Understanding how interest is calculated is critical for financial literacy and financial independence; understanding of risk diversification and inflation is too. The OECD reports significant gaps between men and women in their respective knowledge and skills related to how interest works. Findings further show that women are more likely to answer "don’t know" for financial questions, suggesting that they may also be less confident in their abilities. Surprisingly significant gaps exist in countries with well-established banking and financial systems such as the U.S., Japan and Italy.