Financial literacy is not something achieved passively, some are more adept at gaining such literacy than others. There is a nationwide financial-literacy problem, and a significant part of that problem lies with a systemic disadvantage suffered by women; a set of ingrained societal practices and assumptions that create a chasm between the financial confidence of men and of women.
Here, we will take the opportunity to explore this financial confidence gap, from its origins to the various ways in which it manifests. We’ll also take the opportunity to explore ways in which we, on an individual level, can counter the societal message being uphold, with a view to improving personal financial confidence and, potentially, moving the dial on a national level.
[Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash]
Understanding the Financial Confidence Gap
First, it would be prudent to examine the origination of the financial confidence gap between men and women. Naturally, it is a byproduct of centuries of gender-based oppression in patriarchal culture – a culture which has reinvented itself in the language and aesthetics of the Industrial Revolution. The same systemic biases have new instruments through which to work, and women continue to fight for parity in the most basic of arenas.
One such arena is that of finances and banking. It will surprise just under 50% of you reading this that women were not allowed a bank account to call their own in the UK until 1975; the other 50% will not be surprised that the first 50% were surprised. The shocking recency of this simple right is illustration enough of the huge gap between the number of men comfortable with investing, and the number of women.
Why Closing the Gap Matters
The importance of closing this gap need not be expounded upon, past the fact that one person on the street does not have the same access to resources as another and that fundamental fact needs to change. Of course, the consequences of failing to address systemic gender-based inequality are countless; with specific respect to financial confidence, the results are stark when it comes to retirement savings, investment returns, and overall economic security for women. Put bluntly, this is financial inequality.
It is not to any one business’ credit that they indiscriminately offer advice and wealth management services; it is a bare minimum. But that bare minimum is a foundation for a more equitable approach to closing the financial confidence gap.
Barriers Women Face in Building Wealth
Improving financial confidence as a personal mission is, thankfully, not a difficult one. Resources are many, advice plenty, and financial products no longer beholden to the same ancient patriarchal superstitions they once were. But self-knowledge of how finance works is not a panacea. Women are still disadvantaged.
This is because gender inequality is truly, holistically systemic. It isn’t just financial literacy that impacts financial confidence; it’s also the gender pay gap, which ensures women earn significantly less on average. It’s also the societal expectation for women to bear children and run households, to put careers on hold, to uplift men in their own careers and to never ask questions in the process. The work has begun, but it will never be finished.
