CHENNAI: Around 80 per cent of working women in India do not have any investment plan. Experts say that with a glaring lack of knowledge on the different avenues available for investment, they think it safe to put their money only on two things — gold and real estate.
The IIT Alumni Club, therefore, has taken the initiative to organise a ‘Women Only Workshop’ (WoW), which is aimed at empowering women in the crucial area of personal finance. The workshop, launched in April, is conducted on the last Wednesday of every month on the club premises in Mylapore. The October ‘WoW’ workshop saw around 60 women — homemakers and employed — interacting with Renu Maheswari, an investment expert and a registered SEBI advisor. “Several major corporates have given their women employees the day off so that they can attend the workshop,” the organisers said.
The aim of the workshop, according to them, is to create awareness among women about the various platforms where they could make short and long-term investments. While women work very hard, they lack clarity on issues like taxation and the right and more profitable mediums of investment, and confine themselves to buying gold and real estate, they pointed out. The special invitees included TCS vice-president Rajini Seshadri.