Personal Consumption and Gender

This paper reanalyses data from the `Breadline Britain' poverty survey to examine differences in personal consumption between men and women. It has been argued (a) that resource allocation in marriage reflects the pattern of inequalities in society, so that married women tend to have a lower level of consumption than married men; and (b) that women's involvement in paid work may not enhance their personal command over resources, because the extra income is absorbed by other members of the household. An index of personal consumption (as distinct from joint consumption, shared with other members of the household) was constructed from information on who had access to items which are normally consumed on an individual basis. This was related to marital status, participation and other characteristics for men and women. The analysis shows that, for women, both being married and being engaged in paid work tend to be associated with a higher individual standard of living to a far greater extent than is the case for men. Neither of the arguments mentioned above is supported.