With so much financial advice out there, we asked ourselves: why start another vertical? We didn’t want to just add to the noise without truly understanding the women we hoped to reach. So, we decided to do something different—we asked *them* directly. Through our survey of over a 100 women across India and socioeconomic backgrounds, we set out to understand how Indian women feel about money, the unique challenges they face, and what they actually need to feel more financially confident.
In this series, we’ll break down the themes that came up during that survey in different articles and address them more deeply. Our goal is simple: to create content that feels personal, relevant, and genuinely helpful. We’re not claiming to have all the answers, but we hope to be a supportive voice, reminding women that they’re not navigating these financial decisions alone. We’re here to help each other make sense of it all, one step at a time.
To give you a sense of what to expect, here’s a quick run-down of the themes we found from the survey.
A significant portion of women in metro cities are now first-generation investors, taking their initial steps into personal finance. We were glad to see a little more 25% of the women were in the age group of 35+. This is a great sign as it shows that there is no right time to start thinking about investing.
Two of the biggest obstacles reported was the complexity of financial jargon and lack of female-focused investment guidance. This underscores the need for simplified, relatable resources to help specifically women gain the knowledge needed for informed investment decisions.
Many women are now discussing finances openly within their social circles. Over 76% of respondents talk about investments with friends, suggesting a shift towards collaborative learning and support among women.
Contrary to the stat above, more than 20% of women said they do not talk about finances with their family. Some women even shared that they don’t have full access to their own money, highlighting just how much traditional, conservative views on a woman’s role still limit financial autonomy.
For many, investing is a new venture, with around 37% having started within the last 1-3 years, while 33% only began within the past year. These figures suggest a critical inflection point where more women are entering the market, made more reachable by the advent of apps and online awareness.
Among those investing in the stock market, there is an evident trend: a majority are cautious and prefer low-risk investments like fixed deposits despite having disposable income.
Nearly half of the women surveyed started investing independently without any help from friends or family, a trend that shows the ease of apps like Zerodha, Groww have made the operations of starting an account less daunting.
As I spoke to women during the survey, one thing became clear: a lot of us believe there’s a set path to becoming financially literate. But that’s not how it works. Financial knowledge is all around us—in the daily news, in the trends you buy, in the amazon wish list you create, in the home budget you make, in the things we notice every day. Even following just one area of news can give you insights that you can apply to financial decisions, turning that knowledge into something valuable.
Financial independence isn’t just about crunching numbers; it’s about feeling empowered and having the freedom to shape your future on your own terms. So, stick with us—as we’ll dive into a series of themes from our survey soon and try to find answers to your questions. You can always email us with questions or suggestions on what you would like to see or anyone from the industry you’d like to hear from. write to us at finance.feministtimes@gmail.com
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Written by Shambhavi Gupta
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