Many people are mistaken when they assume that women in the West, especially in Germany, have the same opportunities as men. Although the inequality may not be obvious at first glance, it becomes clear on closer inspection. In Germany, women do have the opportunity to get an education, open a bank account and work without any barriers. This is undoubtedly a hard-won foundation. However, due to stigmatization, generations of unequal education and a variety of other factors that I will discuss later and that are systemic, there is little to build on. The financial gap between men and women has many causes, and I am convinced that Bitcoin can help close it.
Financial inequality between women and men is a multidimensional problem, but history has a significant impact on women's current wealth accumulation behavior. Women's rights have been restricted for a considerable period of history. It should not be forgotten that women were only given the opportunity to open bank accounts in Germany 61 years ago, and have therefore had significantly less experience in dealing with wealth accumulation.
The study "Fearless Woman: Financial Literacy and Stock Market Participation" by Bucher-Koenen et al. (2021) examines three main reasons for financial gender inequality: financial inclusion, gender-specific financial knowledge and women's self-confidence. Briefly summarized, the result was that women know less than men, but more than they thought of themselves. Over a third of the gender gap in financial knowledge can be attributed to self-confidence differences. Financial education programs could help close the knowledge gap. It further read that despite improvements through education, a gender gap will persist as long as differences in self-confidence persist.
Other reasons for the financial gender gap are, for example, that women often work in sectors with lower average pay, such as social professions and care work. In addition, women often take career breaks and/or work part-time to raise their children or care for relatives. This can have a negative impact on their career development and financial independence. Calculations by the International Labor Organization have shown that 42 percent of all women, but only 6 percent of men of working age, are not in gainful employment due to caring responsibilities.
Without a regular and, above all, sufficient income, it is difficult to save money, especially if it is continuously losing value. Bitcoin can help with irregular income, as if the income already earned is saved in Bitcoin, its purchasing power increases in the long term. More on this later.
Pension gaps are also a major factor in financial gender inequality. Women usually have lower pension entitlements than men due to career breaks and part-time work. This can lead to financial challenges at an older age. Furthermore, gender stereotypes make it more difficult for women to potentially build up assets. Traditional gender roles, imprints and stereotypes can lead to women being seen as less capable in financial matters. As a result, women invest less in financial education or are less actively involved in financial decision-making processes, as confirmed by the "Fearless Woman" study.
Bitcoin can change that. For an independent, free life, women have to look for an alternative to the current fiat system designed by men. If women were to save their earnings in Bitcoin, they could protect their money from losing value in the long term. Bitcoin acts as a digital store of value with the possibility of secure storage and, above all, for the first time, to dispose of one's assets alone in times of crisis. As long as the Bitcoin holder remembers their seed phrase, they can access their Bitcoin again at any time if their wallet is lost or stolen. The seed phrase is a string of several words consisting of either 12 or 24 words that serve as a backup. If you look at modern divorce rates, for example in 2021, the divorce rate for marriages in Germany was around 39.9 percent. This means that there was about one divorce for every three marriages. A woman should therefore urgently save while she has income in order to be able to provide for herself in the event of a divorce.
Today, families often lack time together, as it is usually not enough for one parent to work full-time. Under a Bitcoin Standard, parents would no longer have to place their children in the care of third parties in order to afford a family. The Bitcoin Standard is a hypothetical monetary system in which Bitcoin is the world's reserve currency, main unit of account, means of exchange and primary to store value. That means that it is used to process international payments and to back the currencies of individual countries.
As Bitcoin's value increases through global adoption and scarcity, the salary saved in Bitcoin would increase in purchasing power in the long run. Time is money and therefore saving in Bitcoin means more time (with your family).
A parent's salary in Bitcoin, which increases in value through global adaptation and scarcity, would benefit the family. If the parent that takes care of the children's upbringing saves their previous salary in Bitcoin, they will benefit from all those who save their values and ongoing wages in Bitcoin. This benefits the family and the person who is unable to work temporarily.
Another reason why Bitcoin can be so important for women is domestic violence. According to a recent MDR report, there were 160,000 cases of intimate partner violence in 2022 alone. According to the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, one in three women in Germany is the victim of physical and/or sexualized violence at least once in her life, and around one in four women at least once by her current or former partner. Despite this, there is a shortage of around 14,000 places in women's shelters - and around a quarter of the residents have to pay for their place. Many women cannot afford this and therefore find it difficult to escape domestic violence.
If women saved their money in Bitcoin, they could store it so securely that no third party could access it. With Bitcoin, they have a chance to prepare themselves for an escape financially. I tried finding a comparable store of value for women on the run and have not come up with an answer that can compete with Bitcoin. Cash can be easily taken and may need to be exchanged across borders for other currencies. Gold is difficult to move and easy to confiscate. Real estate is impossible to move. Stocks require a lot of time and expertise, there is third party risk and their success, much like ETF's are heavily tied to geopolitical and especially macroeconomic events. None of the compared stocks could keep up with the advantages of Bitcoin.
In summary, Bitcoin is a sum of technological innovations that has the potential to bring about profound social change in the area of financial gender inequality. The multi-layered financial challenges faced by women could be addressed by Bitcoin as a transformative force.
The ability to store financial resources in a decentralized currency opens up new perspectives for women in terms of personal and financial security. The hypothetical Bitcoin standard could not only positively change the dynamics in families, but also strengthen women's financial independence, especially in the fight against the gender pay gap, pension inequality and domestic violence. Limited women's shelter spaces and alarming domestic violence data underscore the urgency to find solutions. Bitcoin offers women not only the opportunity to protect their financial resources, but also to prepare for and execute an escape from domestic violence.
In the future, the adaptation of Bitcoin could not only influence individual wealth accumulation, but also transform social structures and enable women worldwide to achieve genuine financial self-determination. The hope remains that the discussion about the role of Bitcoin in the context of gender equality will progress and produce innovative solutions to empower women and thus society in all areas of life.
Theresa Rehlingen-Prinz is a German communications consultant in the business sector and a freelance journalist for the financial magazine Zaster. She is also involved as a member of Les Femmes Orange for women's financial freedom through Bitcoin.
Disclaimer: The views and information expressed in the guest contributions should not be interpreted as financial advice. It is important to note that Coinfinity does not necessarily represent the same positions and views as in the content provided here.
