British girls lose out in pocket money stakes

British girls receive on average 77 pence a week less pocket money than boys -- a sharp jump in the pay gap since last year, according to a study by the Halifax bank published today.
On average, boys aged between 8 and 15 years old receive 6.93 pounds (USD 10, 8.95 euros) per week compared to 6.16 pounds for girls of a similar age.
But boys are more likely (44 per cent) than girls (39 per cent) to think they should receive more.
The pocket money gender gap has soared from last year, when boys received on average 6.25 pounds and girls 6.14 pounds -- an 11 pence difference, according to the survey of 1,202 children and 575 parents.

Women in Britain on average earn 19.2 per cent less than men, according to official statistics.
Critics argue that using average pay and bonuses does not take into account differences in occupations, positions, education, career breaks to have children, job tenure or hours worked per week.

According to recent official figures, British women between the ages of 22 and 29 earn on average 1,111 pounds per year more than men, but begin earning less once they hit their 30s.
The Halifax survey also found that British children now receive 6.55 pounds per week on average from their parents, a nine-year high and an increase of almost six percent over the last year.

Children in London receive the most (8.21 pounds), and those in East Anglia the least (4.96 pounds).
"Some parents are clearly not feeling the pinch in the same way as they have done in recent years, when weekly pocket money dipped as low as 5.89 pounds," said Giles Martin, head of Halifax Savings.
"It's likely it'll be a few more years until we reach the dizzy heights of 8.37 pounds in 2005 though, when we saw the highest average pocket money since our records began," he said.