Today, women in India are more independent and self-sufficient than they were in the past. The feminine gender today has shattered all barriers and broken free from the tangles of the erstwhile male-dominated Indian society, seemingly outpacing men in most aspect, however mainstream investments is one of the areas where improvement is yet to observed on large scale. It is noted that when it comes to investing their hard earned or hard-saved money, Indian women continue to stick to the conventional cash savings or bank Fixed Deposits, despite their low return on investment. Practically, the earnings on their investments are low enough thereby hardly beating the inflation. Despite understanding the subject and getting an equal opportunity to learn about and explore alternative investment avenues, women have been choosing safe options of investments.
A survey by Central Depository Services India Ltd (CDSL) suggested that less than 25% women consider stock markets for investment. Here are the reasons why:
Why do Indian women prefer traditional investments to equities?
The societal roots in India define men as providers and women as nurturers. Thus, how the money would be earned, spent and invested were responsibilities primarily vested with men. Women, earlier, were never involved in such decisions. Though with time, women stepped out of their roles as nurturers and became financially independent, they still felt disempowered when it came to handling investments on their own. Thus, most of them, even today, rely on their husbands to channelize their savings into desirable investment avenues. For one moment, even if we choose to ignore this, what are the options available to the 74 million single women in India (2011 census)? Also, what about women who do not have anyone to rely on- Should they stay and invest in FD’s? It’s time for them and all others to wake up to the call of investment planning, empower themselves, and move towards financial literacy & financial freedom
Women are better off than men when it comes to investing
Women are known to be more competent at making decisions, are less impulsive, better planned and more pragmatic and systemised when it comes to money. They are also more open than men to admit their mistakes and learn from them. Especially so in India, where women by nature are savers and are explicitly popular for their skills of squeezing out money from the household expenditures or income and keeping it aside as their own personal savings. They are excellent at managing hard earned finances and certainly deserve a chance at investing for themselves and those around them.
So, it is time they move out of their shells, discard the dependency, and know that they can do it, and help your investments score best returns. It’s not a rocket science and you do not have to be good at maths. Just hold our hands as we show you the way.
The way forward- Empowering women towards financial literacy
Most women dread stock markets as they feel it is too complicated and full of financial jargons. Let go these fears, as they say “Sab mind main hai”. One needs to start moving Step by Step towards understanding different investment avenues.
Growth Module is truly committed to women’s financial empowerment and would be keen on helping them take the right decisions.
Start Understanding Stocks:
Do stocks sound very risky to you? Yes, but Growth Module would make it little easier to understand. The best way to understand a stock is by just being more aware of your surroundings. Simply observing small things in your day-to-day life can help you build a significant understanding about what products are selling and what are not and what will be the next big hit in the market.
With our Growth via Equity & Growth via Trading module we are empowering today’s women to invest with interest
