The Differences Between How Parents and Society Teach Boys and Girls
Financial Awareness
(Page 3)
• Many more teenage boys than girls report understanding of how to write
a check and how a credit card works, including accrued interest.
• Teenage girls are much more likely to be in debt than boys, with
almost 50% reporting credit card debt as opposed to less than a quarter
of teen boys having any debt.
• Girls are more likely to report that learning about investing is
boring, while boys report a real interest in learning about it. When
asked to elaborate, girls often pointed out that this wasn’t something
they would be doing in the future, while boys indicated that it was
important to learn so that they could be successful.
The perception that girls shouldn’t have to worry about their financial
future in the long term (based upon the faulty premise that a man will
take care of her or that she can hire a financial consultant to handle
all of the boring stuff) is still present in many homes. Fortunately,
the balance is beginning to shift as more parents realize that women who
are successful in their careers must also be able to guide their own
financial futures, not rely on others to do it for them.
Programs Aim at Closing the Gap
Today’s girls are more likely to learn how to handle money at a young
age. Cautionary tales in the news and on talk shows about women left
destitute and the fear that social security can no longer support an
individual in their golden years has, perhaps, contributed to this.
After all, with most women outliving their spouses and more than half of
women divorced, it’s likely that today’s girls will be supporting
themselves in their retirement years – understanding Roth IRAs suddenly
becomes very important.