Empowering girls through early financial literacy education

The gender gap in financial literacy is a pressing issue in our society today. Women are less likely to learn about, talk about, and advocate for their financial education. The female brain is especially well-suited to make financial decisions, however, the gender-biased environment girls and boys grow up in makes that very difficult. Studies show that women are more likely to mishandle their accounts, find themselves in heavier debt with 66% of women carrying credit card debt as opposed to 33% of men, as well as be subject to a pay gap. To exacerbate this problem, California is not among the 12 states that currently mandate financial literacy throughout K-12 education and it does not seem like that is in cards for California legislators. Girls are set up for failure in our society and economy however this is an easily solved issue.