If you have a question about finance, Sofía Macías can no doubt answer it. The bestselling author and creator of popular personal finance platform Pequeño Cerdo Capitalista (Little Capitalist Pig) and financial planning app My PCC Goals, has dedicated her career to helping people improve their financial literacy.

She is also the co-founder of Sin Modestia (No Modesty), a community of women who meet to forge alliances and find opportunities for growth. True to the name, members are encouraged to abandon modesty when it comes to sharing their talents or achievements.

Speaking about the disparity between how much men and women are paid for similar roles, she says, “The gap can be deeper – if we look at it according to the stages of life, it can be a cliff. Women in general have many more professional interruptions.”

We talked to Macías about the barriers women face when it comes to achieving pay parity and how support networks such as Sin Modestia can help drive meaningful change.

Macías is quick to debunk the false assumption that women are simply “not good with money”. She tells us, “The skill is more conditioned to the contact you’ve had with financial matters than on gender.”

Yet the gender gap in terms of personal finances is well-documented. Macías says that women often lack trust in themselves and therefore learning about finance becomes ever more difficult and possibly falls off their radar entirely. This is where the support of communities such as Sin Modestia can help and one of the reasons why Macías decided to launch My PCC Goals. The app is a personal finance toolkit, providing people with practical insights and tips for managing and growing their personal finances.

One of the common areas of discussion among members of Sin Modestia is how a culture of modesty impacts how women talk about their achievements and finances.

It was one of the reasons Macías decided to set up the community – which now has more than 160 members – with journalist Pamela Cerdeira and visibility expert Tania Pimentel. As they see it, learning to recognise and express achievements and talents without restraint is crucial in the fight for gender equity.

But Sin Modestia is a space to discuss much more than just financial topics: “We’ve also raised funds for causes and shared information about places where women who have suffered violence can go,” Macías explains. The aim is to create a safe space for women to show up and be seen; a forum to collectively challenge roles and cultural norms that condition the way women see themselves in society.

“If no one knows about your work, the skills you have and how good you are at something, getting better opportunities will be very difficult,” Macías says.

Social networks play a crucial role in amplifying achievements, and Macías sees LinkedIn as an essential app for this. She encourages women to leave their modesty behind and give some air time to their accomplishments. “I always tell my friends: half of the work is to do it, the other half is to trumpet it,” she says.

Macías’ book Pequeño Cerdo Capitalista – available in ebook and audiobook format – is packed with sound advice on how to manage and get the most out of your money. There’s also a dedicated Pequeño Cerdo Capitalista YouTube channel, should you prefer to watch.

When you’re ready to take control of your finances, download Macías’ app My PCC Goals. It will help you identify what you want to achieve and offer advice and tips on how to get there.

“More than seeing it as an endless list, the most important thing is that you take action,” Macías says. “One action can change your finances a lot.”