How employers can help to correct women’s financial inequality

In financial inclusion terms, the gender gap is life-long. Following Women's History Month in March, we highlight how the deck is stacked against women at every stage of life — albeit some women more than others — and suggest ways individuals and employers can contribute to dismantling these barriers.

The gender gap starts early. Coined the “play gap”, research by Starling Bank and Loughborough University found that boys get 20 per cent more pocket money than girls — and these rewards are often gendered. 

Boys earn theirs for academic performance, gardening and by asking for more money, whereas girls’ credit is linked to obedience, being well-behaved, and cooking and cleaning tasks. Simply acknowledging and thinking about these differences should make them simple to disrupt. 

The same research identified the existence of a “pink tax”. On average, products and services marketed towards women — from cars to personal care — cost 5 per cent more than those aimed at men. 

A key manifestation of gender disparity in the tax system was the “tampon tax”, and associated sense that the state considered sanitary products to be a “luxury” to which women could treat themselves.

The 5 per cent rate was scrapped in 2021. However, the Office for National Statistics reports that only 1.5 per cent of this saving has been passed on to consumers, with the rest gobbled up in the supply chain. Employers could make a real difference by making these products available in the workplace to anyone who needs them.

Gender pay gap is almost 15 per cent

In the world of work, gender disparities are undeniable. The latest ONS figures show a median UK overall gender pay gap of 14.9 per cent. One gap-perpetuating factor is the higher proportion of women than men working in lower-paid sectors and in lower-paid roles within organisations.

Mirroring the play gap, the uncomfortable truth is society places a financial premium on stereotypically “male” careers, while ascribing comparatively lower value to vocations such as education and care.

Women are more likely than men to work in delivering public services. Accordingly, reductions in real-terms public sector wages disproportionately impact women. This is compounded by the indirect effects of reductions in public funding.

Where public services have been reduced or withdrawn, it is overwhelmingly women who pick up the slack through unpaid work such as caring

The London School of Economics reports that central funding for local government was cut by nearly 50 per cent during the period from 2010 to 2017. This has led to greater pressure on the council tax system (itself, regressive) and reductions to the services cash-strapped councils provide.

Where public services have been reduced or withdrawn, it is overwhelmingly women who pick up the slack through unpaid work such as caring.