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Original poster

This simply reinforces pay inequality between the sexes

29 replies

Grennie · 19/10/2013 04:52

I always read the threads about how couples manage their money and bills with interest. Some couples where both work, agree to split bills, food and other joint costs 50:50, and keep the rest of their earnings for themselves.

Given that women tend to earn less than men, then I think thisway of managing money, simply reproduces pay inequality in the home. So I think it is a feminist issue. And yet how money is spent in a family, and who makes the decisions about that, rarely seems to be viewed as a feminist issue.

Interested to hear others views.

OP posts:
StickEmUp · 19/10/2013 08:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SabrinaMulhollandJjones · 19/10/2013 08:12

We've aways shared the money completely - joint account, all in. I didn't realise this was unusual till I read MN.

Thants · 19/10/2013 08:07

I think money should always be split and both have equal access so we don't get men giving women 'pocket money'. I can't imagine why anyone would want to be in a relationship where one person has more wealth than the other, it is only going to cause problems! And women are almost always the victims in this.

scallopsrgreat · 19/10/2013 08:02

Household finances are very much a feminist issue. Child benefit was brought in, in part, so that women would have some money to pay for things for their children because of the inequality and financial abuse in households.

I think there are several issues:

How finances are split; how it is decided what money is spent on; who manages the finances on a day-to-day basis.

On the face of it there appears to be two fair ways of splitting money (especially when children are in the mix): either both of you get equal set amounts of money and the rest in a joint account or everything is pooled in a joint account. However, unless how the finances are spent is decided fairly and reevaluated regularly according to circumstances then there will still be inequality.

And then you get on to the division of labour for this and whose responsibility it is to actually sort out payments for bills, mortgage, household shopping (or wifework).

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