Women of the world... material girls or money managers?

No matter where in this world you are from, the traditional way of managing family finances is: man as breadwinner, woman as homemaker. And all you independent ladies out there, before you get het up, note the word "traditional".

While tradition still guides many families, these days there are as many ways to manage money as there are households. Single parents; dual incomes; childfree; and large, multi-generation families... the modern family is much harder to define.

So what roles do women around the world play in their household finances? Do they feel in control of their own cash? How many women believe they are financially independent? Are women better with money than men? Synovate asked nearly 4,500 women (and a few men) across 12 countries what they thought.

Why women?

A woman meets a man, falls in love, moves in, gets married, has kids (not necessarily in that order) and it all falls apart. It's not until this moment that she realises just how dependent she is on her partner's money.

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Sisters doing it for themselves

It's not many decades since women started entering the workforce en masse and, to varying degrees, some aspects of gender equality remain unaddressed in every country of the world. Yet the survey found that nearly six in ten (58%) women across 12 diverse countries believe themselves to be financially independent.

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Breadwinning broads or ladies who lunch?

Of course one woman's financial independence may be another's servitude. The survey also asked women to choose what the term 'financial independence' meant to them, with the top-ranked answer all about not relying on a husband or partner for money.

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Man the head of the house?

The strong matriarch played by Lainie Kazan in 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' voiced: "Let me tell you something, Toula. The man is the head, but the woman is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants." Out on a limb? (If you will forgive the pun.) Perhaps. But this is undoubtedly how some homes are run! The survey also explored men's and women's attitudes about male roles in household finance.

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Miss Responsible meet Lady Luck

Just over half of all respondents (both men and women) agreed that 'women are more responsible with money than men'. Perhaps not surprisingly there is a significant difference across gender - 61% of women think the fairer sex is more responsible but only 40% of men agree.

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Credit where it's due

How people feel about credit tends to evolve as credit card use matures in a country (or becomes more immature if they are used willy nilly!). Overall, 42% of our female respondents use part of their monthly income on credit cards.

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About the Synovate Women's Financial Independence global survey

The In:fact survey on women's financial independence was conducted in December 2008 across 12 markets and nearly 4,500 female respondents. Some questions were also posed to around 4,500 men. Synovate asked respondents about their financial independence; what the term means to them; looked at which financial instruments they might use; explored ways women choose to further their financial independence; as well as attitudes to the roles of men and women when it comes to managing money.

The markets covered by the survey are Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (US).