The purpose of this study is to explore gender differences in financial knowledge scores, specifically investigating the selection of a “don’t know” response choice within the financial knowledge questions. We investigated the role of gender as well as sociodemographic characteristics have in an individual selecting a “don’t know” response option among financial knowledge questions. Using the NFCS, we investigate subsamples of a) individuals in romantic relationships and b) individuals who are single to allow for further investigation of the possible influence of a spouse/partner. Results demonstrate that “don’t know” answer responses to financial knowledge questions experience a gender effect. Results identify a gender gap in several measures of financial knowledge. In terms of subjective financial knowledge, men reported higher levels than women. In terms of correct responses on the financial knowledge questions, men had a higher mean of correct responses than women. Given prior research, our results that women had higher rates of selecting the “don’t know” response option was not surprising.  This result was consistent across three ways of measuring a “don’t know” selection (any “don’t know” response selection among questions, number of “don’t know” response options on questions, and rate of selecting “don’t know” options for individual questions).

Accepted Oral Presentation