Control of Finances

• Pahl studied how couples with at least one child under 16 managed their money. She found the most common arrangement was for them to pool it but for the husband to have greater say in how it was spent and to spend more on himself. In just over a fifth of couples, usually where the husband had the main or only wage, he had total control of the finances, giving his wife a house-keeping allowance which she had to stretch to buy regular household items. This is indicative of male dominance.
• Just over a quarter of couples, usually where the woman earned more than the man, had wife-controlled pooling, the most egalitarian system as both partners tended to share decision making and personal spending was fairly equal.
• Laurie and Gershuny compared data from 1991 and 1995, which showed a movement away from housekeeping allowances to shared money management. There was an increase from 65% to 70% in both partners having an equal say in big financial decisions, and this was most likely where women were in professional roles with high earnings. Women's progress in the workplace is often not reflected in the division of labour and economic power in the home.