Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/333902 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
ZEW Discussion Papers No. 25-063
Publisher: 
ZEW - Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung, Mannheim
Abstract: 
Women are significantly less likely to participate in the stock market than men. We show that financial socialization plays an important role in explaining this gap. Survey data from Germany and the U.S. indicate that parents discuss financial matters less frequently with their daughters than with their sons. Women also report fewer financial role models and less exposure to peers who invest in the stock market. We find that this early-life difference in financial socialization leads to lower financial literacy and lower financial confidence of women later in life, and also explains why they are less likely to participate in the stock market than men.
Subjects: 
Gender investment gap
Financial socialization
Financial literacy
Stock market participation
JEL: 
G11
G41
G53
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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