Financial literacy competencies of women in agribusiness and their financial experiences during a pandemic
Women have generally lower levels of financial literacy than their male counterparts, regardless of country of origin. This financial literacy gender gap makes women more vulnerable to the effects of pandemics, like the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study sought to examine finan...
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Veröffentlicht in: | Southern African Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management 2023, Vol.15 (1), p.1-11 |
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Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | Women have generally lower levels of financial literacy than their male counterparts, regardless of country of origin. This financial literacy gender gap makes women more vulnerable to the effects of pandemics, like the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This study sought to examine financial literacy competencies of women in agribusiness and their financial experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was carried out in five agricultural districts namely, Gweru, Masvingo, Mutoko, Mount Darwin, and Mutare. The districts represented Zimbabwean agricultural regions. An embedded mixed methods research design was adopted where both qualitative and quantitative data were collected for analysis. Data were successfully collected from 216 women in agribusiness and follow-up interviews were conducted with 15 informants. Women in agribusiness have poor financial literacy competencies. Most women in agribusiness practised only a range of 2-3 good financial behaviours out of the eight examined concepts, with only 10% scoring above the minimum expected score of six. During the pandemic, women in agribusiness lost income and failed to take care of household and business expenses. Women in agribusiness do not practise vital financial literacy competencies required for financial wellbeing and financial resilience. Therefore, the study recommends the implementation of training programmes that capacitate women with basic financial literacy competencies such as budgeting, saving, and retirement planning. |
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ISSN: | 2522-7343 1015-3977 2071-3185 2071-3185 |
DOI: | 10.4102/sajesbm.v15i1.612 |