Gender Inequalities in the 21

st

Century

Within Household Inequalities: Couple Finances

26-27 March 2009

Togetherness and Autonomy in Low/Moderate Income Couples

Fran Bennett (University of Oxford) and Sirin Sung (Queens University Belfast)

Introduction

• • GeNet project 5: www.genet.ac.uk

“Within Household Inequalities and Public Policy”

• Not mixed methods project, but multi method, with joint working throughout • Presentations draw on all elements: analysis of qualitative and quantitative data and policy simulation

The family is a key site of distribution (of resources, time and labour), but is often a ‘black box’ which is not investigated and within which equality is assumed

Aims of project:

• To explore alternative approaches to understanding the behavioural and distributional impact of policy change which take account of gender inequalities in power and influence within the household • To use such approaches to analyse the effects of actual and potential changes in fiscal, social security and associated labour market policies

Outline of workshop

• ‘Gendering’ togetherness and financial autonomy in low/moderate income couples • The pursuit of ‘collective’ household interests may differentially limit individuals’ current and/or future autonomy • Factors influencing entitlements to household resources can result in unequal financial autonomy for men and women • Influence of tax/benefits system on these inequalities

Outline of this presentation

• Qualitative research: method and sample • Understanding of (financial) autonomy: economic independence and agency • Challenges to emphasis on autonomy • Drivers to togetherness in these couples • Exploration of aspects of financial autonomy from gendered perspective • Reflections, issues and future plans

Method and sample

• Semi-structured, separate interviews with members of 30 couples (almost all married) • Time-limited sample from BHPS/ECHP (booster), interviewed in 2006 • Male/female couples, mostly both members of working age, have had child/ren at some time • In England, Wales, Scotland (not N Ireland) • Low/moderate income – largely on means tested benefits/tax credits now and/or in past

Financial autonomy

• Autonomy: ability to determine life • Financial autonomy defined as economic independence and/or agency with money: - lack of dependence on/control by partner - agency: decisions/actions related to household income + personal projects • Data based on what interviewees said • Focus on gender perspective

Togetherness

• Challenges to emphasis on autonomy • Strong loyalty to mutuality/family unit • Drivers to togetherness are strong: low/moderate income (make £ stretch) - children as joint project - couples have stayed together • ‘All in one pot’, ‘no yours and mine’, ‘team’ • (Sonnenberg: ‘all in one pot’ figurative?)

Economic independence

• Making a contribution: link with family survival more likely for men, self-esteem more likely for women:

‘Money wise my wages is very important to me, I need to be bringing in something to contribute. It’s not necessary, we could live on his wage if we wanted to, but I need to work to contribute to bring in a little bit in doing something. It is emotionally very important to me.’

(case 11, female) • Money in your own right: likely to be less imp ortant for men, or seen as antithetical to sharing / an issue for women (more aware of tensions)

• Men/women: view of independence differs

‘You can spend on what you like, if you need something you can buy what you like.’

(case 22, male)

‘To me it’s quite important, yes, I think you need to be ... have a little bit of independence in whatever you do.’

(case 27, female) • Privacy: more women had individual accounts; but some men saw this choice as selfishness if applied to themselves

Agency: access to household income

• Women’s management of joint pool of household income as compensation?

• Agency in relation to household money management: women may take/hand over • Joint account access may be problematic • (Degree of) autonomy in gendered spending areas: ‘I’m bills, she’s food’ • ‘Not having to ask’ important for women

Agency: income for personal projects

• On low incomes, little to spare anyway • Most did not have to justify personal spending • Women’s spending on family as personal? • Concern for others/connectedness as expression of autonomy/agency • More women only spend own incomes • For some women, maintenance of autonomy at price of living standard

Reflections

• •

Togetherness

• But more

unitary

than gender equal?

Men

subscribed to by most more likely to see little to disturb togetherness and/or autonomy as threat •

Women

managed togetherness? but often also had aspirations for autonomy/agency • But

more difficult

in low income families (joint assessment and private childrearing)

Issues and future plans

• Focus so far on ‘gendering’ togetherness and (financial) autonomy – men/women • One partner’s autonomy limiting other’s? link to inequality (including some women giving men pocket money, keeping their debit cards, buying their clothes etc.) • Link perceptions with demographic info • Togetherness/autonomy couple typology?