A Rapid Assessment of the Interplay Between Gender, Financial Literacy and Peacemaking

The role of women in peace processes can never be gainsaid. Peacemaking is not only about marking territories nor spelling ceasefires, but also including all key players towards attaining sustainable peace. Although women are evidently missing in peace mediation and negotiation tables, the study argues for a case of women moving from dinner tables to violence tables to provide integrated perspectives on war and peace. These roles come at a cost, and the cost is financial literacy. These skills are useful given that wars, conflicts, peace, and democracy all require money. However, women all over the world report lower levels of financial literacy. For women to effectively participate in peace processes, they need to understand and manage personal finances as well. Using a questionnaire data were collected from women working in higher education institutions, this paper explored the interplay between, women, finance, and peace. The results indicate low levels of women’s financial literacy and role awareness in peace processes. A strong link between financial literacy and women’s role in peacemaking was however established with an R² = 52.9%. These findings emphasize the role of women’s financial literacy in peace processes. It is believed, the findings will be useful for policies regarding women, finance, and peace.