What girls aren’t learning about personal finance in school
Young women in India, New Zealand and Nigeria share how financial education — or lack of it — has affected their lives.
Young women in India, New Zealand and Nigeria share how financial education — or lack of it — has affected their lives.
When 18-year-old Nigerian student Temple began university, she was excited to enrol in commerce classes like economics, financial accounting and office practice. But she found her courses did not prepare her to take on financial responsibilities in the real world. “In school, we didn’t learn about how to save, invest and set up a bank account,” says Temple. “We only learnt topics relating to our subjects — nothing about how to invest or what to invest in.”
Financial literacy — the ability to understand and use financial skills like budgeting and investing — is essential for participating in today’s economy. Yet many young women aren’t learning the information they need to make financial decisions for their futures.
Around the world, young adults have among the lowest levels of financial literacy, and girls and women display lower financial literacy and confidence than boys and men. This puts them at a disadvantage when planning financially for the future and makes them more vulnerable to poverty during periods of economic instability.
Girls say their school curriculums are not preparing them to participate in today’s economy. “I don’t think schools hold workshops on financial literacy like they do for other topics,” says Gauri, a 15-year-old student from India. Like Temple, Gauri says the information she is learning at school is not designed to help students make practical decisions about their finances. “We have only one chapter in our economics textbook called ‘Money and credit,’” Gauri shares. “In the chapter, we don’t learn about skills that we would use every day. It’s a lot of theory that you might not use once you’re out in the real world. Even seniors in the 11th and 12th grade tell me that they won’t teach you how to create a bank account.”
“In school, we didn’t learn about how to save, invest and set up a bank account.”
The failure on schools’ part to develop financial literacy in young women has serious consequences — especially in times of crisis. “One of my friends lost her dad, and her mom had to completely take care of her and her brother,” Gauri says. “She had no idea whatsoever of what to do about her financial condition. She had to start from scratch, create a bank account and everything.” Furthermore, in the absence of personal finance education in curriculums, the burden falls on parents to teach their children how to manage their money. “If a mother does not have financial literacy, she won’t be able to teach her children about it,” says Temple.
“My mom is knowledgeable about her finances. She has several savings accounts — including one for when she retires and others for travel and other priorities,” says 17-year-old Yujung, a student from New Zealand. Yujung says her parents’ knowledge of personal finance strategies helped her start planning for the future at a young age. “With help from both my parents, I use my bank account to save up for university or my future in general,” she explains. Yujung started her own business when was 11, selling homemade slime nationwide. But even with her parents’ support, she says her school’s lack of personal finance education put her at a disadvantage when it came to managing her profits. “I wish I learned about money management — how to use my money well and be more organised with it,” Yujung shares. “I was young when I started my business, so there was a lot of money that went to waste.”
“I wish I learned about money management — how to use my money well and be more organised with it.”
Around the world, more women are entering the workforce than ever before. As they make money and participate in the economy, financial literacy ensures they are able to navigate their workplaces, protect themselves from exploitation and build wealth over time. But studies show boys and men have more financial conversations with their parents than girls — a dynamic that influences the careers young women are choosing for themselves. “Our school doesn’t encourage male students to take business classes more,” says Yujung. “Yet, from what I see, most male students are in those classes.”
Gauri and Temple see this effect in the financial industries in their countries too. “Men currently dominate the financial industry in Nigeria,” Temple says. “Though we are beginning to break out of the norm that ‘only male children should go to school’, this is still battled in some states.” In India, Gauri says, though men and women are equally represented among finance workers “the highest positions are all male-dominated. Most of the women who have even studied economics or commerce or something related to banking usually are teachers.” Many studies support their observations; in 2014, only 24% of senior managers in businesses were women and in 2018, female-led start-ups in the U.S. gained only 2.2% of the $130 billion in capital invested.
“A lot of boys in my grade have a bank account and it’s like five out of 100 girls who have a bank account.”
For Gauri, teaching girls about personal finance on equal terms with boys is key to giving them the confidence to manage their money and pursue high-level careers in commerce. “Having the ability to create a bank account as a young girl makes me feel responsible,” she shares. “A lot of boys in my grade have a bank account and it’s like five out of 100 girls who have a bank account. If there are more girls who have their own bank account, cards or are more financially independent, it would show people that girls are able to create change and stay responsible.”
Closing the financial literacy gap has wide-reaching implications — both for girls and women and the world at large. With better access to financial resources like bank accounts and digital financial services, women can build wealth and participate more fully in the global economy, facilitating economic development — one study estimates that global economic growth will increase by $5.3 trillion by 2025 if the economic gender gap reduces by 25%. Furthermore, women with access to financial services like a savings account reduced short-term debt by 20% while also improving their families’ education level, nutrition and health care.
“If more women had financial education, the community would be more developed than it is now,” says Temple. “For national economic development, women should have financial literacy.”
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