02 January 2024
New nationally representative research* with 2,001 Britons from wealth manager Quilter, gathered by YouGov, reveals the cost-of-living crisis has disproportionately impacted women’s finances and their ability to withstand the potential impacts of a recession.
Quilter’s research found that over a third (36%) of women would not be able to afford their everyday expenses should the UK enter a recession, compared with just a quarter (26%) of men.
What’s more, the cost-of-living crisis appears to be putting even greater pressure on women’s finances than the coronavirus pandemic, which was found to have disproportionately impacted women both economically and socially. 31% of women said that they are in a worse position financially than this time last year. Comparatively, just 25% of men feel the same way.
Previous research** from Quilter revealed that one in five women (21%) felt they were worse off financially at the end of 2021 than they had been the year prior, compared to 18% of men.
This latest research also shows that men are much more likely to consider themselves to be financially resilient to a recession should one materialise. One in five (21%) men said they were in a better financial position that they were last year, and that their current finances and earnings would allow them to manage their daily expenses should the UK enter a recession. Just 15% of women expressed the same sentiment.
The ongoing cost of living crisis has seen many people struggle financially this year, and the ONS recently reported that 40% of adults said that affording their rent or mortgage payments was difficult and over a quarter (27%) of households reported that they did not have enough savings to cover a 25% fall in household employment income. Looking ahead to next year, women are expecting to face greater financial pressures than men. One fifth (21%) of women said they do not expect to have any disposable income available in 2024, compared to 17% of men.
The government’s Women and Equalities Committee recently held an evidence session exploring the impact of the rising cost of living on women, hearing from representatives of women’s centres and programmes supporting women and their families who provided insights on women’s experiences across the country. The evidence aligns with Quilter’s findings, as the Committee heard that the cumulative impact of both the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis has heightened women’s reliance on support services, and that the gender pay and earnings gap has made women more vulnerable to the cost-of-living crisis.
Angela Davy-Makwana, financial planning consultant at Quilter, says:
“Our research paints the picture that women are disproportionately facing considerable financial pressures because of the cost-of-living crisis and are fearful of the prospect of a recession, with a third reporting they are in a worse position financially than this time last year. The UK has so far narrowly avoided a recession, but we are not out of the woods yet and it is concerning that more than a third of women feel they would not be able to afford their everyday expenses should one materialise.
“Though it is positive that the government is exploring the impact the cost-of-living crisis has had on women, more must be done to ensure that women feel financially secure. For those who are feeling the strain of the cost-of-living crisis and are concerned about the prospect of a recession, it is important to act sooner rather than later when it comes to assessing your finances and taking steps to improve them.
“Making small changes, such as creating a budget to help you get on top of things or putting more money aside each month wherever possible to build up your emergency rainy day fund can make a real difference to your financial security. Ensuring you are aware of your spending and cutting back where you can or reassessing whether you can secure better deals can also make a big difference to the amount of money you have left at the end of each month, so it is well worth setting aside some time to properly assess your finances.
“If you are struggling with your finances, it is important that you seek help. Services such as Citizens Advice or Step Change are also available to help you with debt advice if necessary. Where possible seeking professional financial advice can be highly beneficial as a financial planner will support you in making the best decisions for your personal finances, based on both your needs in the near term as well as your future goals with the support of tools such as cashflow analysis.”
*All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,001 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 11th - 12th December 2023. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
