Six months of lockdown - women more likely to be financially worse off than men

It is staggering that we have been living in the surreal world of full or partial lockdown for half a year now. Shutting down large parts of the economy was always going to take its toll on people’s finances, but it is still worrying to see over a fifth of the country is worse off as a direct result of the pandemic.

Although there is not a vast difference between the experience of the sexes, women are more likely to report being financially disadvantaged than men. This may reflect the fact that some of the sectors most hit by COVID-19 – in particular hospitality and retail – tend to employ significant numbers of women. Many women also work in low paid and often unsecure jobs which may also leave them vulnerable to the effects of lockdown.

The big concern now is whether that picture is going to get better any time soon. The Government is desperately trying to encourage people back to work but in some sectors that is proving very difficult and unemployment has started to creep up, albeit from a very low base.

The danger is that this accelerates as the furlough scheme comes to an end next month. Furthermore, with the UK’s ‘R’ number above 1 and new local lockdowns instigated in the North of England, any thoughts that the virus’s spread is now under control are fast becoming a distant memory. If businesses are again forced to close, this will inevitably create further employment and financial uncertainty for millions of people.

That said, six months into the pandemic it is not all doom and gloom, with the majority of people financially unaffected by lockdown and 14% actually better off than they were before lockdown.*

Some of that money will have sensibly been used to pay down debts, boost their cash savings buffers or top up long term savings. However, UK businesses also badly needs people to start spending some of that cash in order to keep the lights on.

*Research conducted by AJ Bell & Opinium in a nationally representative sample of 2,000 adults between 8 September – 11 September 2020.

These articles are for information purposes only and are not a personal recommendation or advice.