Understanding gender differences in money attitudes: biological and psychological gender perspective

Abstract

PurposeVarious research studies in the past have found biological gender to be a differentiator for money attitudes. However, the beliefs and attitudes that people have towards money can also be the result of the gender socialisation, which may have a greater impact on how one relates to money. Since, gender is an important aspect for understanding financial choices and decisions, it becomes pertinent to learn as to which aspect of gender, the biological or the psychological, impact the money attitudes and beliefs that a person holds. The purpose of this paper is to address this issue.Design/methodology/approachThis empirical work attempts to understand gender differences in money attitudes from the biological gender and psychological gender perspective. The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and Tang's money ethic scale (MES) were used for this study. The hypotheses raised were tested on a sample of 224 respondents from India.FindingsThe results suggested that money attitudes can be better understood when seen from the lens of psychological gender and not biological gender. Further, androgyny individuals were found to exhibit more balance in their money attitude dimensions than masculine or feminine individuals.Originality/valueBelief and attitudes towards money would impact how contented people are with the compensation they receive, their financial planning choices and also their financial well-being. This insightful study adds to the scant literature that exists on understanding money attitudes from psychological gender perspective and would pave the way for more work in this area.