As it’s International Women’s Day today, it’s disappointing that we also have the publication of some research by Scottish Widows suggesting that the average woman in her twenties today will retire with £100,000 less in her pension than her male peers and a woman would have to work an extra 40 years if they wanted to close the gap.
It blamed their lower average earnings, higher probability of working part-time and heavier childcare burden.
According to the research, over the first 15 years of their careers, women on average save about £2,200 a year, compared to £3,300 for men. The difference only widens over a lifetime as wage increases lead to “significant inequalities in retirement income”, it added.
This is shocking research and the facts and figures don’t belong in a modern, equal society but it only confirms other reports out this week about women doing more housework, child care, cooking and home schooling during the pandemic than her male partner.
I don’t know the full answer as to why but I do know that women don’t get, or often absorb, financial education in the way that a man will and we need to make sure that all women understand that they need to take responsibility for their money and future pensions and their equal position in society.
It may be International Women’s Day but we still have a long way to go before it can be International Women are Equal Day.
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