Here’s What Tariffs Served — More Than Just Import Fees. It’s a Mirror, Moms.

Let’s be blunt: why are tariffs, GDP fluctuations, and economic policies still “men’s talk,” while what’s for dinner, which school the kid goes to, and what curtain matches the couch are “women’s issues”? We’re in 2025, not 1950. Yet somehow, Trump’s tariff policy is sparking louder debates in locker rooms and boardrooms than in book clubs or parenting groups. Why?

The answer’s not just cultural — it’s educational, social, and deeply structural.

The Dinner Table Divide

From a young age, girls are handed dolls, not data. They're taught to express, nurture, and be likable — not to argue over macroeconomic trends or fiscal policy. Boys, meanwhile, are handed Legos and “money talk,” even if indirectly. Ask a 10-year-old boy what GDP means, and he might take a stab. Ask a girl the same, and she might shrug — not because she can’t understand, but because no one told her it was worth knowing.

Meanwhile, that same girl is encouraged to “dress like a lady,” “help mom,” and “be kind,” not “study market inflation” or “challenge the global economic order.”

Femininity ≠ Fragility

This is not a call to make girls less feminine. Let them wear the dresses. Let them play with makeup. But also — let them argue. Let them do math. Let them challenge global financial systems. Let them calculate the impact of tariffs on inflation and ask why the hell imported cheese is more expensive this month.

It’s not about rejecting traditional roles. It’s about expanding them.

A woman can host dinner and dissect interest rates in the same breath. But she won’t if no one’s ever told her she should, or could.

Why Tariffs Matter in the Kitchen Too

Take Trump’s tariffs — that’s not just business jargon. That’s your grocery bill, your job security, your kid’s education. It affects what’s affordable, what gets taxed, what’s produced domestically, and what’s outsourced. It’s not just a topic for men in suits arguing across boardroom tables. It’s your life. And women live that life too.

So why aren’t we teaching our girls to speak this language?

Time to Flip the Script

Here’s what we need to normalize in our homes:

• Give girls the same screen time for economic news as we do for fashion content.
• Ask them to debate instead of just “express.”
• Encourage them to talk numbers as confidently as they talk emotions.
• Tell them global politics is their business too.
• Celebrate them when they question authority, challenge a law, or crunch stats.

Because the next generation of women should be reading the financial section with the same urgency they read food labels. Knowing how inflation works should be just as basic as knowing how to make pasta.

Raising Balanced Kids Isn’t Gendered

This isn’t just about girls either. It’s about balance. Boys need to be able to cook, empathize, and express emotions. Girls need to be able to negotiate salaries, run businesses, and track international policy.

Raising well-rounded, critically thinking kids means un-gendering knowledge. Let’s stop dividing conversations into “his topics” and “her duties.”

Did You Get It, It Is Not About Trump’s Tariffs are Good or Bad.

If you’ve never heard your daughter asks why interest rates went up or what China’s economic policy shift means — maybe it’s not because she doesn’t care. Maybe it’s because you never talked about it at the dinner table.

It’s time we do. Not just for equity — but because the world needs smarter, sharper, more globally-aware women who can talk numbers as easily as they can plan dinner.

And for that, it starts at home.