Motherhood as a Prism Shaping Financial Literacy for Retirement Among Generation Y Women

This qualitative study adopts a feminist perspective, delving into the cultural and moral dynamics inherent in financial literacy for retirement among Generation Y women in Israel. Employing the theoretical framework of gendered cultural schemas and focusing on the motherhood model, the research provides valuable insight into the social and moral forces that underlie young women’s financial literacy perceptions and actions regarding retirement in Israel. Based on interviews with 46 young Israeli-Jewish women from the Y generation, results underscore the significant embedded nature of the cultural model of intensive motherhood in young women’s financial literacy and their approach to retirement planning. This study emphasizes the role of culture in explaining gender inequality in retirement planning, shedding light on the role of young women’s agency operating within the boundaries of a gendered social structure. It calls for the inclusion of feminist approaches to enhance our understanding of social phenomena.