WorkingStree Survey Reveals How Financial Decisions Are Made By Working Women

Add as a preferred source on Google

Economic or financial empowerment of women is a social responsibility and it is central to realizing women rights and gender equality, mentions unwomen.org. The ability to participate equally in all existing markets and have access and control over productive resources, access to decent work, meaningful participation in decision-making at all levels ( be it household or international organisations), access to decent work, having control over their own lives, time and bodies will make all the difference and will be a key driver in terms of economic growth.

In Delhi, 47 percent of working women mentioned that they have found it difficult to regularly track their expenses. Also, 37 percent of working women are either not aware or have never been able to check their credit scores, and more than 70 percent of them contribute to their household expenses, reveals the #WorkingStree survey by IndiaLends, an online marketplace for personal loans and credit cards.

This survey was on how financial decisions are made by working women, and is the fifth in a series. The majority of respondents were married (70.6 per cent), followed by singles (16.4 per cent). It was conducted in February 2023 and has covered more than 10,000 working women aged 21 to 65 in top metro, Tier-1, and Tier-2 cities. The survey found that 67 per cent of working women in Delhi contributed for their household expenses, with 31 per cent providing more than half of their income.

According to a report in Business Standard, respondents said that their biggest motivation was financial freedom, which was followed by the desire to be valuable, being self-confident along with the need to support family needs.

Further, the survey had revealed when it came to making decisions related to savings and investments, these working women found it a bit complex. They most of them relied on the guidance of their brother, father or husband while making these decisions. Also, it is from social media, 20 percent from news articles and 20 percent from workshops and seminars, followed by professional experts, nearly half of working women at a national level have acquired knowledge about personal finance.

While it is encouraging to see that nearly two-thirds of women in Delhi have checked their credit scores, there is still a long way to go in terms of regular expense tracking and independent investment decision-making, said Gaurav Chopra, CEO of IndiaLends.