Financial education initiative for schoolgirls
“Girls Go Finance“at UniCredit Bank Austria
- As part of the cooperation with Teach for Austria, a special day for schoolgirls from socio-economically disadvantaged schools was held for the third time at the UniCredit Center at Kaiserwasser
- Around 250 schoolgirls aged 13 to 15 were able to take part in various workshops on topics such as financial literacy, women-specific financial matters, online safety, sustainability and self-confidence
The “Girls Go Finance” day at the UniCredit Center at Kaiserwasser was initiated by Marion Morales Albiñana-Rosner, Member of the Management Board for Wealth Management and Private Banking at UniCredit Bank Austria, who also supports the Teach for Austria corporate volunteering program. UniCredit Bank Austria supports Teach for Austria with the aim of creating more educational equality in Austria.
“Following the keen interest of the last two years, we once again held a 'Girls Go Finance' day here at Kaiserwasser this year and we are delighted that we were able to get even more female participants interested in this topic this year. Unfortunately, it is still the case in Austria that girls and women do not have the same opportunities as men. They often earn less and therefore have a lower pension later on. Financial education and boosting self-confidence are important ways of counteracting this”, says Marion Morales Albiñana-Rosner, explaining the reasons for holding the event.
Strong together - even in challenging times
Right at the beginning of the day, a minute's silence was held in remembrance of the terrible recent events at a school in Graz. This silent gesture was symbolic of pausing together and showing solidarity with one another. Marion Morales Albiñana-Rosner commented: “It is particularly important to stick together in difficult times. Only together will we be able to overcome the challenges of the future - and that is why we will continue to work with all our strength for more integration and inclusion in the future.”
Creating prospects through education and role models
The Education Directorate for Vienna was also represented at the event: Edith Hülber, School Quality Manager, took part in the Girls Go Finance Day and, in her role, emphasized the importance of female role models for young girls. It is essential that schoolgirls get to know successful women who show them perspectives and encourage them to believe in their own strengths and opportunities.
Workshops on all aspects of finance
The workshops covered various topics relating to finance, such as financial independence, the gender pay gap, how women deal with finances and investments, how a bank account works, what an exchange rate is, how to recognize counterfeit money and the difference between gross and net.
One of the highlights for the young people was the workshop “Rein ins Leben: Allocating my monthly budget”. In this workshop, the students had 1,500 euros at their disposal and had to draw up a household budget. It was not at all easy for the young participants to agree as a group on how much money to spend on individual items.
In addition to traditional financial topics, there was also a whole block on the Internet, online shopping and the debt trap. In these workshops, some of which were also held by external speakers, everything revolved around security on the Internet. The module “Fake News” by Kathrin Pollak, ORF, dealt with fake news, how to recognize them and how social media is connected to it. In “Buy now, pay later”, held by Bettina Pfluger, business editor at the daily newspaper Der Standard, the students were made aware of the need to exercise caution when making consumer purchases and paying in installments.
The third workshop block covered topics such as women's rights and how to use your voice and posture correctly. Marion Morales Albiñana-Rosner led the workshop “I make the world the way I like it” on women’s rights. The major topic of sustainability also found its place in the program with the workshop “Let's save the world - women's power for a better future”.
Enthusiastic feedback from the participants
The schoolgirls all found the day exciting and informative. “I thought it was really cool that it was a project just for us girls. We talked a lot about women's rights and also about how important it is to know about money”, says 14-year-old Selin.
“I really enjoyed the workshop on planning the monthly budget - I didn't even know how much things actually cost in everyday life. It was cool that everyone was able to have a say and we learned so many exciting things”, says 13-year-old Elif.
A Teach for Austria Fellow said: “Many of my female students have little contact with the topic of finance in their everyday lives. It was therefore all the more important that they were able to ask questions and learn new things in a safe environment at 'Girls Go Finance'. It was particularly nice to see how quickly they opened up and got actively involved - opportunities and spaces like this are needed, especially for young women.”
About Teach For Austria
Teach For Austria is a non-profit organization that has been promoting educational fairness in Austria since 2012. Our aim is to select and intensively train particularly committed and ambitious young professionals and career changers to teach in challenging kindergartens and schools for two years. Through their work, our TFA Fellows help to sustainably improve the educational opportunities of children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. From the 2025/26 school year, Teach For Austria will also be deploying TFA Fellows at Viennese all-day elementary school for the first time.
Enquiries:
UniCredit Bank Austria Media Relations
Matthias Raftl, Tel. +43 (0)5 05 05-52809
E-Mail: matthias.raftl@unicreditgroup.at
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