A gender gap in kid's wages, too

If you think wage inequality is restricted to adults in the working world, think again.

A poll of 659 high school students by Junior Achievement, an organization that teaches students about business, showed that teenage girls earned an average of $6.73 per hour while boys said they averaged $7.36. Female teenagers' adult counterparts are paid only 74 cents for every dollar men make, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

When it comes to saving money, tight-fisted teens blow away their spend-happy parents. Teens who work during the summer save 34 percent of their wages; 17 times more than working adults do.

But who is in charge of the money once the paycheck is cashed?

Answer: It varies.

Most American couples (55 percent) say household financial decisions are shared equally, according to a Lutheran Brotherhood Reports survey.

Still, 38 percent of husbands say they control household finances. But just 24 percent of wives agree that their husbands are in charge. Similarly, 17 percent of wives say that they make most of the financial decisions, but just 8 percent of husbands concur.

Also, 90 percent of married Americans said that if something were to happen to their spouse, they would be comfortable handling the family's finances.

(c) Copyright 2000. The Christian Science Publishing Society