A study released by Statistics Canada, illustrates the gap in financial literacy that lies within Canada, among a number of demographics. The major finding indicates that men have higher levels of financial knowledge than women, but there’s more to this. Here’s a summay of key findings:
In 2014, 22% of men correctly answered 5 of the 14 questions that were specifically related to the key issues of interest, inflation and risk diversification. This compared with 15% among women. [Statistics Canada]
The gender difference in financial knowledge was more pronounced among older Canadians, the university-educated and higher-income workers. For example, among Canadians who had a high school diploma or less, 11% of women and 16% of men correctly answered the five basic questions on inflation, interest and risk diversification. Among those who had a university education, the percentages were 18% for women and 32% for men. [Statistics Canada]
Besides the gender gap, there were some other interesting findings involving retirement planning:
In 2014, 78% of labour market participants aged 25 to 64 reported that they were financially preparing for retirement, down slightly from 81% in 2009. Larger reductions in retirement preparation rates, however, were seen among younger labour market participants (down from 75% in 2009 to 66% in 2014) and those with a high school diploma or some postsecondary education (down from 80% to 71%). [Statistics Canada]
Despite the noted gender gap, it’s important to note that overall financial literacy is still only a norm for less than half the population surveyed. Both men and women scored less than 50% for financial knowledge, which means work needs to be done. For free resources and tips on financial literacy, check out my blog.
