We have made it to the workforce and left the comforts of our homes to join the ranks of the career people and carve a place in the industrial world for ourselves. We have managed to juggle families, social lives and careers and often achieve financial independence.

But has our attitude towards women’s financial independence changed with our changing roles in society? With gender roles blending in the workplace, it seems that back home, one gender role is there to stay, and that is a man’s duty to be the bread earner.

We have polled working wives of upper and middle classes between the ages of 21 to 70 asking them about their contributions to the household’s expenses, including things like utility bills, rent and children expenses.  The respondents’ average age range was between 30 and 39 and the majority had at least one child, with the woman’s monthly income averaging between LE 4,000 and LE 16,000.

Now the results we got were eye opening in many ways. Even though many of the women interviewed earned above LE20,000, only 68.75% reported contributing any amount to the household’s expenses and about 73% said their contribution to the family’s expenses are not equal to their husband’s.

1 of 3. Next Page: Survey results on working women’s spending habits