Dan Haskan and granddaughter Danit Haskan. (Photo: Gravity Creative Tech)
On the occasion of International Women's Day, Bank Hapoalim is launching "Danit the Thrifty" - a female figure of inspiration for girls, girls and women, as part of promoting gender equality and financial growth.
Danit is the female version and the granddaughter of the mythological figure "Thrifty Dan", who was born in the 60s of the last century, with the aim of encouraging the children of Israel to save, and became a currency of the Israeli language and synonymous with responsible economic conduct.
In the announcement of the bank, which boasts of a "long-standing social mission to assist and promote women in a variety of fields," it is stated that the bank has set itself the goal of "making available to women effective tools on the way to financial and economic independence through the Center for Financial Growth."
The character of Danit the thrifty will star alongside Seba Dan in the activities of the bank, which opens the museums and sites to the general public for free during the Passover holiday and during the games of the Israeli men's and women's basketball teams.
Little is said about financial independence among women
A survey of financial habits conducted by Bank Hapoalim among hundreds of people in Israel shows that there is still a gap between the sexes.
The survey found that women are less involved in the worlds of financial content compared to men:
Men are more satisfied with their financial situation and manage to save more.
43.9% of the men estimate that their financial knowledge is above average compared to only 23.6% among the women, when in practice no great differences were observed in the level of knowledge.
Women are more concerned about their ability to pay current expenses and are significantly less knowledgeable than men about their pension figures.
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It also shows that there is a gap in perceptions in the areas of salary, career, business entrepreneurship and in the context of relationships and money:
About 90% of the women estimated that women earn less than men and about 50% of them stated that women ask for a lower salary than men for a similar job.
About 60% answered that women dare less than men to apply for senior positions and that they are less inclined to open independent businesses.
About two-thirds of the respondents agreed that women are more likely than men to stay in marital relationships that are not good for financial reasons.
In light of all of this, Bank Hapoalim realized that there is a need for financial education and the creation of characters that evoke empathy in matters of financial conduct and business and economic success for women - and from this understanding Danit the Thrifty was born.
Women, invest in yourselves
For the sake of the launch, the bank, through the Center for Financial Growth, built a dedicated content area for women under the not-so-witty title "Women Invest in Yourself", which offers lectures and financial management tools for women on pensions and changing the retirement age, entrepreneurship, investments and more.
Alongside these, the bank established the 'Community of Women Investors', which is designed to empower women interested in the capital market and give them confidence in the field of financial investments.
But the more interesting thing is the content for girls, which are designed to instill healthy financial habits from a young age.
For example, on the children's channel you will find games such as a virtual escape room, videos and lesson plans for teachers, and on the girls' channel you will find videos by comedians Chen Mor and Bar Rosenberg, with short and effective messages about financial conduct in high school, the military and after the military.
Branding using a character that evokes identification
The idea behind the creation of the female character is to be a model for girls and women and an inspiration for a new generation, and to encourage financial activity.
The thrifty Dane comes from a family that knows a thing or two about economics, and like her grandfather, she will become a symbol of wise economic conduct alongside an inspiration for gender equality and female financial growth.
According to the bank, "Danit is a character that is easy to connect with even at a very young age, and thus she is designed to help raise a new generation of girls for whom financial literacy is second nature. On a personal level, they will be independent and capable of making financial decisions, and on a public level, they will help promote the the economy and society to a healthier place."
If this statement sounds pretentious to you, it's probably because it was written by men.
"At Bank Hapoalim, the promotion of women is not a passing trend, it is in the bank's DNA," says
Naama Halevi Parr
, Director of the Center for Social Banking at Bank Hapoalim.
"Bank Hapoalim is among the only 4 Israeli companies that entered the prestigious GEI index for gender equality and received a score 5% higher than the average score in the financial sector and about 8% of the overall average score in the index. We know that girls, girls and women dream big and that they can do anything. They are just They need the support, the right resources and above all a role model. Therefore, we decided to launch Danit the Thrifty who will be a figure for female empowerment and identification in everything related to correct financial conduct and business and economic success."
So what did we think of Bank Hapoalim's campaign?
Although this is a welcome step, there is something a little annoying and even embarrassing about this campaign, because apart from the fact that the content is written in female language, there is nothing unique about women or girls.
The financial guides are exactly the same guides that also exist for the general public, i.e. for men, and the content of the girls can easily be suitable for a male audience as well.
Moreover, few girls (or children) will enter the Bank Hapoalim website on their own initiative to enjoy its contents, and the videos that appear on the girls' page are also available for viewing on Tiktok and YouTube.
Above all, female empowerment content is available everywhere today, and is not necessarily what will move the needle when it comes to advancing the status of women in society and the economy.
As a large and strong financial body that serves many Israeli women, we would expect to see fewer words and more actions: more account management benefits for female soldiers and students, mothers, and single parents;
more assistance for business owners;
more taking a public stance against extremist elements seeking to suppress the status of women;
And especially much more concrete proposals that will directly affect the financial well-being of women and not just look good on the screen.
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