Research says boys are getting higher allowances than girls in the U.K.

By Fusion Staff  |  December 9, 2015 | 9:51pm
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According to a new survey from U.K. group Opinium, the average amount of pocket money given on a weekly basis to boys was £11.47 ($17.40), compared with £10.67 ($16.19) for girls.

This is all based on an online survey Opinium completed by an admittedly small sample of 1,057 UK parents of children aged 11 to 18 years old in October and November.

A separate study from Lloyds Banking Group’s Halifax unit found similar results, with boys getting £6.25 ($9.48), and girls receiving £6.14 ($9.31). That survey also found more boys (81%) receiving weekly spending money than girls (74%), although the group did find that gap appears to be narrowing. Halifax surveyed 1,200 children in the U.K. aged 8-15 between May 1, and May 15, 2015.

Adult women in the the U.K, meanwhile, earn $0.80 for every dollar a man makes.

It’s not clear from the results what’s driving the difference. The Opinium survey did find that the cost of items children wanted was the top factor determining how much pocket money parents gave to their children. Almost two thirds (63%) of parents expected pocket money to be spent on sweets and chocolate, while 49% expected the money to go to DVDs and CDs. There was no gender breakdown for these purchases.

Halifax also found boys were more likely to save their pocket money: 73% for boys, compared with 67% for girls, although the percentage of boys saying they’re saving is falling.

Despite receiving more money, boys were more likely to say they should have gotten more, at 43%, compared with girls at 39%.

“There is no good reason why there should be any difference between the amount of pocket money given to a boy and a girl,”James Daley, managing director of Fairer Finance, a consumer website, told the Sunday Times. “Parents should go out of their way to address the problem and educate their children that there is equality between genders.”

Rob covers business, economics and the environment for Fusion. He previously worked at Business Insider. He grew up in Chicago.

 
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