The True Cost of Being a Female Millennial in the UK Revealed

• The gender pay gap means female millennials pay 21% more for everyday items –
• This adds £10,500 extra to university debt, £6 to every bottomless brunch and almost £100 a year to an iPhone contract – 

Recent analysis by leading forex broker FXTM has revealed the true cost of being a female millennial in the UK.

FXTM has used the latest statistics[i] for the gender pay gap across Europe to work out how much everyday items[ii], enjoyed as part of a typical millennial lifestyle, would cost.

It has calculated the average prices of 10 different items, using data from six regional cities – London, Birmingham, Manchester, Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh – to show how much women are actually shelling out when the pay gap is applied.

Activities considered popular among millennial women include getting your sweat on in a hot yoga class, grabbing a flat white for the morning commute and sharing a bottle of Prosecco to toast the weekend. However, many women may not be aware of the true cost of these items.

In Europe, the UK is ranked in the bottom ten (4^th worst) for its gender pay gap of 21 percent. This means women are effectively paying 21 percent more whenever they splash their cash.

The UK places only above Germany (21.5%), Czech Republic (21.8%) and Estonia (25.3%) in the worst gender pay gap table. Romania has the smallest pay gap in Europe (5.2%), with Italy (5.3%), Luxembourg (5.5%), Belgium (6.1%) and Poland (7.2%) making up the rest of the top 5.

When studying the results, shockingly, young women leaving university would have an extra £10,500 added to their already huge £50,000 bill, taking them longer to pay off their debt and accruing more interest in the process.

Over the course of a year, they could also expect to pay nearly £100 more for an iPhone 7 contract, £15 extra to binge-watch a series on Netflix and an additional £10 for Tinder Plus.

Enjoying a boozy brunch at the weekend will set millennial women back an extra £6.02 each, while the Uber home would cost £1.23 more every 3 miles travelled.

According to a recent study, millennials have suffered a bigger reversal in financial fortunes than previous generations across the majority of developed countries. Coupled with an enduring gender pay gap squeezing their budgets even tighter, female millennials may find themselves trailing behind their male counterparts in the not-so-distant future.

Natalia Rusavskaya, Global Head of HR and Administration at FXTM commented on the study, saying: 

“Our findings may be pretty shocking for millennial women, as they highlight the true cost of things they enjoy and are working hard to afford. 

“It’s surprising to see the UK is falling short of its European neighbours when it comes to gender pay equality. However, the future does look brighter with work being done to close the gap, including the recent requirement for companies with over 250 employees to disclose their gender pay gap data. 

The financial services sector, which has the highest gender pay gap of any industry, in particular has a lot of work to do. At FXTM, we’re seeing a positive increase in the number of young women choosing a career in Forex trading and the industry as a whole has a lot to gain from this influx”.

More can be found out about the study on FXTM’s dedicated webpage and accompanying interactive tool here.

[i]Latest data available from Eurostat 2018 – http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/8718272/3-07032018-BP-EN.pdf/fb402341-e7fd-42b8-a7cc-4e33587d79aa. The price increase for each item was worked out with the following formula: =21%*PRICE + Original Price

[ii]10 lifestyle factors analysed:

• The gender pay gap means female millennials pay 21% more for everyday items –
• This adds £10,500 extra to university debt, £6 to every bottomless brunch and almost £100 a year to an iPhone contract – 

Recent analysis by leading forex broker FXTM has revealed the true cost of being a female millennial in the UK.

FXTM has used the latest statistics[i] for the gender pay gap across Europe to work out how much everyday items[ii], enjoyed as part of a typical millennial lifestyle, would cost.

It has calculated the average prices of 10 different items, using data from six regional cities – London, Birmingham, Manchester, Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh – to show how much women are actually shelling out when the pay gap is applied.

Activities considered popular among millennial women include getting your sweat on in a hot yoga class, grabbing a flat white for the morning commute and sharing a bottle of Prosecco to toast the weekend. However, many women may not be aware of the true cost of these items.

In Europe, the UK is ranked in the bottom ten (4^th worst) for its gender pay gap of 21 percent. This means women are effectively paying 21 percent more whenever they splash their cash.

The UK places only above Germany (21.5%), Czech Republic (21.8%) and Estonia (25.3%) in the worst gender pay gap table. Romania has the smallest pay gap in Europe (5.2%), with Italy (5.3%), Luxembourg (5.5%), Belgium (6.1%) and Poland (7.2%) making up the rest of the top 5.

When studying the results, shockingly, young women leaving university would have an extra £10,500 added to their already huge £50,000 bill, taking them longer to pay off their debt and accruing more interest in the process.

Over the course of a year, they could also expect to pay nearly £100 more for an iPhone 7 contract, £15 extra to binge-watch a series on Netflix and an additional £10 for Tinder Plus.

Enjoying a boozy brunch at the weekend will set millennial women back an extra £6.02 each, while the Uber home would cost £1.23 more every 3 miles travelled.

According to a recent study, millennials have suffered a bigger reversal in financial fortunes than previous generations across the majority of developed countries. Coupled with an enduring gender pay gap squeezing their budgets even tighter, female millennials may find themselves trailing behind their male counterparts in the not-so-distant future.

Natalia Rusavskaya, Global Head of HR and Administration at FXTM commented on the study, saying: 

“Our findings may be pretty shocking for millennial women, as they highlight the true cost of things they enjoy and are working hard to afford. 

“It’s surprising to see the UK is falling short of its European neighbours when it comes to gender pay equality. However, the future does look brighter with work being done to close the gap, including the recent requirement for companies with over 250 employees to disclose their gender pay gap data. 

The financial services sector, which has the highest gender pay gap of any industry, in particular has a lot of work to do. At FXTM, we’re seeing a positive increase in the number of young women choosing a career in Forex trading and the industry as a whole has a lot to gain from this influx”.

More can be found out about the study on FXTM’s dedicated webpage and accompanying interactive tool here.

[i]Latest data available from Eurostat 2018 – http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/8718272/3-07032018-BP-EN.pdf/fb402341-e7fd-42b8-a7cc-4e33587d79aa. The price increase for each item was worked out with the following formula: =21%*PRICE + Original Price

[ii]10 lifestyle factors analysed: