INTRODUCTION:

Financial independence is deemed to be the backbone of decision making autonomy. In a market driven economy, the higher the financial power the more is range of choices and vice-versa. The women have been subservient to men in all matters including financial decision making through ages in patriarchal societies. So, most decisions pertaining to life and living within the families as well as in societies were taken by men. The breadwinner-homemaker model survived for centuries as paid work involved hard manual labour which relegated the chances of women.

The dominance of service sectors and demands for soft skills in modern times has made female participation possible in paid work. Financial independence empowers women to have sufficient resources to support themselves and take vital decisions regarding family issues. Female financial decision-making involves the capacity of women to make decisions on finances, investments, and other economic activities without interference from others.

Kaur et al. (2018) found that women are less involved in making major economic decisions and the age of the respondent, family structure, her earned income, and her savings influence almost all aspects of women’s autonomy in household decision-making. The respondent’s level of education and work status also affect decision-making autonomy. Acharya et al. (2010) also explored the links between women’s household position and their autonomy in decision making. They found that women's autonomy in decision-making is positively associated with their age, educational level, employment, and number of living children. According to them, women from rural areas have less autonomy in decision-making. Patel et al. (2022) revealed that the respondent's present working status significantly influences their financial decision-making autonomy. In India, women’s autonomy is also dependent on various social factors like social backwardness and religious orthodoxy, which have reduced the strength of their decision-making power compared to men. Kumariet et. al. (2019) found that social factors like education, caste, marital status, and economic factors like employment, income etc. are important determinants of the autonomy and decision-making of women. The educational status of females in slums does not have much effect on their level of participation in the decision-making process. In many cases, it is found that though females were taking their own decisions, these decisions were not autonomous and were based on various factors such as family background, financial issues, and the gendered view of patriarchy.

Damodaran (2021), in his study aims to analyze women's decision-making roles in household expenditure, healthcare, purchases, and financial autonomy. It is observed that women often depend on men for decision-making, despite having their own income. The study emphasizes the persistent gender inequality in financial decision-making and the crucial role of states in ensuring women's rights and gender equality. The study found that women still lack their rights in financial decision-making while for health care decision making most of the women have the autonomy to make decisions with variations across different regions and states.

Patil and Farooqui (2016) found a significant autonomy for women in decisions on purchase of personal goods and spending their husband’s income in joint families; but such autonomy was not observed in respect of investment decisions. The study suggests that the joint family system is good for working women. It is also observed that economic empowerment makes women more concerned about their participation in decision-making, irrespective of the family type in which they live. Srivastava and Rastogi (2010), in their study, aim to find out the influence of financial independence of women in purchasing insurance policies. It was observed that many women are still underinsured or uninsured, relying on their husbands' policies for protection. Despite understanding the importance of life insurance, few women have fully grasped its economic value. Farrell et al. (2016), in their study, focused on policies that aim on improving financial knowledge and literacy through education programs. However, managing personal finances requires confidence in one's own abilities, known as 'self-efficacy.' A study of Australian women found that higher financial self-efficacy is a strong predictor of the types and number of financial products held. Women with greater financial self-efficacy are more likely to hold investment and savings products and less likely to hold debt-related products. This influence is distinct from financial literacy and has implications for policy development aimed at improving financial outcomes.

In light of the above, the present study analyzes how the financial independence of women influences their financial decision-making autonomy.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE:

The objectives of the study are as follows:

1. The study analyses if financial independence of women influences their capacity to take decisions with regards to financial matters.

2. To analyse if financial independence of women influences their capacity to take decisions with regards to family security matters.

3. To find out if financial independence of women influences their capacity to take decisions with regards to investment matters.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

To fulfill the above objectives, a primary survey through a structured questionnaire is designed by the researchers. The issues were presented in statement form and the respondents were asked to express their opinion about financial independence and decision-making processes on a three-point Likert scale. Individual survey was conducted by the researchers with the respondents and112 responses were collected through convenient sampling. Of these, 86 responses were deemed fit for data analysis and are processed further. Chi-Square Test is used as a statistical tool to establish if financial independence of women influences their capacity to take decision on finances, family security and investments. The researchers relied upon SPSS 27 to identify the factors which were statistically significant.

RESULTS:

Table 1: Demographic and Income Profile of Respondents

Profile	Categorical Variable	Frequency	Percent (%)
Age	Below 30	26	30.23
	30-45	47	54.65
	45-60	12	13.95
	Above 60	01	1.16
Education Qualification	Undergraduate	05	5.81
	Graduate	24	27.91
	Professional Degree	08	9.3
	PG and above	49	56.98
Marital Status	Unmarried	33	38.37
	Married	50	58.14
	Divorce or Separated or Widow	03	3.49
Occupation	Unemployed or Housewife	20	23.26
Occupation	Employed	66	76.74
Monthly income	Below Rs 20000	41	47.67
	Rs 20000-50000	01	1.16
	Rs 50000 -100000	23	26.74
	Above Rs 100000	21	24.42

Source: Primary Survey

Financial decision making autonomy of women has been classified into 3 constructs namely, Financial Decision, Family Security Decision and Investment Decision computed through ‘Compute Variable’ function of SPSS 27 and Chi-Square Test is performed between Financial Independence and the constructs to establish if there exists any significant difference between the employed and unemployed women regarding their financial decision making autonomy.

H₀1: There is no significant difference between financially independent women and financially dependent women with regards to their financial decision making capacity.

Table 2: Chi-Square Tests between Financial Independence and Financial Decisions

	Value	df	Asymptotic Significance (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square	5.642	9	0.775
Likelihood Ratio	7.629	9	0.572
Linear-by-Linear Association	2.064	1	0.151
N of Valid Cases	86

From Table 1, no statistically significant difference is observed between financially independent women and financially dependent women regarding financial decision making capacity [χ²(9) = 5.642, p>0.05]. Thus, the hypothesis H₀1 is accepted.

H₀2: There is no significant difference between financially independent women and financially dependent women with regards to their Family Security Decisions.

Table 3: Chi-Square Tests between Financial Independence and Family Security Decisions

	Value	df	Asymptotic Significance (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square	16.314	10	0.091
Likelihood Ratio	15.563	10	0.113
Linear-by-Linear Association	1.755	1	0.185
N of Valid Cases	86

From Table 2, a statistically significant difference is observed between financially independent women and financially dependent women with regards to taking decisions on Family Security issues [χ²(10) = 16.314, p<0.1]. Thus, the hypothesis H₀2 is rejected and the alternate hypothesis is accepted which implies that there exists a statistically significant difference between financially independent and financially dependent women with regards to taking decisions on Family Security issues.

H₀3: There is no significant difference between financially independent women and financially dependent women with regards to their Investment Decisions.

Table 4: Chi-Square Tests between Financial Independence and Investment Decisions

	Value	df	Asymptotic Significance (2-sided)
Pearson Chi-Square	7.686	9	0.566
Likelihood Ratio	8.747	9	0.461
Linear-by-Linear Association	0.187	1	0.665
N of Valid Cases	86

From Table 3, no statistically significant difference is observed between financially independent women and financially dependent women with regards to their Investment Decisions [χ²(9) = 7.686, p>0.05]. Thus, the hypothesis is H₀3 is accepted.

For analysing the primary causes of the above phenomenon, Chi-Square tests of all the issues addressed through the questionnaire was deemed fit by the researchers. The computed results are presented below:

Table 5: Chi-Square Tests between Financial Independence and specific Observations


Observations	Pearson Chi Square	df	Asymp. Significance (2-sided)
My opinion is valuable to my family when a property registered in the name of any member of my family is being sold.	1.036	2	0.596
While my husband is purchasing a property, he values my opinion regarding such a purchase.	1.890	2	0.389
If I decide to invest in mutual funds, I have to consult other members of my family before investing.	2.326	2	0.313
If I require an amount of Rs. 50,000 as loan for some personal expenditure I have to consult my husband/ family members.	6.979	2	0.031
In urgent need of funds I can mortgage my ornaments without consultation with other members of my family.	0.001	2	0.999
FS1. I can purchase a medical insurance policy (Mediclaim) for my father and mother from my personal funds.	2.727	2	0.256
If I decide to invest my money as fixed deposit for myself/ my children, I have to consult with other members of my family.	2.209	2	0.331
I can independently decide to install CCTV in our house if the situation demands so.	0.635	2	0.728
For securing the financial stability of my family, I can take decisions to purchase LIC policies on my/ my husband’s behalf.	5.919	2	0.052
In case of hospitalization of any family member, my opinion is most important.	5.092	2	0.078
ID1. While purchasing a property, I take the final decision in my family.	0.617	2	0.735
My opinion is very important while we are purchasing a vehicle in our family.	5.616	2	0.060
If I decide to invest my money in any fixed deposit, I have to consult other members of my family.	5.948	2	0.051
I can decide on purchasing a pension scheme for securing the future of my family.	2.622	2	0.270
I can decide and purchase a good stock (share) on my own.	0.718	2	0.699

A statistically significant difference is observed between financially independent women and financially dependent women with regards to five issues among the fifteen issues addressed through the questionnaire as observed in Table 5. The significant observations are discussed in the following section.

A statistically significant difference is observed between financially independent women and financially dependent women with regards to consultation with husband/family members for taking a personal loan [χ²(2) = 6.979, p<0.05]. It is found that 25.76% of financially independent women can autonomously take such decisions as compared to no financially dependent women. A statistically significant difference is observed between financially independent women and financially dependent women with regards to purchase of LIC policies for family security [χ²(2) = 5.919, p<0.1]. It is found that 68.18% of financially independent women can autonomously take such decisions as compared to 40% of financially dependent women. A statistically significant difference is observed between financially independent women and financially dependent women with regards to hospitalization of any family member [χ²(2) = 5.092, p<0.1]. It is found that 72.73% of financially independent women can autonomously take such decisions as compared to 50% of financially dependent women. A statistically significant difference is observed between financially independent women and financially dependent women with regards to purchase of any vehicle [χ²(2) = 5.616, p<0.1]. It is found that 65.15% of financially independent women can autonomously take such decisions as compared to 50% of financially dependent women. A statistically significant difference is observed between financially independent women and financially dependent women with regards to investment in fixed deposit [χ²(2) = 5.948, p<0.1]. It is found that 46.97% of financially independent women can autonomously take such decisions as compared to 20% of financially dependent women.

DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS:

The study compares financially independent women and financially dependent women with regards to their decision making autonomy on finances, family security and investment matters. The study found three constructs namely, Financial Decisions, Family Security Decisions and Investment Decisions as the factors that explain the financial decision making autonomy of women. It is observed that Financial Decisions and Investment Decisions are not significantly influenced by economic independence of women. On contrary, a statistically significant difference is observed between financially independent women and financially dependent women with regards to taking decisions on Family Security issues. The influence of financial independence of women on specific issues constituting the factors taken up for consideration has also been analysed. While comparing the influence of financially independent women and financially dependent women on specific issues it is observed that financially independent women have more autonomy on matters like consultation with husband/family members for taking a personal loan, purchase of LIC policies for family security, hospitalization of family member, purchase of any vehicle, and investment in fixed deposits than their dependent counterparts. In conclusion, financially independent women have more autonomy over financially dependent women in some select issues but not on all issues of financial decision making taken up for consideration in this study.

REFERENCES:

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Received on 20.08.2024 Modified on 07.09.2024

Asian Journal of Management. 2024;15(3):261-265.

DOI: 10.52711/2321-5763.2024.00041