When the topics of social justice, wealth inequality and financial insecurity come up, financial literacy is often presented as one way to address them. But Phuong Luong says financial literacy is not a silver bullet; instead, financial professionals, she argues, have an obligation to address social justice by weaving the good, the bad and the ugly truths about the nation’s financial history into their day-to-day work.
“Focusing solely on financial literacy as the solution adds additional burdens on people already experiencing financial insecurity to solve systemic problems on their own and can be a distraction from structural barriers that together we have the power to change,” she said.
