Women are leading the men when it comes to taking financial control
Data compiled by leading price comparison website MoneySuperMarket reveals women aged 25-34 now generate 40% of all credit card inquiries and single women are most likely to take out a credit card, with an average of 52,000 inquiries a month in 2017.
The research shows that, as few as 50 years ago, credit cards were mainly owned and used by men, with women predominantly struggling to secure any form of credit unless they had the signature of a male guarantor.
However, this couldn’t be further from today’s truth.
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Hide AdMoneySuperMarket data shows that women aged 25-34 are responsible for 40% of all credit card inquiries in the past five years (2013 to present day), while those aged 18-24 account for an average of 16%.
In fact, nearly two thirds (63%) of women now hold a credit card in their own name.
The data also highlights that single women are most likely to take out a credit card, with an average of 52,000 inquiries a month in 2017 – peaking at 60,000 inquiries in January, 2018.
It would appear that more and more women are seeking financial independence, with the under 35s in particular dominating the credit card market.
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Hide AdBefore the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 women were unable to take out a mortgage without a male guarantor.
Since then, more women have begun to own properties – 78,987 women have inquired for a mortgage so far in 2018, making up 44% of all mortgage inquiries this year.
The ratio between men and women taking out mortgages in the 18-25 bracket has also started to close, with men accounting for 52% and women accounting for 48% of all mortgage inquiries in 2018 so far.
More women are also becoming self-employed, with the number of women taking out business insurance increasing by 42% from 2015 to 2017.
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Hide AdWhen looking into the sector split, the research shows that over 41% of people who took out business insurance for pubs were women, which jumps to over 50% for shops.
Despite years of unfairly being unable to legally manage their finances, research by MoneySuperMarket reveals that women are now marginally more likely to hold a savings account in their own name than men .
The research also found that 81% of women have a personal current account, with women in London having the highest percentage of current accounts across the UK (90%).
Just under half (47%) of women are now solely responsible for household bills, yet only 43% feel confident when it comes to managing their finances, compared to 53% of men.
To view the timeline of women’s financial rights go to https://www.moneysupermarket.com/credit-cards/womens-financial-rights/