The cost-of-living crisis has impacted women’s finances and their ability to withstand the potential impacts of a recession, according to research by Quilter.
Research with 2,001 Britons, gathered by YouGov, revealed that over a third (36 per cent) of women would not be able to afford their everyday expenses should the UK enter a recession, compared with just a quarter (26 per cent) of men.
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.
Around 31 per cent of women said they are in a worse position financially than this time last year. Comparatively, just 25 per cent of men feel the same way.
Angela Davy-Makwana, financial planning consultant at Quilter, said: “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.”
Previous research from Quilter revealed that one in five women (21 per cent) felt they were worse off financially at the end of 2021 than they had been the year prior, compared to 18 per cent 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.
Davy-Makwana said: “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.”
The ONS recently reported that 40 per cent of adults said affording their rent or mortgage payments was difficult and over a quarter (27 per cent) of households reported that they did not have enough savings to cover a 25 per cent fall in household employment income.
Looking ahead to next year, women are expecting to face greater financial pressures than men.
One fifth (21 per cent) of women said they do not expect to have any disposable income available in 2024, compared to 17 per cent of men.
Elsewhere, the government’s Women and Equalities Committee recently held an evidence session exploring the impact of the rising cost of living on women.
The evidence aligned with Quilter’s findings, as the committee heard the 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.
sonia.rach@ft.com
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