It’s time to switch gender roles in personal finance
Switchcraft is a service that helps people manage their energy bills. Our platform is designed to be accessible; you sign up once with basic information (email, address and postcode) and then we make sure you’re on a good energy deal every year. All you need is access to the internet and a bit of common sense.
As it stands our members are 64% male, with no sign that the gender proportion is levelling out. In fact, so far in 2020, 77% of new members have been men.
This isn’t a quirk of our company caused by branding that’s more appealing to men or advertising in websites with a male audience. Looking at the big energy suppliers you can see visits to all their websites are dominated by men. Even in the case of Bulb with their bright pink branding, their audience is 58% male.
The numbers clearly show that women are less likely to oversee their household bills. The older you are the worse it gets. For Switchcraft users over 50, more than 70% of members are male, despite a roughly 50:50 split for the under 30s. This may be a sign of progress, however only 27% of under 30s live with a partner. Therefore we may yet see a decrease in the proportion of millennial women managing the bills as more enter mixed gender homes. What we do know is that in the last 50 years, many women have handed over the financial reins to the men in their households.
So why does it matter? No one likes looking after the finances, and if men are more willing to, what’s the big deal?
Firstly, being financially literate makes you safer. A study by Women’s Aid of over 20,000 domestic abuse survivors found that 35% had also experienced financial abuse, where they had restricted access to their finances. One way to protect yourself is to be aware of and involved with financial decisions from the start.
But even in healthy relationships, managing bills can be an advantage. Finding deals, staying on top of bills, handling issues over the phone, all help to build financial literacy. Being confident talking about money can help you get ahead in the workplace, where finances often still feel like a taboo topic. Negotiating an energy bill over the phone is good practice for getting a better price for a business contract.
There’s also a host of other practical reasons for staying involved in the household bills. Paying bills on time can help build up your credit score which can have a wide-ranging impact; from decreasing the cost of car insurance to being able to get financial support to start your own business. Similarly, a recent utility bill is often needed as proof of address to open a new bank account or take out a loan. Ultimately, giving up management of the small things early on may limit your options in the future.
So, whoever is managing the bills in your household, it’s time to start a conversation. Was this a conscious decision or did you just slip into your roles by default? If you can’t think of a good reason, then maybe it’s time to switch over who does the admin.
Equality has come a long way in the last 50 years. If we’re going to get over the final hurdle we need to focus on small changes, like managing energy bills, as well as the big ones.
