Percent of “Don’t Know” Responses on the Financial Literacy Survey

When it comes to securing and maintaining financial well-being into later life, women face greater challenges than men. Because women report being less knowledgeable about finances compared to men, many consider financial education to be key to eliminating these gender wealth disparities. Even among younger generations, we find that women underperform men on tests of financial knowledge. Exactly how this occurs remains an open question. Is it that women indeed know less than men in the domain of finance? Or is it that they simply lack experience or delegate responsibility for major financial decisions to someone else? Or is it that women feel less confident so that their performance on tests of financial knowledge reflect uncertainty or doubt more than competence or ability? Knowing the answers to these questions can illuminate behaviors underlying gender wealth inequalities. Doing so can aid in the development of impactful, scalable interventions that enhance financial security for all Americans as we increasingly live longer.