The Central Bank of Cyprus highlighted a financial education initiative involving more than 90 women in Nicosia on Nov. 10 and 11, 2026. Organized by the Cyprus Financial Literacy and Education Committee, the initiative combines an opening event with four free interactive workshops exclusively for women, focusing on applying financial knowledge to everyday decisions.
At the opening event, Central Bank of Cyprus Governor and committee Chair Christodoulos Patsalides cited a 2025 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showing that only 17% of citizens in Cyprus met the minimum financial literacy level, compared with 34% across participating countries. The figure was 14% for women in Cyprus, against 20% for men. Confidence also differed: only 18% of women rated their financial knowledge as high or very high, compared with almost 33% of men. Patsalides emphasized that financial education should equip people to assess their options rather than prescribe their decisions.
The workshops cover household budgeting, saving and investing. They also address responsible borrowing, debt management and retirement planning, using practical examples, exercises and everyday scenarios. In his presentation, Professor Dennis Philip emphasized that improving knowledge alone was insufficient. Care responsibilities, income inequalities, lower financial confidence and social attitudes toward financial decision-making remained barriers to putting knowledge into practice. He called for education tailored to different stages of women’s lives, with an emphasis on practical application.