“Girls Go Finance” by UniCredit Bank Austria and Teach for Austria
- As part of the cooperation with Teach for Austria, a special day for schoolgirls from socio-economically disadvantaged schools took place at the UniCredit Center at Kaiserwasser
- Around 160 schoolgirls aged between 13 and 15 were able to participate in various workshops on topics such as financial literacy, women-specific financial matters, safety on the internet, sustainability and self-confidence
UniCredit Bank Austria supports Teach For Austria in its goal to create more equality in education in Austria. The “Girls Go Finance” day at the UniCredit Center at Kaiserwasser was initiated by Marion Morales Alibiñana-Rosner, Member of the Management Board responsible for Wealth Management and Private Banking at UniCredit Bank Austria, who participated in school visits as part of the corporate volunteering programme Teach for Austria.
“I was in the classroom twice and was allowed to design the lessons. I noticed that the girls were much more reserved than the boys. This gave me the idea of organising a day especially for girls. 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 smaller pension later because they have spent a long time looking after their children. Financial education and the strengthening of self-confidence are important cornerstones to counteract this”, says Marion Morales Alibiñana-Rosner, explaining her reasons for organising the event.
Financial workshops
The workshops covered various financial topics such as financial independence, the gender pay gap, women and investing, how a bank account works, what an exchange rate is, how to spot counterfeit money and the difference between gross and net.
One of the highlights for the young people was the workshop “Getting on with life - how do I allocate my monthly budget?”. In this workshop, the students were given €1,500 and had to draw up a budget. It was not easy for the young participants to agree as a group on how much money to spend on different things.
As well as the traditional financial topics, there was also a whole block on the Internet. These workshops focused on online security, such as how to spot phishing emails, what to look out for when posting online and shopping online.
The third block of workshops covered topics such as working in the bank, how to behave in a job interview, how to use your voice and posture correctly, and the big topic of "sustainability - let's save the world".
Delighted feedback from the participants
The students all found the day exciting and useful. “The day was really interesting, and it was fun to learn about financial education, especially since we don't learn much about it in school”, said 13-year-old Alina.
“I particularly enjoyed thinking about what I would buy with the 1,500 euros a month. Although it was not so easy that we agreed. I wanted to buy more cosmetics and others more clothes”, said 14-year-old Magdalena.
A Teach For Austria Fellow said that the Girls Go Finance Day “was well organised, really cool. I liked that there were lots of hands-on activities and small groups. That way the students could get a lot more out of it”.
At the end of the day, Emma, the winner of this years “The Voice Kids”, gave a little concert and gave the students the following advice: “Always believe in yourselves, don't let anyone intimidate you or put you down. You are the best!”
About Teach For Austria
With the Fellow Programme, Teach For Austria places highly qualified career changers in challenging kindergartens, secondary schools and technical colleges. As fully-fledged teachers and educators, they work for children with difficult starting conditions. The aim is to ensure that all children taught by Teach For Austria Fellows have the necessary skills for a successful start in school and are able to continue their education after compulsory schooling. 481 Fellows have reached around 48,000 children since the programme was launched in 2011. As part of the global Teach For All network, Teach For Austria is committed to the fourth United Nations Sustainable Development Goal: Quality education for all.
Enquiries:
UniCredit Bank Austria Media Relations
Matthias Raftl, Tel.: +43 (0) 5 05 05-52809
E-mail: matthias.raftl@unicreditgroup.at