How to Participate in WMW14

Thanks for your interest in WMW14 – the 3rd annual Women’s Money Week. Any writer (regardless of gender- men we have some tips for participating below) can participate in the week by writing about the topic of the day and posting it to their site. The goal of the week is to raise awareness about financial issues as they uniquely relate to women, provide insights and lessons learned, and give actionable advice to help women reshape their financial futures. It occurs during the first full week of March to overlap with International Women’s Day on March 8th.

How to Participate

To participate in Women’s Money Week, you need to do just 3 things:

1) Write a blog post or article about any (or all) of the topics below

2) Schedule the post for the date that corresponds to the topic

3) Fill out this form to submit to your posts. (This will ensure that you get linked to in each day’s roundup of posts).

(4. Optional) Promote  at least 3 other posts. Last year one of the comments we received was that not enough was done to promote other writers’ posts. So, this year, while it’s not required to participate, we ask that each participant promote (either through Facebook, Twitter, and/or linking from your own site) at least 3 other posts. The links for each day (listed below) will be live at 5am with a list of all participating posts. You are welcome to link from your post to that specific day’s topic.

See “Post Ideas” below for specific ideas for each day

WMW14 Topics

Monday, March 3: Kids and Work
Permalink: http://womensmoneyweek.com/kids-and-work/

Tuesday, March 4: Work – Life Balance
Permalink: http://womensmoneyweek.com/work-life-balance/

Wednesday, March 5: Earning More through “Non-Traditional” Work: Freelance, Business Ownership, etc
Permalink:http://womensmoneyweek.com/non-traditional-work-earning-more/

Thursday, March 6: Part-Time Work
Permalink:http://womensmoneyweek.com/part-time-work/

Friday, March 7: Traditional Careers and Jobs
Permalink: http://womensmoneyweek.com/traditional-careers/

Saturday, March 8: (International Women’s Day) Free Write on Anything Related to Women and Work (bonus day)
Permalink: http://womensmoneyweek.com/women-and-work/

Post Ideas

Remember, the idea is to raise awareness about women’s money issues, as they relate to the daily topic. You can write about anything you’re feeling inspired about that relates to the topic on that day, but if you’re stuck, here are some ideas to help you get started:

Kids and Work

  • How have your fears or concerns about your career changed your idea about family (or vice versa)?
  • Are you not having kids/changing the idea about how many kids you have or when you have them due to career?
  • Have you decided to stay at home instead of working? Would you stay at home instead of working?
  • Cost of daycare vs working? How do you make the decision?
  • What are the rules around FLMA leave?
  • What companies are best for family leave? How can you negotiate better leave?
  • How has having kids or not yet having kids at this point in your life affected your work?

Work – Life Balance

  • Can you have it all?
  • What is having it all?
  • Tips for work life balance?
  • How do you find time to do everything you want to/need to do?
  • What systems do you have in place that help you find time?
  • What are your best productivity tips?

Earning More Money Through Non Traditional Work (Freelance work, flexible jobs, starting a business, etc.)

  • How to does one find flexible jobs/freelance work/start a business?
  • What is your story if you have switched from traditional work to less traditional? (Could also be someone else’s story you know.)
  • How can you increase your rate/change your hours/work on the side?
  • What are you best tips for being an entrepreneur/starting a business?

Part-Time Work

  • Have you ever worked part-time? Would you want to work part-time? What would your ideal work schedule be?
  • How should you deal with part-time work on your resume?
  • How do you budget for working less?                                                       
  • What retirement/health care/other benefit options are available for people who work part time?
  • What are the advantages to working part-time? Disadvantages?
  • What are the best tips for finding part-time work?

Traditional Jobs and Career

  • What are the best tips for finding a job?
  • What careers are good for women?
  • Tips for “leaning in” or climbing the corporate ladder
  • What are advantages to traditional careers over non-traditional careers?
  • Resume tips

Bonus Day: International Women’s Day and Free Write on Anything Related to Women and Work 

Since International Women’s Day falls on a Saturday this year, feel free to post on anything related to women and work on this day.

These ideas are just to help you get started. In the past, posts that have done really well are based on a personal experience someone has had, a great set of tips, or a counterpoint/devil’s advocate style post.

Again, it’s really easy to participate. Just choose one or more of the topics above, write about it, and insert your information here.  Also, sign up for the email list below to get information, reminders, and a list of links, closer to and during the week itself.

Tips for Men 

You don’t have to be a woman to participate in Women’s Money Week.  How? Feel free to tackle the topic yourself (for instance, you don’t need to be a woman to write about family leave at your company.) Or interview a woman you know or have someone guest post on your site.