Women and Financial Education: Evidence, Policy Responses and Guidance

Gender equality in terms of economic and financial opportunities is becoming increasingly relevant at both national and international level. The need to address the financial literacy of women and girls as a way to improve their financial empowerment, opportunities, and well-being has been acknowledged by the G20 Leader’s Declaration in June 2012, as well as part of a wider horizontal OECD project on gender equality. The OECD International Network on Financial Education (INFE) established a dedicated workstream in 2010 to address the needs of women for financial education under the support of the Russia/World Bank/OECD Trust Fund for financial literacy and education.

This book collects the work carried out within this workstream, including policy guidance to help policy makers address women's and girls' needs for financial education, and a comprehensive analysis of the current status of knowledge on gender differences in financial literacy and policy responses in terms of financial education for women and girls.

Contents:

Acronyms and abbreviations 7

Executive summary 9

Chapter 1. Introduction 11
-Background and rationale 11
- Process 12
- Scope of the publication 13
- References 13

Chapter 2. Gender differences in financial literacy 15
- Women have lower levels of financial knowledge 16
- Different financial attitudes across genders 20
- Gender differences in financial behaviour and strategies 24
- More research is needed to better understand gender differences in financial literacy 38
- References 41
- Annex 2.A1. Supplementary tables to Chapter 2 45

Chapter 3. Barriers to women’s financial empowerment and factors affecting gender differences in financial literacy 47
- Gender roles in household financial decision making have limited impact 48
- Gender differences in socio-economic conditions: Lower access to education and employment 50
- Gender difference in access to entrepreneurship and to finance 51
- Women’s lower financial inclusion 54
- Different social and legal treatment of men and women 54
- Ongoing research efforts and policy action are needed to address the factors affecting gender differences in financial well-being 56
- References 57

Chapter 4. Addressing women’s financial education needs through policies and dedicated programmes 59
- Financial education policy initiatives: Priorities and target groups 60
- Impact and effectiveness of financial education initiatives 68
- References 71
- Annex 4.A1. Financial education programmes for women and girls 75

Chapter 5. Financial education for women: Challenges and lessons learnt 85
- Challenges 86
- Good practices and lessons learnt 88
- Concluding remarks 89
- References 90

- Annex A. OECD/INFE Policy Guidance on AddressingWomen’s and Girls’ Needs for Financial

Awareness and Education 91

Website: OECD iLibrary http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/

Women and Financial Education: Evidence, Policy Responses and Guidance (Download) http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/finance-and-investment/women-and-financial-education_9789264202733-en

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