Study on financial knowledge in 10th grade: girls lag significantly behind

A study by the University of Tübingen assessed the knowledge of tenth-grade students on the topic of finance. The result: girls were significantly less able to answer the twelve questions than their male classmates.

A fact that apparently has far-reaching consequences: Men often have higher salaries, more wealth, and better pensions later in life. "Men base their career choices more on financial criteria than women and are more likely to invest in stocks and retirement savings over the course of their lives," explains Taiga Brahm, economics professor at the University of Tübingen and head of the study. "This exacerbates the already existing differences in income and wealth between the sexes in the long term."

The study has now proven that there is already a difference in financial knowledge during school. The students were asked these twelve questions:

Of the twelve questions on finance, boys answered an average of just over eight correctly, while girls answered fewer than seven. This corresponds to a knowledge gap of almost 13 percent. Girls are thus almost three-quarters of a school year behind, explains Lucy Haag, who is responsible for the study.

Furthermore, students differ in their self-image. Boys rated their own abilities higher, and more boys than girls agreed with the statement "I am interested in economics."

The researchers conclude that economic and financial topics are apparently subject to socialization effects. It is clear that public media, images, and examples related to economic and financial topics are still dominated by male figures, the press release states. Case studies in economics classes also frequently focus on "men entrepreneurs" and rarely on "women entrepreneurs." A recent textbook analysis shows that gender stereotypes are also reflected in textbooks.

The authors of the study therefore call for schools, and especially teachers in economics classes, to take even greater action to counteract stereotypical socialization effects. They also recommend strengthening girls' self-confidence and interest in mathematics and economics classes.

For the study, nearly 2,000 tenth-grade girls and boys in Baden-Württemberg were surveyed. They were on average 15.5 years old at the time and attended both grammar schools (Gymnasium) and community schools (Gemeinschaftsschulen) and intermediate schools (Realschulen). All were taught economics.