Research on gender inequality has often focused on the access that women and men have to the economic resources of the household. Even though wealth is often considered to be a characteristic of households rather than individuals, not everyone might benefit equally from a household’s wealth. The question of gender differences in access to household wealth is not one we touch upon here. In this project, we have focused on differences between households rather than differences within households.
Because most women and men live in a couple, differences in household wealth between men and women have received relatively little attention from academics. At the same time, it is very plausible that there are gender differences in wealth between single men and women. Women earn less than men, reducing their possibilities to save from income. Also, single parenthood is unequally distributed by gender, with single women being much more likely to be co-residing with children than single men. The economic costs that parenthood imposes are likely to further compromise the possibilities for single women to save and accumulate wealth.
Figure 1 shows median levels of household wealth and income by gender among single men and women who are head of their household (i.e. this excludes persons still living with their parents). The left pane shows that there are surprisingly few differences in household wealth by gender across the period studied. The right pane shows how we do see a divergence in household income by gender, which became more pronounced in recent years. This might imply that the mechanisms explained above do not play a determining role for gender differences in wealth. It could be that other ways to accumulate wealth, such as financial help from parents and inheritances minimize household wealth differences between single men and women.
Figure 1. Household wealth and income of single men and women
Note. Restricted to men and women aged 30+ who are head of household but do not have a partner
Figure 2 takes a closer look at the distribution of women and men across various wealth groups. The first pane of the graph indicates single men and women with negative wealth. The probability of being in debt is slightly higher for women than for men in 2014. But, the most remarkable differences are found at the top. Whereas in 2002 single women and men had a similar probability of having 1 million euros of household wealth or more, this probability was much higher for men than for women by 2014. This result is similar to what has been found in studies of gender equality in labor market opportunities: there appears to be a "glass ceiling" which prevents women from reaching the absolute top. These differences between men and women seem to have declined in 2017, but given the imprecision of the estimates more evidence is needed to conclude something in that regard.
Figure 2. Household wealth and income of single men and women
Discover more about wealth, its distribution across Spanish households, and the characteristics of individuals living in households with little and plenty of wealth by clicking on one of the buttons below.
A gentle introduction to the concept of wealth
FAQ: What is wealth and is wealth inequality important?
Basic trends in household wealth and its distribution in Spain
Who is gaining wealth, who is falling behind?
Income Education and Social Background
This project is financed by the “la Caixa” Social Research Call 2019 (SR0403-WINEQ)
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