Money – a taboo among Australian women

ANZ Head of Customer Marketing, Carolyn Bendall said the research built on ANZ’s 2007 study into women’s attitudes towards their finances that found women generally have lower levels of confidence when making decisions and dealing with financial institutions. As a result of the research, ANZ launched the Be Money Confident website (www.bemoneyconfident.com) which provides financial and life information and advice about the different aspects of women’s lives. 

In an effort to continue raising awareness of these issues, ANZ today announced a partnership with television personality and mother of four, Antonia Kidman who will become ANZ’s Be Money Confident ambassador. Antonia will share her own experiences planning her finances with an ANZ personal banker through a regular blog on www.bemoneyconfident.com. 

“We know women seek counsel from friends and family on all manner of personal issues, but women do not feel confident talking about the state of their financial health,” Ms Bendall said. 

“As a bank it makes sense for us to have confident customers who feel in control of their finances. Given our research indicated that only three per cent of women want to talk to their bank about money concerns, it’s clear we needed to do more to engage with women. 

“Antonia told us she wanted to put the “M” word back into conversations and encourage other women to become more financially independent at key stages of their lives,” Ms Bendall said. 

As a single mother, Antonia said she recently had to reassess her financial outlook. Ms Kidman said: “For many years, money matters were generally not high on my list of priorities as I was busy juggling my family and work life. Now my family’s financial security is one of my top priorities.

“It can be hard to know where to start, but for me, confidence comes from knowledge. By talking with my personal banker and using the tools ANZ has developed specifically for women, I’m clearer about my financial goals and have a plan in place to achieve them,” Ms Kidman said. 

Ms Bendall said ANZ’s partnership with Antonia, along with the Be Money Confident website were just some of the ways the bank was looking to address the financial issues and concerns of women, and reflects ANZ’s commitment to help improve financial literacy levels in Australia. 

For information, tools, podcasts, downloadable consumer guides and calculators to help women become more financially independent at key stages of their lives such as moving out, starting their own business, planning for a family or retirement, visit www.bemoneyconfident.com.