I saw this news story and I thought what a bizarre thought. That inflation affects the sexes (or genders if you prefer) differently. What? Why?

Because of my extreme economic geekness I’m well aware that inflation affects people differently, dependent upon their position. Debtors love it for example, as it reduces the real value of their debt. Creditors hate it for the same reason, as do those living on fixed incomes or interest.

But men and women differently affectd by inflation? What was this I thought?

But according to a recent survey from Australian Unity, while many households are at breaking point, women are hurting more than men.

The study’s author, Professor Bob Cummins of Deakin University, says men still regard themselves as breadwinners, with women becoming increasingly stressed as they manage the purse strings.

“Females are the frontline purchasers for most households. They’re actually the people who know the price of a loaf of bread,” he said.

“But many females who actually do the shopping on a regular basis would know those prices and would be aware of the fact that when they go to the supermarket on a regular basis now, they’re finding that the money that they take there just doesn’t buy them the goods that it used to.”

Professor Cummins says this makes women more in touch with the tangible effects of inflation.

Ah, OK, that does in fact make sense. (Maybe I didn’t get it at first because I, the male, do the shopping in our household.)

It’s absolutely nothing to do with sex at all. Nothing to do with anything innate in men and women. It’s purely because of the socially assigned roles (gender again, if you like) that means that women see inflation more than men do and thus are more upset by it.

Not as bizarre as I had at first thought.