Gender Differences in Financial Knowledge among College Students: Evidence from a Recent Multi-institutional Survey

Women’s disadvantage in financial knowledge impedes their progress toward gender equality and produces negative consequences for both individuals and households. To better understand the gender gap in financial knowledge and shed light on possible intervention strategies, this study focused on gender differences in financial knowledge specifically among college students. Drawing on data from the most recent administration of the Study on Collegiate Financial Wellness (SCFW; N = 18,107) among current college students from 38 public four-year institutions, we investigated the gender financial knowledge gap and paid particular attention to the roles of family financial socialization, financial education, and financial behaviors. We identified a sizable gender gap in financial knowledge, even after controlling for other potential factors. OLS regression models and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition analyses showed that financial education—indicated by majoring in Business and STEM fields and formal financial courses in high school—was most related to the gender gap in financial knowledge scores. Hands-on financial behaviors were positively associated with financial knowledge acquisition, particularly for female students. In addition, the family socialization process was largely not associated with students’ financial knowledge scores or the gender knowledge gap. Based on these findings, we discussed potential intervention strategies for promoting financial knowledge and reducing the gender gap among and beyond college students.