PRESS INFORMATION ________________________________________________

UK POLL SAYS WOMEN ARE BETTER AT MANAGING MONEY

Today ACTIONAID has published new research showing that women are better than men at managing money. Despite women being major breadwinners in developing countries and the UK, the charity says women face too many obstacles in using money to improve their own and their families' prospects.

ACTIONAID has released UK survey figures in conjunction with a short report called Banking on Women. The Harris poll, commissioned by ACTIONAID, shows that when it comes to finance, women in the UK share the following similarities with women in some of the world's poorest countries:

women are more effective financial managers. ACTIONAID savings and credit schemes provide thousands of poor people with financial services and experience is demonstrating that women make the best savers and are more reliable in repaying loans.

In the UK only 24% of men disagreed that women are better than men at managing money. Also 76% of women say they are good at managing money compared to 64% of men;

women are more socially responsible than men. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says that "...income is more likely to be spent on human development when women control the cash."

In the UK 73% of women said they would spend money on their family before themselves compared to 61% of men. The Low Pay Unit says that without the additional earnings of women, the numbers in poverty in the UK would increase by 50%.

In Africa women produce between 60 and 50% of household food and in the UK around 150,000 women are starting up their own businesses each year. The UNDP says that if women's work were properly valued they would emerge in most societies as "the major breadwinners". However they estimate that, globally, women's unpaid and underpaid work is unrecognized and grossly undervalued to the order of US$1 1 trillion a year.

"Women can and do make a significant impact in reducing extreme poverty," said Marion Jackson, ACTIONAID's Director of Marketing. "When they control the purse strings the whole family benefits, particularly children. But the world now has to support women. They need to be recognised as effective financial managers and supported in their clear role in reducing poverty."

Unfortunately women in the UK and developing countries bear the brunt of poverty:

1.3 billion people live in extreme poverty - 70% are women;

the Low Pay Unit says British women have borne the brunt of rising income inequality and the 10 worst paid professions in the country are held by women.

ACTIONAID also says that even when the world's poorest women do have access to financial services they face too many obstacles in using the money to improve their own lives. These include:

· losing control of the money, particularly when men insist on making all financial decisions

· not having access to or ownership of land or property;

· men fear losing their social status and so resist women's financial independence.

Terry Thomas, Managing Director of the Co-operative Bank, which unlike most British banks has more women customers than men, said: "Although women in the UK are emerging as a major force in our economy they still face many hurdles. They are not always treated equally and this is a problem which we ignore at our peril."

ACTIONAID recommends that organisations offering financial services should:

identify social and legal barriers and devise strategies to address them advocate for improved land and property rights for women; work with men to encourage them to see women as equal partners.

1. ACTIONAID Week starts on Monday 9 June when thousands of people throughout the UK will be raising money for the charity.

2. This year is ACTIONAID's 25th anniversary. The charity works in 24 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, helping to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life for people living in the world's poorest countries.

3. A summary of the Harris/ACTIONAID poll is enclosed. Regional statistics from the survey and full results of the poll are available from the ACTIONAID Press Office.

4. A briefing, 'Banking on Women', is available from the ACTIONAID Press Office.

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