Even Accomplished Women Can Lack Financial Literacy: Here's What to Do About That
We've misdiagnosed women's financial literacy problem — it's not an issue of ability. It's that many women have been excluded from financial conversations and participation.
Several years ago, I met Linda shortly after her husband died.
Like many couples, they split responsibilities during their marriage, with her husband managing the investments, taxes, retirement accounts, insurance and household finances. Linda trusted him completely and never felt she needed to be involved.
Overnight, everything changed.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Linda didn't know where all their accounts were held. She wasn't sure how much income she needed each month. She didn't know which bills were on autopay, what insurance coverage they had or whether she could afford to remain in her home.
As we worked through her finances, it became clear that the problem wasn't a lack of intelligence or capability. Linda had built a successful career and managed countless responsibilities throughout her life. The problem was that she had never been fully included in the family's financial decision-making.
Unfortunately, Linda's story is far from unique.
Every year, I meet women who suddenly find themselves responsible for managing their finances after the death of a spouse, a divorce or a health crisis. Many are accomplished professionals, business owners and executives. Yet they often feel overwhelmed because they never had the opportunity, encouragement or motivation to develop financial confidence before life forced them to.
Their experiences reflect a much larger issue: Financial literacy remains one of America's most overlooked challenges, and women often bear the greatest consequences.
America's financial literacy problem
Americans continue to struggle with basic financial concepts despite living in one of the wealthiest countries in the world.
According to the 2026 TIAA Institute-GFLEC Personal Finance Index, U.S. adults correctly answered only 47% of financial literacy questions, compared to 49% in 2017. After nearly a decade of economic upheaval, inflation, rising interest rates, market volatility and increased financial complexity, financial literacy has remained essentially stagnant.
The findings become even more concerning when you look deeper.
Financial literacy among women continues to lag that of men. In 2025, women answered 45% of financial literacy questions correctly, compared with 53% for men. Only 11% of women demonstrated very high financial literacy, vs 22% of men.
At the same time, women continue to report lower levels of financial confidence. According to a 2025 Allianz survey, only 63% of women say they feel financially secure, down from 72% just a few years earlier.
The real problem isn't ability
Whenever financial literacy statistics are discussed, the conversation tends to focus on what women don't know. I believe that's the wrong conversation.
After more than two decades of working with women navigating widowhood, divorce and major life transitions, I've never found evidence that the financial literacy gap is an intelligence gap.
Many of the women I work with are physicians, attorneys, executives, entrepreneurs and business owners. They manage teams, negotiate complex agreements and make high-stakes decisions every day.
Yet when the topic turns to their own finances, many express uncertainty and a lack of confidence.
The reason, in my experience, has little to do with ability and much more to do with participation.
For generations, household financial responsibilities have often been divided along practical lines. One spouse might take primary responsibility for investments, taxes, retirement planning, insurance and long-term financial decisions. The other focuses on career demands, raising children, caring for family members or managing the countless responsibilities of daily life.
There is nothing inherently wrong with such an arrangement. In many families, it works well until it doesn't:
- A divorce
- The death of a spouse
- An illness
- A job loss
- A cognitive decline
Suddenly, the spouse who was not deeply involved in the financial decision-making process is left to navigate it alone.
Through the years, I've seen this transition hundreds of times.
- A woman who never attended meetings with the family's financial adviser is suddenly making investment decisions.
- A wife who rarely reviewed tax returns is now responsible for filing them.
- A widow who never managed the household finances must quickly learn how to oversee cash flow, insurance policies, retirement accounts and estate matters.
What is striking is not how often women struggle, but how quickly they adapt.
When circumstances require it, they ask thoughtful questions, seek guidance, absorb information and become capable, confident decision-makers. Time and again, I've watched women discover strengths they never realized they possessed.
That's why I don't see the financial literacy gap primarily as an ability gap. I see it as a participation gap. The issue is not that women are incapable of understanding money. It's that too many women have been intentionally or unintentionally excluded from financial conversations that ultimately shape their future.
Financial confidence is rarely built by reading an article or attending a single seminar. It's built through engagement. It comes from participating in discussions, asking questions, reviewing decisions and understanding how the pieces fit together.
Every woman deserves a seat at the financial table, not because she expects a crisis, but because life is unpredictable. The best time to learn about your family's finances is not after a major life event. It's while there is still time to participate in the decisions that will shape your future.
Related Content
- You Need to Have This Financial Talk With Your Spouse
- Never Talk About Money? For Women, That Can Spell Disaster
- Why High-Earning Women Are Retiring With 21% Less Money Than Men — and How You Can Close the Gap
- Legacy Planning for Moms: How to Protect Your Family From Chaos and Conflict
- Your 5-Step Guide to Financial Freedom After Divorce, From a Financial Planner
