HerCapital Aims to Empower Women to Invest in Their Futures

Photo courtesy of HerCapital.

Here’s a sad truth you’re probably already aware of: women, on average, make less money than men. They also live longer, are less inclined to ask for promotions, and, in many places of the world, don’t even have autonomy over their earnings. The good news? There are women all over the world fighting to set women up for greater financial success, and here’s where HerCapital comes in. 

Founded last year by sisters-in-law Rabiya Ather and Zabreen Khan, the New York based organization aims to encourage and empower women to invest in their future. Both founders work in fields dominated by men, and even though their day jobs keep them busy, their decision to go forth with HerCapital is fueled by a shared fire for women’s empowerment and social justice.

Though their stories are different, there are many similarities between Rabiya and Zabreen. Both grew up in Lahore, Pakistan in homes with their extended families. Both spent a lot of their time volunteering, and ironically, both were involved in building schools. Perhaps most importantly, Rabiya and Zabreen both recognize the importance their parents had in their upbringing, and credit them for being able to accomplish so much.

Rabiya graduated from Harvard College with a degree in Applied Mathematics with Economics and Computer Science. Her resume includes fighting polio in Pakistan, one of three countries in the world still grappling with the disease, and helping inform policy at the World Health Organization. She has been working at Goldman Sachs for almost five years, focused on the firm’s systematic trading strategies and structured products business.

Zabreen studied Science, Technology & Society and Creative Writing at Stanford, where she made a big push to recruit more women into the university’s group for entrepreneurial students. Though today she works as an investor for Lead Edge Capital, she started her professional career in sales and business development at Facebook. Her volunteer work in increasing women’s education and financial independence in Pakistan got her invited to present a TED talk, which you can watch here.

Through their careers, they’ve experienced firsthand gender inequalities in the workplace. Zabreen, for example, stresses how fewer women start their own companies, let alone get funding. She hopes to ultimately build a program or launch an additional fund where a significant percentage goes directly to female founders. 

“Women are not being encouraged to take that leap, to start their companies,” said Zabreen. “And if they are, they’re not being given the resources to talk to investors or the opportunities to be in the right rooms and get funded.”

Their backgrounds make Zabreen and Rabiya the ultimate power duo to revolutionize the way that women think about investing. Another sad truth is the number of women reading this article who have never thought about investing, let alone actually invested their money. If you fall into that group, change your mindset right now.

“The number one thing that women should be doing with their personal wealth is literally thinking about it,” said Rabiya. “A lot of us just sit on our cash or shop it away.”

Women, in general, are more risk-averse and lack the resources or mentors to encourage them to invest their money early. But there are easy ways to start, and it’s not all in the stock market. For example, Rabiya encourages women to look at their company’s 401K plan. Does your company match your contributions? If it does and your lifestyle permits, make sure you’re contributing enough to receive that company match, which is ultimately just free money!

“Seventy-one percent of women’s assets are in cash, just lying in their bank account,” said Zabreen. “Instead of just sitting on that money, you could be multiplying it year after year. But you need to know how to do that.”

Okay, you’re ready to learn about investing. Now what? First, join a community of women interested in investing and educating other women about investing. If you haven’t caught on already, that community is HerCapital. Thanks to the global pandemic currently shaking up the entire world, Zabreen and Rabiya have shifted their calendar of events. What used to be an introduction to investing for local New York ladies will be a virtual community that everyone can join, no matter your location.

“It’s very difficult for someone to reach out to a stranger, but when a woman approaches you and takes that leap of faith I think going above and beyond and going out of your way to help her is really important,” said Zabreen.

Go ahead and slide into those DMs! Follow HerCapital on Instagram at @her.capital.