One of the most prominent trends of the last 70 years has been the growing role of women in the workplace, and therefore of their purchasing power in the marketplace. Indeed, only recently I wrote about research exploring the role marriage was playing in societal inequality.
New research from Lancaster University explores the changing nature of domestic finances, and specifically which partner tends to take the dominant role in domestic spending. The study uncovered clear class differences in terms of who controls spending at home, with low-earning and high-earning women tending to take control of the finances in their respective relationships, albeit in different ways.
“My findings reveal some room for optimism, showing some progress toward, but not yet the achievement of, gender equality in how couples manage their money,” the researcher explains. “While some scholars have long argued that modern couple relationships increasingly capitalize on the ideals of equality and individuality, my findings show that how these ideals are achieved are very different for low-earning and high-earning women and couples.”
Domestic spending
The researchers assessed nearly 12,000 heterosexual couples from across the UK to understand how the couples approach money management. The analysis found that women with equally high income as their partners tended to manage their money separately, giving them autonomy as a result while also pooling their resources.
By contrast, women with low incomes increasingly have their own spending money, which gives them a degree of freedom, with the highly restrictive “housekeeping allowance” approach declining significantly.
The data shows the changing attitudes and approaches adopted by couples born between 1920 and the 1990s in terms of money management, with this change being especially important in terms of women’s relationships and life satisfaction.
Going solo
The empowerment seen among high-earning women typically allows them to be independent in terms of money management rather than managing finances jointly with their partner. This trend is particularly prominent among couples where both partners have similarly high earnings.
For low-earning women, however, there has been a general relaxation in male control, with the trend of men controlling all of the money and giving their partner an allowance to “manage the household” declining significantly.
“The findings highlight that the gender revolution has taken very different paths across different social classes. They draw attention to the important role of (women’s) economic resources in shaping the nuanced ways in which gender equality can be negotiated and achieved in couples’ money management,” the researcher explains.
