Freedom, After Tax
Financial security is one of the strongest foundations of independence.
Monika Ruseva, President THE NETWORK
We talk about empowerment like it’s a thunderclap, loud, relentless, impossible to ignore. Promotions, pay raises, and glass ceilings cracking under the weight of determination.
Like taxes.
Once upon a September evening, in a bright room at Foyer’s headquarters, a group of us gathered after work, drifting away from career talk and into something far less glamorous: taxes.
And there we were, wine in hand, leaning in.
Marie-Hélène Massard, CEO of Foyer, and Olivier Pettinger, Insurance Agent Foyer guided us through the maze like a pair of translators, revealing and unlocking a language that shapes our daily financial lives and gives us independence, empowerment, knowledge on how Luxembourg’s Personal Tax System works.
“When we talk about empowering women, let’s remember: empowerment is not only about earning more, it’s also about understanding the systems that shape what we keep, what we can build, and what we can pass on. Taxes may be complex, but they are also a tool. And when women master that tool, they master a critical part of their independence.”
Monika Ruseva, President THE NETWORK
And the truth is, for many women, the road to independence isn’t a straight line. It twists through responsibilities, care work, unexpected turns, and countless invisible tasks that shape our days.
We grow up learning to chase ambition like it’s a finish line. Land the job. Get the title. Climb higher. But nobody really teaches us to read the fine print along the way. We celebrate the offer but barely glance at the payslip. We talk about breaking barriers, but not about how to hold on to what we’ve built once we’re finally on the other side.
No one ever said taxes were glamorous. There are no inspiring Instagram quotes about deductions. But understanding how the system works is power, is independence. It’s the difference between letting life happen to you, while flowing away such as a duck on a river, and steering it with both hands, eyes wide open.
Maybe empowerment isn’t only measured by how high we rise. Maybe it’s also measured by what we keep, what we manage to build, and what we choose to pass on.
And perhaps the boring stuff was never boring at all; it was power, hiding in plain sight.