Emma Grede says caring about money doesn’t make you selfish

Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. 

“If you elegantly avoid the subject of money,” says Emma Grede, “money will somehow elegantly avoid you.” 

Grede is most certainly not avoiding the subject of money, ambition, or other topics some women may consider taboo. In her new book, Start With Yourself: A New Vision for Work and Life, the Skims and Good American cofounder aims to dismantle “Old Thoughts” and biases, including the way women talk—or don’t talk—about wealth.

She notes that there are many reasons for the reticence: many women are acculturated to believe that talking about money is impolite, or worse, selfish. “I think sometimes that there is this misconception that if somebody is really focused on the money that they have nothing else that they care about,” she says. “And that’s just not the case.”

Indeed, she says, women should embrace the idea of being well compensated for doing work that they find personally rewarding. “What I want to do is to connect this idea that you can do deeply meaningful and impactful work and still be paid for it,” she says.  

Grede’s perspective reminds me of a piece I wrote about in 2020, encouraging affluent women to earmark some of the money they donate to charity for backing female-founded startups. Women “give a tremendous amount of money, and they have things they believe in,” investor and entrepreneur Kay Koplovitz told me at the time. “But they can also invest in missions and values they hold dear.” 

Growing to give back 

Little seems to have changed since then. Research from HSBC finds that affluent women prioritize saving for retirement over investing at every stage of life. Women in their 20s say planning for children is their top financial priority; caring for aging parents is the No. 1 financial goal for women in their 40s.   

The data support one of Grede’s observations: “I see far too often women thinking about everybody else in their lives before they think about themselves— and before they think about their ability to grow that money to make more money,” she says.  

And Grede believes that making money—at a company or attaining personal wealth—supports philanthropic and purpose-driven efforts rather than detracting from them. “I’ve always had companies that have done really great important work and been able to give back once they’re profitable,” she says. “We have to put money at the center of the conversation. We have to start with money in the same way that we have to start with ourselves.” With women set to control 40% of global wealth by 2030, according to HSBC, Grede’s message feels especially urgent.  

Your AI questions answered

Next month, Modern CEO subscribers will have an opportunity to hear join me in conversation with Matt Fitzpatrick, CEO of Invisible Technologies, discussing the most urgent AI issues of the day. Register here and submit your burning questions to stephaniemehta@mansueto.com, and we’ll try to tackle as many as possible in the live session on May 18 at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.  

Read more: Emma Grede’s world 

• Skims was No. 1,168 on the 2024 Inc. 5000 ranking. Is it ready for an IPO?  

• Female founders on what helped them level up 

• Emma Grede says remote work is sabotaging careers 

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