Socio-cognitive process of financial agency in women farmers’ indebtedness

Purpose This research investigated the financial decision-making of indebted women farmers in the Philippines, a group facing a persistent “gender gap” in resource access that leads to systematic exclusion from formal credit. Despite being a cornerstone of the agricultural labor force, this exclusion, compounded by their dual burden of farm production and household survival, forces them into risky informal debt. Design/methodology/approach Existing research, however, fails to integrate the cognitive drivers of financial choice (Behavioral Finance Theory) with the structural, gender-based limitations (Feminist Economics) that define their reality. This qualitative study addressed this gap by exploring the lived financial experiences of twelve (n = 12) indebted women farmers in the Caraga region. The study employed an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), with data managed using the Data Analysis Spiral. Findings The analysis generated four key themes: (1) the lived context: gendered obligations and household scarcity; (2) cognitive compartments: the “sense-making” of money; (3) the “lesser of two evils”: framing the decision to borrow; and (4) enacting agency: covert and overt financial strategies. Significantly, this study concludes that the participants' financial behaviors are not irrational “biases.” Rather, they are “normal” behaviors fulfilling vital expressive and emotional desires, such as family security and localized autonomy, under severe structural duress. Research limitations/implications This implies that interventions focused solely on individual financial literacy are insufficient. Effective programs must validate these cognitive strategies while addressing the root structural, gender-based power imbalances. Originality/value This study’s originality lies in its novel theoretical integration. It moves beyond traditional, single-lens analyses of debt by synthesizing Behavioral Finance Theory with Feminist Economics. This approach generates the new Socio-Cognitive Framework of Financial Agency. The framework’s value is in reframing the financial “biases” of women farmers – such as mental accounting – not as cognitive errors, but as rational, agentic adaptations to structural, gender-based constraints. This research provides a more holistic model for understanding indebtedness and offers a new evidence-based roadmap for interventions that must address both cognitive realities and social structures.