Gender division extends to money matters

Despite women’s earning power increasing significantly over recent decades, the division of financial responsibilities does not appear to have evolved. 

A survey¹ of 4,000 UK adults earlier this year found that women still typically have greater oversight of domestically focused financial matters, such as household costs (67% of women versus 51% of men) and utility bills (74% of women versus 66% of men). In contrast, men continue to hold more responsibility for longer-term products, such as investments (35% of men versus 19% of women) and pensions (43% of men versus 31% of women). 

Redressing the balance 

When it comes to financial planning, if one person in the couple takes on the role of spokesperson, it’s important that they do not only speak for themselves in any meetings or discussions, as this raises questions about how suitable any advice will be for both parties. 

Are things changing? 

Worryingly, according to the survey, women under 30 years old are twice as likely as women over 30 to believe that they are naturally bad at managing their finances. This is despite younger generations saying that they’ve had a better financial education than older generations. 

Financial confidence 

We are here to guide and support all our clients, irrespective of their gender or their level of confidence in financial matters. 

¹Handelsbanken, 2023 

The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. The past is not a guide to future performance and past performance may not necessarily be repeated.