Men's professional lives continue to benefit them more than women's do. In relationships, too, women are left poorer all too often. Families tend to favor boys financially. While money may have no smell, it clearly has a gender. Why do these gender differences persist? What tools can be used to eliminate them? Is money still men's business?

Feminist journalist and financial expert Titiou Lecoq is author of the book Le Couple et l'Argent. Pourquoi les Hommes sont plus Riches que les Femmes ("Couples and Money: Why Men are Richer than Women"), which has helped raise awareness in France about the various mechanisms behind these inequalities. She is especially known for her "yogurt container theory," which posits that, in relationships, women tend to pay for everyday purchases, while men handle big expenses. As a result, when couples separate, the man leaves with the car, while the woman only receives empty yogurt containers.

The more money a given family has, the more likely it is that the man manages it. As historian Michelle Perrot explains, femininity is constructed around the idea of self-sacrifice, and masculinity around economic power. Giving is free, and a woman who starts to count things up seems somewhat unattractive. This value system is deeply ingrained. It is hard to go against it, unless, perhaps, financial education in schools were expanded.

The fact that women are less likely than men to manage wealth does not mean they know nothing about finance. They are very skilled at managing overdrafts, high debt burdens and handling a lack of money in general. Managing poverty and getting by with little requires financial skills! But these skills are not the ones highlighted in the surveys.

There has been a real rise in awareness over recent years. While, for a long time, French feminism had a problem with economics – in part because feminists were on the left – these inequalities are now on our minds. There are in-depth studies on the topic, Instagram accounts that make these questions accessible, etc.

The fact that many women now realize they have the power to act on their finances is progress and a first step, but, in practice, women's overall economic situation has not improved, and reforms are necessary.

There are a thousand problems in terms of financial equality between women and men, and thus there are a thousand strategies to employ. A move to individualize the withholding tax rate on income tax for couples, which came into effect in 2025, is an excellent measure. [It allows whichever partner earns less to no longer be taxed at the same rate as their partner.] But we need to go further: income tax itself should be individualized. The current system, which favors couples with large income gaps, negatively affects women's employment.

We also need to individualize how social benefits are calculated, so that the system no longer takes partners' incomes into account, as has already been done for the adult disability benefit. We should also establish mandatory paternity leave for men, equal in length to maternity leave. It is important for fathers to spend time alone with their babies: in this respect, I regret that lawmakers did not require part of the new parental leave [which came into effect on July 1] to be taken separately, rather than simultaneously, by each parent.

When it comes to salaries, I have high hopes for the way the European pay transparency directive will be transposed into French law [the current bill should give employees the right to know the average pay of colleagues in equivalent positions, and is set to replace the Pénicaud index, a previous measure from 2018]. The Pénicaud index put the issue on the table for companies, but it has not closed the gaps.

Even though women are aware of overall salary inequalities, they generally do not believe they are personally affected by them. Often, they find out they are being paid less by chance – through a conversation with a colleague or by seeing someone else's payslip. As long as they are not aware of discrimination that affects them personally, nothing happens.

The most important thing is to keep a personal bank account; it will be essential if you ever have to deal with economic violence or violence of any kind. Beyond that, understand that all of our life decisions have economic impacts, even if we have not been taught to see them that way.

If you decide to move out of your parents' home for independence while your brother chooses to stay a bit longer, be aware that your rent is money you are not saving. Think about the status of your relationship: cohabitation, PACS [civil union] or marriage. Some matrimonial property regimes offer much more protection than others, but most people know nothing about prenuptial agreements, even though they matter much more than choosing a wedding buffet!

Ask yourself whether your relationship's financial arrangements reflect your values. Could you share expenses more fairly? Distribute your assets better? How do you assign value to household work? Revisit these questions whenever your situation changes: when a child arrives, when they start school, if you change jobs, etc.

Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.