and make it more freely accessible to all. Citizens aims to democratize access to financial education resources that women and others can use to learn about everything from choosing a personal retirement plan to finding the right asset allocation strategy for their 30s. Trusted insights should never be more than an internet search away.

Women's financial wealth extends far beyond just these areas. No matter your financial goal — whether it's creating a nonprofit, securing your family's legacy, starting a side hustle or ensuring your kids emerge from college with as little debt as possible — there's a path to achieve your version of financial wealth.

How do you define wealth? Your vision might also include relationships, time, experiences and other rich aspects of life. Every woman's idea of wealth deserves celebration, support and respect. It helps make wealth in all forms more accessible and inclusive. When women have access to the resources they need to fulfill their definitions of wealth, they can become more successful at home, at work and everywhere in between.