The existence of the gender pay gap has many far reaching effects on women’s lives. Now new research has uncovered the impact it is having on their homeownership plans.
Analysis by GoCompare has discovered women need 50% longer than men to save enough money for a deposit on their first home because of the financial disadvantage created by the gender pay gap.
The research found, on average, female first-time buyers needed a minimum of five-and-a-half years to save for a house deposit, compared to just 3.7 years for their male counterparts.
Researchers suggested this was because female would-be-homeowners appeared to have less disposable income available to put aside into savings each month. Indeed of those only able to find £199 per month 58% were women and 52% were men.
Even at the higher end of the savings scale there was a disparity, said GoCompare, with those saving over £400 per month being predominantly male at 19%, compared to a lower percentage of females at 13%.
Richard Jones, business development manager at GoCompare, said: “Our research highlights that the gender pay gap has significant implications for women in the UK throughout their lives.
“As a result, female first-time buyers can end up waiting for years longer than men to buy their homes.
“Currently, not enough is being done to tackle the wage gap. We’re hoping to raise awareness of this issue, to advocate for change, but also to ensure women are fully informed of the challenges they face.”
Support for first-time buyers
Despite rising house prices, first-time buyers weren’t taking advantage of help from the government. Just 27% of homeowners used a government scheme – such as Help to Buy: Equity Loan – when buying their house, with more men than women choosing to do so.
GoComapre said although the gender pay gap had dominated headlines in the last few years, awareness of its effect on purchasing property was limited.
It found 74% of homeowners (including over two-thirds of women) were unaware of the pay gap’s impact on women saving for their first home.
You can find out more about how to save for a deposit, including tips on how to boost your savings budget, in our first-time buyer guide, here.
