Gender Differences in Financial Literacy Among Hong Kong Workers

Abstract

Using a phone survey conducted in 2012, we examined whether there is a gender difference in financial literacy among Hong Kong workers; and if such a difference exists, whether it can be explained by gender differences in sociodemographic variables, social or psychological factors, and/or the outcomes of retirement planning. Results show a gender gap in financial literacy as well as age, spousal support for retirement savings, risk tolerance, computational ability, and perceived financial knowledge. Multivariate data analyses show that a proportion of the gender difference in financial literacy could be explained by gender differences in risk tolerance, computational ability, and self-reported financial knowledge; but the difference remained after adjusting for variables found to be associated with gender. Our findings suggest that it may be important to develop programs targeted specifically to women.