The Financial Services Authority (OJK) and the Ministry of Finance encourage women, especially housewives, to increase their family’s financial resilience while driving the country’s economy.
Because, women have an important role in family management and have a better level of intelligence in managing finances than men.
Based on the results of the 2023 National Survey of Financial Literacy and Inclusion (SNLIK) conducted by the Financial Services Authority (OJK) together with the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the financial literacy level of Indonesian society was recorded at 65.4% and the national financial inclusion level was 75.02%.
Based on gender, women’s financial literacy level was recorded at 66.75% or higher than men’s at 64.14%. Likewise, with the level of financial inclusion, women were recorded at 76.08% or higher than men at 73.97%.
“I am so happy to see the level of financial literacy and inclusion of women above men. The challenge remains how to provide greater financial access (to women). This must be a priority because if we look, the level of compliance with repayment of credit or MSME financing is much higher if it is given to women
The Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati said a similar thing. He believes that Indonesian women have enormous potential in driving the economy of the family and the country. This is confirmed by the female labor force participation rate which reached 51.71% of the total 105.6 million women of productive age or over 15 years.
“Today, almost all mothers have cellphones and many are economically advanced. If I look at the statistics, 62% of Indonesian women are now saving. “Because you already have savings, it means you’re starting to get lots of ideas and lots of people are able to capture emotional preferences or know how to play with these emotions,” he said.
At the same event, Commissioner of PT Bank Jago Tbk Anika Faisal said that women as the backbone of the family need to continue to hone their intelligence in financial management by using digital technology wisely. By using technology wisely, women can plan financial management and budgets based on a priority scale, instead of becoming consumptive with expenses that are greater than their income.
Moreover, now financial management and budget allocation based on a priority scale can be done using digital applications on smartphones.
“In the past, my mother managed money using envelopes. For example, envelopes for shopping, for snacks, for children’s school, and so on. Now there is a lot of digital technology that enables us to be smarter in managing our money. “There is a bank application that allows customers to create multiple pockets (for budget allocation),” said Anika.
After being able to fulfill all financial obligations and daily needs, continued Anika, women also need to learn to invest. The initial way is to study various investment products and their risks.
“The important thing is not to have FOMO (fear of missing out). If there is an investment product that offers a return of 50% in a short time, it is definitely a lie. Investments must be chosen according to time period and risk requirements. “If you’re tight on money, don’t invest in high-risk products,” he explained.
To make investing easier, Bank Jago also collaborates with online investment platforms, namely the Bibit and Stockbit Applications. “We can also offer services or open a business from home by utilizing technology in the digital ecosystem. “With technology, our capital to do business, investing doesn’t have to be big, the important thing is to have good intentions and expertise,” he said.