80% of Romanians are financially illiterate

  The FeminEast Association is launching the first free digital platform dedicated exclusively to financial education for women and young girls in Eastern Europe.   The new platform comes in response to a systemic imbalance: Romania ranks among the lowest in the European Union in terms of financial literacy, and women are among the most affected. Although women make up the majority of university students, they occupy only a third of leadership positions and are much more financially vulnerable to economic crises or major life decisions such as moving, divorce, motherhood or career change.   According to the European Commission, in 2023 only 20% of Romanians met the minimum criteria for financial literacy. The FeminEast team therefore conducted a survey of 375 young people, the results of which confirm that this is a multi-generational problem with a direct economic impact: 1 in 3 participants has questions about money management; 27% struggle with impulsive spending; 15% cite lack of financial education as a major obstacle.   The platform launched by FeminEast was designed by a young team of women with expertise in education, communication and finance to combat the lack of female representation in financial education. It is free for everyone and the content is friendly, accessible and tailored to the real needs of girls and young women – from schoolgirls and students to mothers who are retraining or seeking financial stability. The focus is on confidence, practical applicability and a more empathetic relationship with money.   “We created this platform with the belief that every woman has the right to understand and control her own financial decisions. In a society where too many women don’t know how much their work is worth, how to negotiate a salary or how to save effectively, we want to offer a simple, accessible starting point and an open community,” says Cristina Pogorevici, one of the association’s founders.   Miruna Neamu adds that “The platform aims to give you confidence through the information you gain throughout the modules. It’s a friendly way to familiarise yourself with the topics you need to be financially independent. That’s why it was important for us to make the platform free. It is clearly a learning tool that I would have liked to have had when I started educating myself financially.”   FeminEast data also shows that: Over 50% of young women aged 16 to 30 who were interviewed do not know how to create a personal budget. Many of them are afraid of the “financial world”, which they perceive as complex, masculinised and inaccessible.   The project collaborators include: Irina Chitu – Vice-President of AAFBR, author and producer of an educational podcast Ileana Botez – Head of Listing at the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), President of PWN Romania Mihaela Ivan – Fractional CFO for Romanian start-ups Irina Stancu – Financial analyst and mentor for women