How can Financial Literacy Empower Women?
In the past, we’ve shared about how financial literacy can help empower migrant workers. Now, for Women’s Month, we want to focus on how financial literacy can empower women in general.
· Greater financial literacy can help women make more informed decisions about their family’s finances, such as managing tuition fees for children. In most cultures, women are still expected to be the main caregivers for children and elderly in the family, whether or not they are working full-time. This can affect their budgeting and savings.
· Women who are more financially literate can be more prepared before entering into a relationship and, if the relationship ends, they can make more informed financial decisions. Separation and divorce can cause great financial instability for women. A 2017 article in The Guardian points out the financial risks that women face when a marriage or long-term partnership ends. For example, a lot of women find that they do not have enough savings, particularly those who resign from full-time work after having children.
· Women can live longer than men, so they need to have clear retirement plans and make decisions about their future finances as soon as possible. According to the WHO, women can generally live about six to eight years longer than men. With the existing gender pay gap and increased concern for health care in the wake of a global pandemic, it is vital that women prepare financially for their senior years.
This International Women’s Day, as we seek to take action for equality, TAYO continues to work towards greater financial literacy for women — especially migrant domestic workers — as we believe that financial literacy is connected to economic equality for all.
Learn more about how TAYO is working to empower migrant domestic workers through financial literacy.
Reference List:
McVeigh, T., 2017. The biggest financial risk for women today? Embarking on a relationship. [online] The Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/mar/19/divorce-women-risk-poverty-children-relationship> [Accessed 6 March 2021].
Who.int. n.d. WHO | Female life expectancy. [online] Available at: <https://www.who.int/gho/women_and_health/mortality/life_expectancy_text/en/#:~:text=Women%20generally%20live%20longer%20than,differences%20between%20men%20and%20women.> [Accessed 6 March 2021].