European Central Bank commits to create a financial literacy network focused on women and harmonise financial literacy data across Europe

The European Central Bank hosted an International Women’s Day event on financial literacy and announced a set of commitments aimed at narrowing the gender gap. The ECB President Christine Lagarde and panellists agreed to establish a financial literacy network bringing together central banks and national competent authorities, with a focus on actions to strengthen financial literacy overall and for women in particular, alongside work to harmonise financial literacy data across Europe. The initiative was framed against survey evidence cited at the event, including a 2023 Eurobarometer finding that women are 12 percentage points less likely than men to understand the concept of inflation, and the ECB Consumer Expectations Survey for 2023 indicating that 52% of Europeans lack basic financial literacy, with women representing 60% of that group. The panel included Claudia Buch, Chair of the ECB’s Supervisory Board, and the heads of De Nederlandsche Bank, the Deutsche Bundesbank and the Banca d’Italia, who discussed national strategies such as educational programmes for schools and workplaces, with the network intended to support sharing of best practices. The gathering was positioned as the first in a series of annual events to raise awareness and foster cooperation to close the gender gap in financial literacy, with the ECB acting as a facilitator within the Eurosystem.