Young women bankrupted by “trappings of success”

by Gill Montia

Story link: Young women bankrupted by “trappings of success”

The gender bias of insolvency statistics is changing, with more women making up the numbers of young people entering bankruptcy.

According to accountancy firm, Wilkins Kennedy, bankruptcies in England and Wales among the under 24s have risen by 10% over the past five years.

However, last year women made up 55% of the numbers, compared with 43.8% in 2004, with 1,560 women under the age of 24 declaring themselves bankrupt, compared with 1,250 men.

Wilkins Kennedy suggests that young women are struggling with their finances as a result of credit card debt and mortgage or rent payments.

A director of the firm, Anthony Cork, explains: “Over the last decade the pressure on young women to follow the lavish lifestyle of female celebrities has grown immensely.”

He adds: “The growing availability of credit has meant that for those status-conscious, who want to exhibit the trappings of success, designer clothes and jewellery seem misleadingly achievable.”

Mr Cork is also concerned that many young single women have taken out mortgages that consume much of their monthly salaries.

This makes them vulnerable to changes in interest rates and far more likely to go bankrupt if made redundant.

Insolvency Service figures show that there were approximately 67,500 personal bankruptcies across all age groups in England and Wales last year, an increase of 89% over the past five years.