Delhi working women crave for financial freedom: WorkingStree survey

At the national level, more than 70 per cent of working women contribute to household expenses. Additionally, for working women in Delhi, “financial freedom” has been the biggest motivation to work, followed by the desire to be valuable and have self-confidence. Nationally, women echoed the same reasons, followed by the need to rise to the family needs

Around 47 per cent of working women in Delhi are finding it difficult to keep a regular track of their expenses, while more than 1/3rd (37 per cent) of working women are either not aware or have never been able to check their credit score.

These are some of the findings of the 5th edition of the #WorkingStree survey report, released by IndiaLends, an online marketplace for personal loans and credit cards.

The report reveals that women in the national capital have a unique approach towards financial independence and decision-making.

The survey was conducted online in February and had 10,000+ working women in the 21-65 years age-group as respondents belonging to metro, Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities, with about 10% residing in Delhi-NCR.

The survey found that 2/3rd of working women in Delhi (67 per cent) actively contribute towards their household expenses, with nearly 1/3rd of these women (31 per cent), contributing over half of their

income to their household.

At the national level, more than 70 per cent of working women contribute to household expenses. Additionally, for working women in Delhi, “financial freedom” has been the biggest motivation to work, followed by the desire to be valuable and have self-confidence. Nationally, women echoed the same reasons, followed by the need to rise to the family needs.

The survey also revealed that 32 per cent of working women in Delhi find making financial decisions with regard to savings and investments a bit complex. This is in line with the national trend, where many

women rely on the guidance of their father, brother, or husband when making financial decisions.

Talking to Bizz Buzz, IndiaLends founder and CEO Gaurav Chopra, said, “Financial empowerment of women is not just a social responsibility, but also a key driver of economic growth. Our study results indicate that women in Delhi have a long way to go in achieving financial independence.”

While it is encouraging to see that nearly two-thirds of women in Delhi have checked their credit scores, they still have a long way to go in terms of tracking regular expenses and independent investment decision-making. As a financial services company, IndiaLends is committed to providing women with the tools and knowledge they need to achieve their

financial goals and aspirations.

“We believe that a financially independent woman is a force to be reckoned with, and we will continue to work towards that end,” he said.

The survey showed that that at the national level, nearly half of working women were learning about personal finance from social media, about 30% from news articles and 20 per cent from workshops and seminars, followed by professional experts. Even though working women are making an effort to take charge of their finances at present only 1/3rd of them feel confident about making all their

financial decisions.

The majority of IndiaLends’ #WorkingStree survey respondents were in the 25-34 age-group, representing 47.7 per cent of the total sample, followed by 35-44 year-olds at 30.8 per cent. The youngest age-group of 21-24 years represented 13.7% of the sample. The above 45 made up about 7.8 per cent.

In terms of professions, salaried employees represented the largest group of respondents at 43.6 per cent, followed by self-employed individuals at 31.3 per cent. Homemakers represented 12.3 per cent while professional individuals such as CAs and lawyers accounted for 4.4 per cent. When it came to marital status, the majority of respondents were married at 70.6 per cent.