Episode 3 - Empowering Women Through Financial Confidence with Maria Mai
By Jessica Garrison
We are so lucky to have Maria Mai join us on The F.E.E.L Podcast this week. She describes herself as genuine, caring, ambitious, and loving. Maria is changing lives with the work that she does, and she is bringing us into a new world where women can feel more powerful and confident in their decisions.
Maria’s career is in the male dominated field of finance, so she has had to come a long way in both her personal and professional journey. However, Maria is able to look at the positives of being a minority in her field because not only is she very skilled at her work, but she is able to help women in a way that men can’t. It’s a passion of hers to help women become more confident in their financial decisions and she loves supporting them through that journey. Women like to go to another woman for advice, particularly in an area that is written off as a “man’s job” because they can relate on a different level. This way, Maria continuously supports women in living unapologetically, empowering them to feel comfortable in any decision they make.
Maria also encourages women to become financially literate because even if you have a partner who handles the finances, that doesn’t mean they’ll always be around to help. It is especially popular for older women to seek out a financial advisor because their husbands who always took care of the finances aren’t around anymore. Women couldn’t even get a credit card in their own name until 1974, so there is a whole generation of women who Maria can share her knowledge with. She loves to help people become financially independent or gain more confidence when it comes to money, and her why is to positively impact people financially.
During this talking point of supporting women in living unapologetically, Maria mentions the wage gap, as well as the wealth gap and the financial literacy gap. She says that women make 20% less than men in a professional setting, but this doesn’t even begin to cover the gaps among different races and ethnicities when it comes to wages and wealth. People don’t think the wage gap exists, or at least it doesn’t anymore, but that is far from the truth. There is a huge power imbalance between men and women in the world, but Maria is giving women the opportunity to grow in their own right, and I think that holds a lot of power itself.
It takes a lot of courage, compassion, and intelligence to do what Maria does, and I love that she uses her powers for good. Listening to her episode and her positive outlook on life that didn’t always come so easily to her makes this an episode to remember. With Maria’s honesty and vulnerability in this episode, there is so much to learn and celebrate.
Ways to Engage: Practice self-forgiveness. If something doesn’t go right or you make a mistake, don’t beat yourself up. Talk kindly to yourself, forgive yourself, and use this as an opportunity to change the narrative in your mind.