Podcasts from Women & Money related to Economics - UK

Do you have a cash ISA? Government figures show that cash ISAs are one financial product that's more popular among women than men. These savings accounts pay interest without tax taken off - and, although a bit of the gloss has been taken off them in the last year or so because of tax changes to savings and low interest rates, many women still have them. And from April there will be a new ISA - a LISA or lifetime ISA. Sarah Pennells was joined by Helen Saxon, chief product analyst at Money Saving Expert, Harry Rose, editor of Which? Money and by Claire Walsh, who's head of advice at Unbiased.

Figures released today show that number of people having cosmetic procedures fell to just over 30,000 last year -- a fall of almost 40% on last year. But what are your rights when you have a procedure done - how do you choose a good plastic surgeon and what can you do if it all goes wrong? Sarah was joined by are Dr Uma Jeyanathan who is from Save Face, Judith Thomas-Whittingham who's head of clinical negligence at Stephensons solicitors Nilesh Sojitra, who is from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons and Martyn James who's an independent financial expert.

This week, we look into your rights if you live with your partner but you're not married. And if you're thinking of moving in with your partner, have you decided whether to have a joint bank account or to keep your money separate? There are over three million couples in the UK who live together and moving in together can bring some financial challenges as well as the financial benefits of sharing costs. Sarah Pennells was joined by Jo Edwards who's head of family at law firm Forsters and Nigel Shepherd who's head of family law at Mills and Reeve and chair of the family lawyers' organisation Resolution.

January is supposed to be the busiest month for divorce as, sadly, many couples contemplate ending their marriage. How do you pay for divorce, especially if you're not working or you're not the main earner? Sarah Pennells was joined by David Allison who's a partner with law firm Family Law in Partnerships, Mary Marvel from Advice Now, Elspeth Thompson from David Gray solicitors and Mary Waring from Wealth for Women.

Now, if you’re self employed or you get income from a range of different sources – you might have ‘filling in your tax self-assessment form’ at the top of your to-do list. The deadline for filing your tax self-assessment form is January 31st – just over two weeks away. So, if you haven’t got round to filing yours yet, fear not! We’re going to tell you exactly what you need to do. My guests are Anita Monteith who’s from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, Elaine Clarke from Cheap Accounting and Jonathan Amponsah from The Tax Guys.

Sarah investigates why the financial sector has few women in top positions and looks into the companies that have signed up for the women in Financial Services Charter. To go through this issue, Sarah is joined by Jane Platt from NS&I, Melanie Seymour from Women in Banking and Finance and employment lawyer, Gillian Howard.

In 1966, Barclays sent out over a million credit cards to customers. And so began a revolution in the way we shop and pay for goods. None of the customers had asked for these cards - and it was an entirely new product in the UK. Many of those who received these credit cards were women, and it meant that women could get credit without having to get a man to sign for it or act as a guarantor. Sarah Pennells and her guests discuss how credit cards have changed over the past 50 years and look at current rates and deals available.

We all know that there aren't enough women taking up careers in science and technology, often referred to as STEM. But what's being done to improve this and what kind of jobs are available, if it's an area you're interested in? Sarah Pennells is joined in the studio by Benita Mehra, President of Women in Engineering Society, who explains why so few women go into engineering. Anne-Marie Imafidon, Co-founder of Stemette, and Stella Tournier, WISE member STEM Role Model, discuss whether girls are not encouraged enough to take engineering or science subjects at school (or are they not interested?). Meanwhile Sophie Graham, National Careers Service Adviser, looks at the academic route into engineering or science if you decide you want to come to it later in life.

Gender pay gap is still alive and kicking, with women earning 12% less than men. So how do you go about getting a pay rise or a promotion? Sarah Pennells is joined by Fiona Davis, Director for Women in Retail; Penny Parker, from Laurence Simons; and Vanessa Vallely, founder of WeAreTheCity and WeAreTheCity. Together, the guests discuss why women are less likely to ask for a pay rise, and why they are reluctant to come forward.

Sarah Pennells looks at what's changed for women in the last 90 years. She's joined by Jane Moore, from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales; Fiona Tait, from Royal London, and employment lawyer at Slater and Gordon Jasmine van Loggerenberg. From maternity pay in the 1970s to today's debate on equal gender pay, Sarah and her guests analyse the changes that have occurred throughout history to improve women's working rights.