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Fifth of women 'main breadwinner'

Businesswoman working in meeting room
Businesswoman working in meeting room



Nearly one in five women say they are now the main breadwinner in their relationship, new research has found.

Some 17% of women who are in a relationship said they bring home the most money in their household, according to a study commissioned by Scottish Widows.

This figure was higher among younger women, with one in four (25%) 25 to 34-year-olds saying that they earn more than their partner. This age group was also more likely to keep their finances separate from those of their partner, with more than half (52%) saying they do not have a joint bank account, compared with 39% of women overall.

The study found that the financial role of women in the family has evolved significantly. While just over one-third (37%) of women said their mothers were in charge of managing the household finances when they were growing up, nearly half (49%) of women living with a partner said that they are solely in charge of the purse strings today.

The average age when women felt they had become financially independent was 22.

Despite the move towards men and women gaining a more equal footing financially, the survey also found that women still take primary responsibility for providing childcare. Two-thirds (68%) of women with children aged under 18 said they are mainly responsible for caring for them, while two in five (42%) said they had agreed to take a backseat in their career in order to bring up the children.

One in four (26%) women with children said that this has negatively affected their progress up the career ladder, and 37% feel it has reduced their financial independence, the survey of more than 2,000 women from across the UK found.

One in six (15%) women who pay for childcare said that more than half of their salary is eaten up by childcare costs.

Jackie Leiper, women and savings expert at Scottish Widows, said: "When Scottish Widows was established in 1815 women were largely excluded from the workforce, couldn't vote, had no right to their own property - and yet today our research found that the average woman feels financially independent by the age of 22.

"Despite the huge strides that women have taken with their finances, it is clear that childcare remains a significant barrier when it comes to career progression.

"We believe that both employers and the government should support families in balancing work and childcare responsibilities better."

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