International Women’s Day: Education & Basic Financial Literacy are 2 big pillars for achieving financial freedom

Women have always had a large influence on the functioning of a unit in India, be it a family, kingdom, or nation. In general, women have come a long way and have empowered themselves and excelled in areas like arts, sports, business, governance, and much more.

But, men still hold a major influence when it comes to managing the finances (partially, if not completely), more so in the case of home purchase for the family.

More often than not, when it comes to buying a home, women have always been the leading influencers but seldom have the final decision in the home buying process.

The true sense of liberation for women can only happen when they are financially independent and are able to make independent financial and personal decisions.

We spoke to Ashish Jain, Managing Director, Star HFL who highlighted 2 factors that plays a major impact on achieving financial independence in a true sense:

Education:

Education plays a significant role in empowering women with knowledge and skills. It helps them to build the necessary self-confidence to participate fully in the economic development process.

This holds true for everyone, especially the women in our country. There is a proverb “If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a nation”.

Through this, we can help build a stronger economy. Educated women workforce will surely help developing economies like ours to grow further and enable the much-needed recognition and confidence.

Basic Financial Literacy:

Being educated does not necessarily translate into financial literacy. In a nutshell, Financial Literacy means the ability to understand and manage money through budgeting and investing.

Being financially literate is a major step towards women’s empowerment. Our government through various ministries and regulators like RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, etc. run various schemes, policies and programs that provide requisite help to women financially to uplift them and help them participate in the mainstream economy.

These schemes range from higher interest rates on deposits in banks to concessional tax rates for women. The Pradhan Manti Aawas Yojana (PMAY) has made women's participation and co-ownership mandatory for EWS & LIG categories to avail financial benefits.

In the current age global economy, we see an emergence of different womankind, one who is self-aware and equal, be it financially or otherwise, to its men counterpart.

This independence has resulted in an increasing decision-making process in buying their first homes.

The Covid-19 pandemic has made everyone realize the need for a self-owned home from a safety point of view.

Independent women professionals too have realized the need for such a decision to own a house. This is very much visible in the latest property trends and reports.

In conclusion, for women to be truly empowered and be financially independent, education and financial literacy are the two major factors.

By achieving a healthy level of these two factors, we can ensure the real women empowerment in true sense.

(Disclaimer: The views/suggestions/advices expressed here in this article is solely by investment experts. Zee Business suggests its readers to consult with their investment advisers before making any financial decision.)