Debt charity identifies insolvency gender divide

Men are more likely to become insolvent than women according to Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), the UK's leading debt charity. CCCS has released its insolvency statistics by gender which reveal higher rates of bankruptcy and Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) recommendations for men than women. Last year, of those it recommended an IVA to, 55.4 percent were men while 51.4 percent of those it recommended bankruptcy to were men.

The existence of an insolvency gender divide is supported by figures that CCCS has obtained from the Insolvency Service, with statistics from 2000 to 2008 showing that men have always taken out more IVAs or gone bankrupt more than women. In 2008, the most recent available figures by gender, show that 23,173 women went bankrupt in 2008 compared to 37,972 men, an increase of over 50 percent, while 17,300 women took out an IVA, four thousand less than the 21,318 men who did.

The levels of debt for CCCS clients gives an indication why there are higher numbers of insolvency among men. While couples have more debt than single people, on average owing just over £30,000, single men owe on average £19,830, which is 17 percent more than the average of £16,937 for single women.

Commenting on the findings, CCCS spokeswoman Frances Walker says: "This may be the one equality which women may not want to aspire to. Whatever sex you are, I would urge anyone worried about their debt to seek help as soon as possible. Either call our helpline or if you prefer to be anonymous, use Debt Remedy, our online counselling tool."