Build Women's Financial Confidence to Improve Their Financial Wellness

Abstract

Significant improvement in women’s financial and social status in recent decades has been accompanied by favorable increases in their confidence in many aspects of life—ranging from developing career paths to playing an active role in household decision making. Despite these gains, a gender gap in financial confidence still exists. Data from the 2018 National Financial Capacity Study, for example, shows that women in general are less confident than men in their financial knowledge, their ability to achieve financial goals, and in dealing with day-to-day financial matters (see Figure 1). In the effort to improve women’s financial wellness, the role played by financial confidence should not be overlooked.

Keywords: retirement, household finance, gender economics, psychological, emotional, decision making

JEL Classification: J32, G5, J16, D91