Wife , mother, homemaker, career woman, financier — in today’s society, one woman could simultaneously embody all these roles, but there was a time in history when the latter two words would be unthinkable descriptors for women who lived before us.

Last week, the western world celebrated International Women’s Day but few know that March also marks Women’s History Month. Because history happens every day, we can’t take for granted that just two generations ago women were not at the forefront of making domestic decisions as it relates to finances, let alone work outside the home, break the glass ceiling and, heaven forbid, running corporations.

In the 18t- and 19th-century the law stipulated that married women could not own property in their own names. As a result, they were also not able to sue, or sign contracts. Despite these hindrances, many women ran and managed their own businesses, either in the names of their husbands, or in their own names if they were widowed or single.

After the second half of the 19th century, women gained greater economic rights. Not only did new laws strengthen women’s control over their own estates, but they also enabled women to obtain credit, make contracts, and act as independent agents. As a consequence, this period saw women entering business in increasing numbers and in capacities that had recently been understood to be the domain of men.

The larger point here, ladies, is that as women we have long known the value of: “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” And we have always been inventive, innovative and inspired even when the odds are stacked against us, throughout history.

My own journey as a player within the financial space, juxtaposed with my company’s commitment to empowering women through financial education and eradicating stigmas and fears around investments, has led me to be resolute in the fight for equality and realising women’s rights.

Last year, my company alongside the Jamaica Stock Exchange led an all-island tour inviting women to some knowledge-sharing workshops wherein they would learn the basics of investing, and of course how certain beliefs can keep us from truly embracing wealth.

Wealth for women, for anyone, really, is a state of mind. Let’s look to history. Even when we couldn’t decide on how to use the money coming into our homes. e always found a way… our grandmothers saved from the little they had, took odd jobs to make ends meet to ensure that their families were fed.

Though our realities as professional women are different today, we still have our various impediments when it comes to finances. My advice to achieving financial freedom would be:

•Live within your means, don’t over extend yourself and never spend more than you earn

•Save from the little you have. No matter how small, some other woman somewhere has less and is making it work.

•Prepare and plan for life’s surprises. Our grandmothers always had money under the mattress, just in case something happened. Today, your ‘mattress’ should be deposits, investment accounts and insurance policies.

These are simple things we can do to position ourselves to have a better relationship with money.

I can appreciate that we as women are complex and diverse, and so no two have the same experiences with money or better yet, the lack thereof. Where our foremothers have failed, we should also look to these as examples of what not to do. In fact, the lessons and insights gained from these failures are just as important.

If we trust our intuition, start with the three aforementioned guidelines and we can achieve success.