Professor Andrzej Cwynar, P.hD., a lecturer atWSEI University, together with researchers from Koźminski University: Professor Dorota Węziak-Białowolska, Ph.D., and Professor Piotr Białowolski, Ph.D., have won a competition organised by the American Council on Consumer Interests. Their joint article received the prestigious 2026 National Endowment for Financial Education Award (NEFE).
The award-winning article “The Role of Language, Gender and Cognitive Engagement in Shaping Financial Literacy: Evidence from a Large-Scale Randomised Experiment” describes research into how language, gender and cognitive engagement shape our financial literacy. The authors’ analysis is based on the results of a large-scale randomised experiment.
The award-winning article addresses an important and hitherto under-researched topic: the role of gender and language in financial education – a field traditionally perceived as ‘masculine’. The results of a large-scale experiment show that whilst the language of the materials themselves (e.g. their ‘gender alignment’) has a limited impact, the differences between women and men are clear: women show greater engagement and derive greater benefits from financial education. This stronger effect in the group that is stereotypically less associated with finance is a particularly interesting and surprising finding of the study, explains Prof. Andrzej Cwynar.
The NEFE Award was presented by the American Council on Consumer Interests (ACCI) - the American Council on Consumer Interests. It is a prestigious, international scientific and research organisation that has been shaping consumer protection policy for over 70 years. ACCI’s mission is to enhance the economic well-being of consumers and families through research, education and the provision of reliable data to decision-makers. The organisation publishes the Journal of Consumer Affairs – a leading academic journal dedicated to consumer economics and public policy.
The prestigious NEFE Award is one of the most important accolades recognising research that has a tangible impact on economic education and consumer finance.
Professor Andrzej Cwynar is a lecturer at the Faculty of Administration and Social Sciences at WSEI University. He is an expert in finance and financial management.
We congratulate him on this significant achievement. We are proud that the research conducted by our academics is improving the financial literacy of consumers worldwide and having a tangible impact on the international development of social skills.
