EQUALITY in earnings still has a long way to go.

This post was taken from an article by Anthony Keane where he discusses the latest research from MoneySmart magazine.

Women are better than men at running household finances but fall short when it comes to generating long-term wealth. New research undertaken for MoneySmart Week found that just 19 per cent of women are building wealth for retirement, compared with 25 per cent of men. And twice as many women than men are uncertain about achieving their savings goals. The reality is that if we compare wage rates to 10 or 20 years ago, the average wage when inflation is taken into account, has not risen to keep up with inflation. This means that men and women today are being squeezed because they do not have the funds available that their parents did.

The ME Bank survey found that women were leading the way in day-to-day money management, with 21 per cent setting up a budget compared with 16 per cent of men and 33 per cent saving for a holiday or car compared with 24 per cent of men.  Many men do not see the need for planning and this is consistent with the findings of the study.

Financial Literacy Board member and MoneySmart Week ambassador Elaine Henry says the divide between men and women highlighted by the research shows that "we have got a long way to go in getting people to act".  "We have attitudes that are more stereotypical of yesteryear than what we need for the future," she says.

"The 21st century is very different and both males and females have to change and have a more holistic approach. Women perhaps want to create wealth but what they don't do is set goals and do something about it. Men need to look more carefully at budgeting and day-to-day saving, but we should particularly concentrate on women because of the dreadful statistics that show women just don't have the superannuation they need to be independent. "They have about half super balance that men have." This is true because women make about half of what men make so they cannot be expected to have the same saved for their pensions. This seems to have been forgotten in this analysis of the information

Henry says both men and women should start planning their financial future as early as possible and do a money health check. A free money health check tool can be found at moneysmartweek.org.au . This tool gives you a sense of your money personality, and gives other tools that may be of help. The site is geared for the Australian audience but others can learn some solid information as well. 

Here is a very interesting link to help understand the myths and facts around equal pay for equal work: The gender pay gap: fact or fiction?