EuroSteps Challenge launched to boost women's financial literacy
The European Central Bank has launched the EuroSteps Walking Challenge, a pan-European initiative to promote women's financial literacy. The challenge combines physical activity with bite-sized financial education lessons.
Lagarde champions financial empowerment
The European Central Bank (ECB) hosted an event for International Women's Day, focusing on the financial literacy gender gap.
ECB President Christine Lagarde emphasized the critical role of financial knowledge in life choices.
"Financial literacy shapes choices across an entire lifetime.
And right now, too many women are making those choices without the knowledge and the know-how they need," President Lagarde stated.
She added that closing this gap empowers women to take control of their financial lives.
A panel discussion followed, featuring Governor Yannis Stournaras of the Bank of Greece, President Joachim Nagel of the Deutsche Bundesbank, and Tabea Bucher-Koenen from the Mannheim Institute of Financial Education.
Moderated by Patrick Jenkins of the Financial Times, the discussion explored financial literacy's role in economic resilience and strategies to address the gender gap across Europe.
EuroSteps: Learning on the move
The Eurosystem launched the EuroSteps Walking Challenge, a new pan-European initiative.
This program integrates financial literacy into women's daily routines by combining physical activity, such as daily step counting, with accessible, bite-sized financial lessons.
The initiative aims to make learning about money simple, relevant, and unintimidating across all euro area countries.
Registration opened on March 2, 2026, with the challenge commencing on April 1 for four weeks.
Participants will receive regular notifications with financial education content and links to national resources.
The Eurosystem also established a central bank financial literacy network to develop a harmonised dataset on financial literacy in Europe and a shared repository of initiatives.