in other countries especially belgium canada new zealand and portugal the gender difference in individuals ability to cope with a shock appears to be smaller once gender differences in financial knowledge are also taken into account this suggests that at least in some countries gender differences in financial knowledge are associated with differences in financial resilience and that improving women s financial knowledge could help them to set up more successful financial strategies to face negative shocks some governments continue to address the needs of girls and women as part of coordinated national strategies for financial education as in australia bangladesh brazil india israel lebanon and turkey