Empowering Women

This mixed-methods study investigated the role of financial literacy as a tool for empowering women, building peace, and resolving conflicts in urban informal settlements of Talisay City, Negros Occidental, Philippines. Thirty women participated in a six-week financial literacy program designed to enhance their economic competence and foster relational harmony. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired-samples t-tests, while qualitative data from interviews and focus group discussions were analyzed by the researcher using a thematic approach. Results revealed a significant improvement in participants’ financial awareness across all six domains—budgeting, saving and debt management, investing, banking and credit, taxes, and estate planning from moderate awareness to high and very high awareness. Qualitative findings highlighted pre-program struggles with unstable income, indebtedness, and household conflict, which gradually transformed into enhanced financial confidence, communication, and cooperation after the intervention. Guided by Galtung’s peace theory and Thomas and Kilmann’s conflict response framework, the study argues that financial literacy can serve as a peacebuilding mechanism by reducing economic stress, promoting equitable decision-making, and strengthening women’s sense of agency. Overall, the findings underscore that context-sensitive financial education is not merely an economic intervention but a catalyst for personal empowerment and social harmony in marginalized communities.