The politics of pocket money: how the gender pay gap starts in childhood

Monday, February 13th, 2023

If you think the fact that women in the UK are paid only 90p for every £1 earned by a man was depressing, then buckle up.

New research has revealed that the gender pay gap begins earlier than most of us could have imagined: in childhood.

“This report is the product of two of our strongest passions: improving children’s financial literacy skills and eroding the gender pay gap,” says Helen Bierton, chief banking officer at Starling Bank, who commissioned the research.

“We’ve worked closely with Prof Tim Jay [who conducted the study] and his brilliant team at Loughborough University for a few years now, and one day he mentioned that parents talk to boys about money and maths from a younger age than they do to girls,” she says.

“We knew there was something further to explore here – and unfortunately, our hunch was correct.”

So, what exactly did they discover?

Gender inequality around money runs deep

Well firstly, Jay and his team confirmed that the gender pay gap – or the “play gap” as they’re calling it – does indeed start in childhood; with boys receiving a whopping 20% more pocket money a week, on average, than girls (£3.00 v £2.50).

But worryingly, the disparity in how girls and boys are treated when it comes to money doesn’t end there.

Boys are more likely to have their pocket money assessed via academic performance (14% more boys are assessed this way).

Girls, on the other hand, are more likely to receive pocket money if they have completed their chores (12%), and are more likely to be rewarded for good behaviour (6%).

Furthermore, the way boys and girls receive their pocket money is also different, with girls more likely to receive theirs in cash (15%), and boys more likely to be paid into a digital bank account and card (8%).

“The degree to which traditional gender stereotypes are at play within childhood astounded us,” says Bierton.

“What starts as pennies and pounds for young girls can multiply to tens of thousands of pounds for working women.”

The findings are based on two quantitative surveys of a representative sample of 4,106 parents across the UK with children aged four to 11 – and is the largest known study of its kind to date.

The results were then assessed against the respondents’ children’s financial literacy development to determine correlations between parents’ pocket money approaches and children’s skills.

In addition, the Loughborough University team also analysed the prices of 450 toys sold by retailers who segment their offering by gender – and once again found that girls were getting a raw deal.

“Products targeting girls are on average 5.48% more expensive than products aimed at boys,” the team explains in its Make Pocket Money Equal report.

Adding: “A ‘pink tax’ was also discovered, with pink toys and games costing an average of 5.16% more [£9.98] than those marketed as gender neutral [£9.49].”

“As a parent, it’s something I’ve seen myself, and our research found that more than one in four parents with daughters have noticed this too,” says Bierton.

“But we weren’t expecting toys to cost 5% more at such a systemic level – and we weren’t expecting so many retailers to segregate toys by gender either.”

Does financial inequality in childhood really matter?

As a busy parent, with more than enough already on your plate, you might be wondering if this is an issue that really needs your attention – but both Bierton and Jay are clear that it is.

“The ways that children learn about money, the ways in which they receive it and how much all have an impact on their financial literacy skills,” says Jay.

“An inequality of this scale, at 20%, is one that we must raise awareness of in order to help parents check any unconscious biases they may have.”

“Bierton adds: “Does it matter that men earn higher wages?

“Of course it does – and pocket money is no different, and for so many reasons.

“How much less you earn affects your sense of worth. If children can earn their money in the same way, it can help to equalise their expectations for the workplace and their careers.”

So that being said – what can parents do to rectify the situation? Continue reading