women’s pending tasks with finances

Women’s relationship with finances continues to be deficient, or at least that is what they say when asked about their management of the economy. There are several burdens that weigh on this issue, from the workplace, weighed down by the wage gap, to the educational one, where stereotypes continue to weigh on women’s relationship with the world of numbers. Saving is the financial area where they are most comfortable.

The strain between women and the personal economy has several aspects, one of them labor. The second edition of Mastercard’s ‘Women and Finance’ report indicates that only 33% of Spanish women feel financially supported in the workplace compared to 40% of men. This means that the vast majority (more among them than among them) perceive salary inequality or do not consider, for example, that the company’s pension plan adjusts to their needs, although the figure exceeds the European average by eight points, which It stands at 25%.

In this sense, there also appears gender gap. 31% of women believe that pay inequality in positions equivalent to those of their male colleagues slows down their financial empowerment, while among them this feeling drops to 21%. In this case, the European comparison shows that Spanish women are the third most likely to feel this wage gap in Europe, after Portugal (41%) and Poland (37%) and are at the same level as Italian women (31%). .

Questioned about their ability to have control of money, to make appropriate financial decisions or to have the necessary resources to meet objectives, the study reveals that for 33% of Spanish women, financial empowerment occurs when they can spend more time quality with their family, for 32% when they do not have to stop to think about whether they can buy concert tickets, plane tickets or go out to eat with friends, and for 27%, when they stop having a negative feeling when reviewing the Bank account.

The bank statement is very present both among them and among them. According to the results of the survey, 29% of women and 27% of men check your bank statement daily, 22% and 24%, respectively, consult it one to three times a week and 17% and 19% at least four days a week. The age range where the most daily accesses are recorded, combining both genders, points to middle age: 35% of women and men between 35 and 44 years old acknowledge entering once a day.

In the case of managing the family economy, 58% of Spanish men believe that they are the ones who manage the finances in their home, compared to 46% of Spanish women who say they manage the home budget.

We don’t talk about money

The study reflects a harmful relationship between women and finances and confirms one of the most widespread stereotypes: numbers are for kids. To this day they are still the ones who mostly manage the household finances; This is estimated by 58% of men, compared to 46% of Spanish women who say they are in charge of the home budget.

In the workplace, this trend is replicated and the options for financial empowerment are diminished. According to the study, women say refrain from raising financial problems because a third affirm that talking openly about money is not common in Spain and 53% confirm that they are concerned about privacy if they talk openly about their finances. A taboo that hinders the desire of 70% of Spanish women for greater transparency regarding salaries and finances.

And when they decide to talk openly about money, the figure of the man becomes the main interlocutor. Specifically, Spanish women prefer financial advisors (56%), their parents (19%) or male friends (17%) to do this. Men also go to their peers for these consultations, but with more weight from friends (22%) over parents; Only 7% of Spanish women and 6% of men consult their female friends.

Financial education explains this relationship between women and finances. Only 37% say they feel confident about their level of financial knowledge in general in order to make decisions of some relevance. Savings (68%) and budgets (56%) These are the areas where women see themselves as more capable, however, they have three Achilles heels: when asked about mortgages, investments and pensions, only 47%, 40% and 52%, respectively, say they know these terms despite being issues of high relevance in personal finances.

In all these areas, men (who generally they charge more than them and have greater financial solvency) claim to have greater knowledge than them: about savings (75%), budgets (67%), mortgages (63%), investments (52%) and pensions (63%).

Social networks as a financial classroom

The sources of financial education that women turn to are the family (33%), the university (26%), social networks (25%) and secondary education (19%). Talking about networks stand out as the most effective source of financial knowledge: the best for 77% of women and 75% of men is YouTube, followed by Instagram (69%-59% respectively) and TikTok (58%-57%), very similar figures in the rest of Europe.

This detachment with financial education (the poor relationship of women with mathematics pays this ground) has another derivative in the management of finances but it is not the only reason why this is not a priority for women. They do not prioritize managing their finances because not having the ability to savesince they spend what they earn each month (29%), have other work or personal priorities (19%), lack of sufficient financial knowledge (19%), preference to ignore the problem (17%) or who experience signs of emotional stress or anxiety when thinking about their finances (16%).

In this context, only 12% of Spanish women choose to use websites for financial management, compared to 24% of men and below the European average (20%). The same with mobile applications: only 16% of women use this type of app to plan their expenses, compared to 21% of Spaniards, although in this case they are above the European average (11% women and 14% men).

Paloma Real, general director of Mastercard Spain, considers that “in recent years we have made progressive progress in terms of equality, both in the workplace and outside it, but there is still much to do” but sees “it is essential that we collaborate in an jointly as a society, involving companies, governments and public institutions, to guarantee equity in all areas, including financial areas.

More optimistic about the future

He financial empowerment It will not arrive until the age of 50, or that is what Spanish women perceive, on average. They are more optimistic than men, who believe that they will not reach that state until they are 58 years old. In both cases, it is below the sentiment in Europe, where women believe that this state will reach the age of 48 and men at 52.

However, there are still 33% of women and 41% of men who do not believe they will achieve that financial status one day. In both cases, the average exceeds the European average, where this feeling extends between 38% of women and 37% of men.