When it comes to financial literacy, is gender really an issue?

In Australia the introduction of compulsory superannuation has resulted in the financial services industry flourishing and the introduction of numerous new products and services. As a result financial education is critically important to differentiate the extensive range of providers, products and services as means to achieve financial security. Several research papers published since 2000 have attempted to measure the level of financial literacy in today's society. Some of these studies have suggested that gender is a significant variable impacting on the level of financial literacy. However, to date no such evidence relating to gender difference and its impact on the level of financial literacy is available in Australia. The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the validity of the research outcomes of Chen and Volpe (2002) in an Australian context. To this end the study concentrates on determining the level of financial literacy among Australian undergraduate business students at the University of Western Sydney (UWS). Results indicated that 74% of respondents were able to correctly answer most questions displaying a reasonable level of general personal financial knowledge. However, only 53% of all students had an understanding of financial terms and concepts. The results also indicated that 60% of students were able to make appropriate financial decisions in their best interests. Whilst the findings of this study indicate there is a need to improve financial literacy skills amongst students, the findings indicated that gender was not a significant factor among Australian students