Gender and Saving: Do Women Save More Than Men?
Do women save more than men, for real?
Well, if word on the street is anything to go by, the answer is yes.
While other economies have it for a fact that men are the bigger savers or that the lead over either gender is negligible, it is an open secret that here in Kenya, women save more. That they have a superior understanding of money, are proactive and in full control of their finances. They are more proactive and always have an eye for the future.
Indeed, the fairer gender is traditionally known to have strong budgeting skills. We have seen our Moms take charge of scant household finances and still have something preserved for a rainy day. Their daughters, ever so keen, learnt that and grew up to be skilful savers themselves.
What Inspires Women to Save More?
Besides being good savers inherently, there are a few factors that make women save more than men.
For starters, women expect to live longer, a statistic backed by worldlifeexpectancy.com. As such, they will feel a greater need to save for their golden years.
Read More: How to Build a Personal Savings Culture
Secondly, women take work breaks as they juggle between personal life, professional life and raising their families. This gives them the extra push to start saving as soon as they start working. Savers will tell you that saving can be addictive especially if you are earning daily interest on your savings – like Kava enables you to.
Young women, according to a Charles Schwab survey, are more driven to reach financial independence than young males (67 vs. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet, and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. The same survey provides that higher percentages of women say they want to pay their bills, remain debt-free and live independently; major reasons that promote a savings culture.
Delayed gratification plays a role as well. Almost half of the young women who participated in the survey above are pumped up to save because they want to pay off student loans and credit card debt more than they’d want to spend money on stuff. Almost three-quarters of respondents said they have chosen to hold off on buying something they wanted to save money, and a third disclosed they have skipped vacation or travel for the same reason.
The gender pay gap also has a say in this. Sadly, women earn less than men for equal work, and in some organizations, they are also left out of promotions. With lesser income, women are not left with any option but to save higher amounts of money for their future.
With these factors considered, it is no surprise that more women are gaining affluence and venturing into buying and managing property in Kenya – according to a Commercial Property Kenya blog article.
Now that is a good enough reason for men to level up and save more. Financial security is a must and constant need for all genders.