So we’d like to ask you this.

Firstly, identify as female.

Thank you.

Ok. So moving on.

Would you consider yourself financially responsible? If you had to draw up a budget, and stick to it, could you do it? What if the floor dropped out from under you? Do you have a nest egg? Do you know how much is in your piggy bank right now? Could you read a balance sheet and see the red flags? And when it comes down to it, do you really know your numbers?

Sorry to bring it down, but according to a recent ANZ Survey of Adult Financial Literacy in Australia Report, women had significantly lower scores on average than men when it comes to basic financial knowledge and numeracy.

Additionally, in a recent report published by Wendy Tuohy, Herald-Sun columnist, journalist and thought leader, the Australian Federal Government Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins confirmed a view from the top that bolsters what Victorian Minister for Women Fiona Richardson also says: Currently, an unacceptable number of women are systematically and socially excluded from the active economy.

If we take the lens wide, we can also see that more women, particularly older women, are living in poverty as the long-term impact of disrupted careers due to the burden of care, lower wages, less stable work and less access to workforce participation mean they are further disadvantaged down the line by having far less access to saved income and superannuation than men.

(Quick stat to say that the World Economic Forum put out there last October that Australia ranked 46th in the world for gender equality, behind several African nations and New Zealand. Just saying that, because we probs, like, pretty bloody soon, need to look in hard at the numbers – and at ourselves - if we want to keep claiming we’re a country that's progressive).

But let's go small lens again, and the big question really is, for the average girl, woman, young, old, or otherwise out there, are you financially literate, economically empowered, and financially fit enough to take responsibility for your own money, both now, and into your financial future?

And if the answer is um, don’t know, or a straight up NO, don’t despair.

Herconomics is here to help, and will join us at the girledworld Big Ideas Leadership Summit 2017 to teach girls the basic skills they need to lead, succeed and be finance-fit both now, and into the future of work (Saturday June 24 2017).

This is stuff they need to know, it’s good news for the next Gen, and we’re pretty convinced this immersive session will be critical financial skill-building for the next age of leaders, founders and business women.

In this hands-on, interactive workshop, they’ll get a good starter on the finance basics, run the numbers, and learn from an expert who knows how to give them the tips and tricks they need to start to financially empower themselves now, no matter their business futures.

So who’s at the helm of this?

Meet Wadzanai Nenzou:

A: Extraordinary human and community leader, raised in Zimbabwe

B: Financial Services Professional

C: Bachelor of Commerce graduate, and gender pay gap expert

D: Social Entrepreneur and benevolent giver to community

D: Founder of Herconomics - a social enterprise and thriving active hub that helps females manage and grow their money, and brings women and entrepreneurs together to talk about, upskill and empower each other in financial acumen so their business does better.

For the record, Nenzou juggles working in financial services, running Herconomics, is the Engagement Officer for the Women’s Melbourne Network, currently studying a Graduate Diploma of Public Policy and will be commencing a Master of Applied Positive Psychology next year. Busy? Yep. Changing the world. Hell yeah.

Passionate about the empowerment of women and girls, Nenzou thinks it’s time to close the gender pay gap, and that for females to take control of their finances and put themselves in a position to succeed, we need to improve their financial literacy, and get women and girls to step up, skill up and grow their money mindsets.

Nenzou will join us at the girledworld Big Ideas Leadership Summit 2017 at the University of Melbourne's Wade Institute of Entrepreneurship next weekend to teach girls the basic money skills they need to be finance-fit both now, and into the future of work.

For more please click here. And book your tickets here.

And to read the full interview by Wendy Tuoy of the Herald Sun with Nenzou click here, or see excerpts below:

“I look deeply at psychological barriers that get in the way and how to overcome these blocks women have created which keep them disempowered in the area of financial literacy. Research findings have highlighted the gap between men and women when it comes to financial literacy levels. They also highlighted that women were more likely than men to find money management overwhelming, boring, uncomfortable, intimidating and unimportant compared to other aspects of life.”

"I am interested in using positive psychology tools to empower women to thrive when it comes to money management and am currently working on developing Herconomics into a not-for-profit social enterprise. I plan to channel some of the profits into providing financial literacy programs targeting girls and women refugees from African countries as well as supporting female economic empowerment projects based in Africa."

“Working in the financial services industry for 10 years I have gotten some interesting insights when it comes to women and money. On a general scale I have noticed the obvious gap in superannuation balances between women and men. I have also noticed a higher amount of men compared to women seeing financial advisers and have met many women who highlight how uncomfortable they are talking about money or trying to learn more about money. There seems to be deep psychological barriers for many women when it comes to money management.”

GIRLEDWORLD BIG IDEAS LEADERSHIP SUMMIT 2017 - Building the next generation of female leaders, founders and STEM champions.