The evidence is finally starting to come in -- that women are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to investment and getting a favorable return on their money, particularly in the residential real estate market. But it wasn't always that way.

The reason: Until the last two decades or so, women suffered from what I call a cultural financial confidence gap. Up to that point, many men continued to hold the dominant role of breadwinner in families.

For many women, their role was still to handle family responsibilities, even if they were handling management responsibilities outside the home. The perception was, as my own parents constantly reminded me, that women had no need to understand finance or investing, because they would ultimately depend on men to make most of the family's financial decisions.

Thankfully, most of the perceptions about women and money have largely faded, but I still meet women who continue to battle roadblocks to playing a bigger role in the investment arena. And that's why I'm creating what I hope will become a movement to eradicate the attitude that women don't have the ability to be powerhouses on the investment front.

I'm on a mission where women and money -- not just real estate money -- are concerned. And I'm calling my mission, "Women Building Women."

What exactly do I mean by "Women Building Women?" From my perspective, whether it's constructing an investment portfolio, identifying potential residential investment treasures, I'm urging all women to support their sisters and move into the investment game.

Women Building Women is all about empowerment -- about getting women to jump in and get their feet wet. The water's fine. Let's compliment diversity with an equal (I have deleted the "attaboy investment network with a "You go girl") wealth generation network where women share their financial wisdom, insight, investment strategies, and intuition with each other and the men in their lives.

Together, I believe we can launch this "Women Building Women" movement. And once we have built the foundation, I know other women will want to become involved and offer their own success stories about financial empowerment.

In fact, women have been building women for years, using their instincts to recognize their own potential and that of other women as financial leaders. I never ceased to be amazed by the collective power of any women's movement.

On the financial front, women have made tremendous strides in wealth accumulation in the past decade -- current research indicates that women now account for 39 percent of the top wealth holders in the U.S. with combined assets of $4.2 trillion.

But, as I mentioned earlier, many women have arrived relatively late to the profit-making game called investing, particularly in the residential real estate market. But know that a "Women Building Women" movement can be the vehicle to accelerate investment activity nationwide.

Here is how I envision the "Women Building Women" campaign rolling out to establish wealth generation among our sister investors:

• Join a local real estate investment club or start one yourself. According to the National Association of Investors Corporation (NAIC), there are between 80,000 and 90,000 investment clubs and 1 million members. The majority of these clubs invest in real estate, and women account for nearly 67 percent of NAIC's members. I got my first experience and success in selling real estate by joining a local investment club when I moved to Connecticut from Texas. Before I went into the real estate business full time, my friends and I bought more than a dozen properties, eventually selling them for a 20 percent annualized return on investment. It's one of the best and safest ways to learn about real estate investment.

• Do your homework. There are more than a dozen excellent books on the market right now about women and investing. Not surprisingly, the vast majority of books are written by women for women. Two of the most interesting are, "Women & Money: Owning the Power to Control Your Destiny" by Suze Orman and "Wise Women Invest in Real Estate" by Lisa Moren Bromma. Both books emphasize the importance for women of building on their natural skills of intuition, listening, and attention to detail and acknowledging their ability to succeed.

• Clear out the inner negatives, accentuate the positive. Success for anyone, man or woman, starts from the inside. Being clear about your goals, visualizing what you want to accomplish, and then having the courage, confidence, and ambition to succeed. Some people call the process "self-manifestation." Others call it "creating your own reality." Whatever its name, the process is about designing a perspective that eliminates doubt, identifies self-limiting beliefs, self-sabotaging strategies, and replaces them with positive affirmation. You know what I'm talking about. It's that little voice in your head that tells you you'll never close that million-dollar sale when you know you have everything it takes to make the deal. Women, in my experience, seem to succumb to that voice more than men.

• Make a plan and follow it. Remember the aphorism: Without a plan, you're planning to fail. What is your goal? Income or sales volume? Commit to a number. What is your target market? Residential, vacation properties, foreclosures or commercial? What is your strategy? Buy and hold, or fix and flip it? Once you've done your business plan, get some feedback from industry professionals and friends who will be honest but supportive.

• Form an investment team. Strong women know that there is strength in numbers. Everyone has a specific niche, something they do better than others. Some people are more comfortable doing the research that is invaluable in the real estate business. Others have the ability to close a sale. Identify your own strength and choose other members of your team to fill in the skills and attributes you lack. Everyone needs a sounding board for decision-making and hunches.

The bottom line for a successful "Women Building Women" campaign, from my perspective, is to take pride in financial empowerment and build on it. According to Tom Peters, women are the primary deciders in 75 percent of all real estate transactions in the United States. That kind of financial power is no accident. It's the result of ambition, hard work and the skills to succeed. We need to hear Tom Peters' words loud and clear.

Women can build women and I'm committed to helping as many women as I can to increase their wealth and become a force, working on a par with men in the residential real estate investment community.

Published: April 26, 2007

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Wanda McPhaden, CRB, CRS, is the executive partner of BCA Real Estate Investments, headquartered in Ridgefield, CT., and New York City, and has closed more than $200 million in sales in a 20-year career. Ms. McPhaden holds a M.A in Human Resources from Western Connecticut State University and a B.A. in marketing and psychology from North Texas State University. In 2004, she was honored as a top broker for William Raveis Real Estate & Home Services, the largest family owned real estate brokerage in New England. In 2005, Ms. McPhaden began conducting her nationwide Wealth-Building Real Estate Investment Seminars. She is currently writing a book on women and real estate investing. For more information, call Wanda at 203-948-3488.