A Recent Study Found That 66% Of Women Aren’t Financially Independent And Traditional Gender Roles Have A Lot To Do With It

A Recent Study Found That 66% Of Women Aren’t Financially Independent And Traditional Gender Roles Have A Lot To Do With It

A few weeks ago, I had to deposit some money in my bank account. My father, who usually handles my finances, refused to assist me this time. He said I needed to learn and sent me to the bank all by myself. I was completely and utterly lost, like a fish out of water. But that’s when I realised I am far, far away from being financially independent. And as it turns out, it’s not just me. According to recent studies, 66% of women in our country do not make their own financial decisions. This is a staggering statistic. I think it’s high time women are taught about taxes and mutual funds instead of how to find a good husband, don’t you? 

These findings are from the LXME Survey, 2020. They interviewed 1,250 women aged between 25-54, across cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Mangalore, Pune, Jaipur, Kolkata, Indore, and Hyderabad. The survey assessed money-related attitudes among women who were either single, married, or married with kids. 

Let’s start with married women, shall we? The study showed that 69% of them don’t make independent financial decisions. Their husbands handle all the finances. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get better once women have children. Statistics show an increase in all the decisions being made by the husband. 

Also Read: Survey Indicates Women In Finance Have To Ask For Promotion, Men Get Them Without Asking. Why Are We Not Surprised?

LXME says that a key factor to remember here is that social conditioning here plays a vital role in shaping a woman’s outlook towards taking care of her finance. As women evolve in life, grow older, they are less likely to become independent and take part in monetary decisions. And from this study, it is evident that women usually depend on their husbands or fathers for their finances and not their mothers. When it comes to their children, the survey notes that women form the early habits, but fathers become the role model for financial decision making. Women are now taking of every profession, it’s time we thoroughly equip them to take monetary decisions. 

However, this division is clearly not working. When a young girl sees only her father engaged in money matter while her mother cooks and cleans, that’s the understanding she grows up with. From a young age, girls need to be taught about banking and finances. 

Only 7% of the women said that their mothers were financial decision-makers. That’s terrible. 66% of women said that they don’t make their own financial decisions and hence, are not monetarily independent.  

For a long time, girls have been raised to believe that men handle finance while women run the house. These stereotypical gender norms are now redundant. Instead of teaching our daughters to depend on the men their lives to handle their finances for them, they should be raised to be financially independent. This study has made it clear that very few women know how to take care of their monetary requirements and that needs to change.

https://thehauterfly.com/culture-2/job-recruitment-algorithms-gender-bias-women/

Mitali Shah

Read More From Mitali
Seen it all?

We’ve got more!