According to a biannual report by Prudential Financial, women are now more involved in financial decisions then they were five years ago, but their financial knowledge and money management confidence is relatively low.
Two-thirds of the respondents gave themselves a grade of “C” or lower, while just 1% assigned themselves an “A.” These women have clear financial priorities, such as saving for their children’s college educations, having enough money for retirement, or not being a burden to others in their old age. Yet many lack confidence that they’ll be able to achieve these goals.
* In the past 24 months, only 11% of the sample invested in stocks or bonds.
* 84% of the sample say they understand insurance but “few” have acquired enough to help their family.
The survey’s main conclusion is that women’s lives are a balancing act. This pursuit for balance often results in inaction when it comes to financial decision making. While some strides have been made, there is clearly room for improvement.
Read the study here (PDF, 24 pages). The report includes lovely, colorful charts depicting the survey results and lots of analysis.
Updated March 13, 2011 and originally published June 16, 2006. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
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Luke Landes founded Consumerism Commentary in 2003 and has been building online communities since 1990. Luke, also known as Flexo, has contributed to PC World Magazine, US News, Forbes, and other publications. 
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I have spent many hours with the Queen of Debt, so that in case of emergency she can easily run the show.