October 12, 2001

The Women's Resource Center helps women achieve financial freedom

The relationship between women, money, and financial matters has always been complex, complicated, and conested. Historically, women have been denied access to and ownership of money and other assets, and it has been only within the last 20 to 30 years that women have had their own checking accounts and gained knowledge of financial affairs. Despite the progress made over the last two decades, women still lag far behind when it comes to financial security and independence. Most women work in occupations that don't pay well; the majority of women have jobs rather than careers; women are the primary caretakers of children and the elderly they work less over the years, resulting in smaller pensions and social security; and more women than men live in poverty. Additionally, one can add to these structural inequalities traditional thinking that teaches women to save, but not to invest, that encourages women to trust their partners when it comes to money matters, and the discriminatory practices of many lending institutions that keep women from making wise choices about their money. Generally speaking, women are financially worse off than men and many still lack the basic skills and knowledge necessary to make informed choices about money matters.

This is why the Loyola University New Orleans Women's Resource Center, with the generous help of TIAA-CREF, has organized the Financial Planning Seminar for Women on October 12, 2001. The seminar is designed to give New Orleans women the basic tools and skills to understand financial matters and to gain financial knowledge and independence. Experts from the Social Security Administration, major New Orleans banks, and other financial institutions will give presentations that focus on social security, homeownership, debt management, and basic investing. Participants will be given ample opportunity to ask questions during the sessions and at a roundtable discussion in the afternoon.

The seminar will be held from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. in the St. Charles Room of the Danna Center. The event is free and open to the public. The scheduled presenters are business and finance leaders, including keynote addressee Rhonda Cartwright, vice president for business and finance at Loyola; Marian Comiskey, assistant vice president in the mortgage lending department at the Bank of Louisiana; Janile Wilson Rayborn, market manager at Bank One; Carolyn G. Stolz, certified financial planner with American Express Financial Advisors Inc.; Anne Reily Sutherlin, account vice president and financial advisor at UPS PaineWebber Inc.; and Debbie Zimmerman, director of internal audit at Loyola.

The Women's Center aims to provide Loyola women and men with a positive college experience by responding to their needs as gendered human beings and by fostering an environment that is free of sexism and other forms of institutional and individual forms of oppression. The educational mission of women's studies is supported by the programs and services offered by the Loyola Women's Resource Center.

For more than 80 years, TIAA-CREF has been providing benefits for the education and nonprofit research communities, earning a reputation for high-quality, low-cost financial products, as well as responsive service, disciplined investment management, and unrivaled professional integrity. Through the Office of the Annual Fund, TIAA-CREF provided a $5,000 grant for the program.

For more information, contact Susanne Dietzel, director of the Women's Resource Center, at 864-7880 or sdietzel@loyno.edu.