WHY IS FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE FOR WOMEN IMPORTANT: HERE ARE THE TOP 5 REASONS

It’s International Women’s Day today and in this rapidly evolving world, we see women breaking the quintessential glass ceiling at many levels. One of the key reasons that has helped is the relative economic independence. But there is a fine line between paying the bills, buying what we need and financial independence. Strangely enough, while women deftly handle key responsibilities at home and office, they are often dependent on the men in the family while deciding the instrument to invest and how much to invest.

When it comes to breaking gender stereotypes, this is perhaps one of the biggest factors that one can look into. As more and more women join the work force, it is becoming even more important for women to take charge of their finances, plan for future and truly work towards absolute empowerment.

Reasons why financial independence for women is important:

Here are top 5 reasons why financial independence is important for women –

Better financial security: Being in control of their finances give women better clarity and visibility in terms of their financial security. It gives them the opportunity to make choices without any economic constraint and neither are they dependent on anyone for deciding on what is important for them. In fact data indicates that women are more disciplined investors with more than 70% women choosing to stay invested eve over a 6-year period. Even the average investment in SIPs is higher for women in comparison to men.

Better self-confidence: This goes without saying that as a woman’s bank balance increases and the relative financial security improves, it also gives them better self-confidence. It no doubts acts as a validation of their skills and earns them appreciation in the family. Data also indicates that though women’s investment account balance lags men due to gender pay gap, women investors do get better returns than men.

Greater say in family matters: Generally, when women start taking economic decisions on their own, they also find improved acceptance as a decision maker in family matters. A survey by the Ministry of Women and Child Development indicates that there is a direct correlation between a woman’s economic independence and greater say in family matters.