Today, we're thrilled to welcome back Melanie Mortimer, President of the SIFMA Foundation — the nation’s leader in youth investor and financial education. Melanie holds a Master’s in International Management and an MBA from Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo, and a BA in English from Agnes Scott College in Georgia.

In this episode, we dive into the findings of a brand-new survey conducted by the SIFMA Foundation on U.S. parents' views about financial education for kids. Melanie shares eye-opening insights, including the surprising statistic that nearly three-quarters of parents would consider moving their child to a different school if it offered financial education!

We also discuss:

• The fact that women often feel less confident than men when it comes to teaching kids about investing (and how we're working to change that!)

• How the SIFMA Foundation is supporting families, schools, and communities in building financial literacy from an early age

• Practical ways parents can get involved and start teaching money concepts at home

If you're passionate about preparing the next generation — especially girls — for financial success, you won’t want to miss this conversation!

https://www.sifma.org/about/sifma-foundation/

In this episode of the Banking on Girls podcast, we are excited to feature Wendy Teleki, the Head of the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi) at the World Bank.

We-Fi plays a crucial role in supporting women entrepreneurs in over 60 developing countries by enhancing their access to finance, markets, skills, and technology.

Wendy has been recognized as one of Forbes’s “50 Over 50” women in finance for her outstanding leadership in advocating for women's economic empowerment and entrepreneurship. She is also the co-author of "Rebalance: How Women Lead, Parent, Partner and Thrive," where she shares her personal journey and insights on finding purpose in one's career.

In this episode, Wendy discusses the valuable support the We-Fi project provides to women entrepreneurs, addressing the challenges they face at every stage of the entrepreneurial process—from launching their businesses to accessing necessary funding.

As a bonus, she offers advice for young women beginning their educational and career journeys, emphasizing the importance of choosing a purposeful path, a journey which she herself, outlines in her book.

Tune in for an inspiring conversation about empowering women in business and the steps we can take to create a more inclusive financial landscape.

In this episode of Banking on Girls, we’re joined by Professor Hal Hershfield, a distinguished expert in marketing, behavioral decision-making, and psychology at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. As the author of Your Future Self: How to Make Tomorrow Better Today, Professor Hershfield explores how understanding and connecting with our future selves can transform the way we make long-term financial decisions.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

• How Professor Hershfield’s research helps people visualize and emotionally connect with their future selves to improve saving behavior.
• How Professor Hershfield learned about money as a child and how he is raising his own children.
• Practical strategies for parents to teach children about saving, spending, and giving.

Key Takeaways:

• Building a connection with your future self can inspire actionable change in the present.
• Early financial education is crucial for instilling lifelong habits of thoughtful saving and spending.
• Simple, relatable techniques can help children and adults alike envision a more financially secure future.