北美八成家庭女性掌財政大權
Men still make the most money in the average household, but it's women who control the purse strings.
如今在普通家庭中，男人仍然是主要的經濟支柱，但女人卻掌握着家中的財政大權。
While that's been acknowledged informally for some time in Canada, a new survey by the Bank of Montreal suggests there is no reason to doubt the truism.
儘管在加拿大，這一模式早前就已得到民衆認可，但蒙特利爾銀行的一項新調查表明這一老生常談是無可置疑的。
In a report tied to Mother's Day, the bank says a recent survey of about 1,500 people shows that in 82 percent of Canadian households, women are either the primary decision-maker or have equal responsibility for financial decisions.
在一份母親節相關報道中，該銀行稱他們近日一項對1500人的調查顯示，82%的加拿大家庭中，女性或者是主要決策者，或者平分經濟決策權。
"We can still say women earn less than men over their entire career ... but they do make around 80 percent of the decisions around spending," said Tina Di Vito, head of BMO's retirement division.
蒙特利爾銀行離退辦的主任緹娜•迪•維託說：“可以說，女性在整個職業生涯中賺的錢仍然沒有男性多，但家庭開支上約80%的決定是由女性做出的。”
"Even on things like the family car, women are very involved in selecting a car that is appropriate for their needs."
“即使是購買家用車這樣的東西，女性也會密切參與其中，選擇一款適合自己需要的車。”
The BMO report, done in conjunction with Boston Consulting Group, shows women are also gaining financial power by virtue of their earnings and now control about one-third of all wealth in North America.
蒙特利爾銀行和波士頓諮詢集團聯合撰寫的這份報告顯示，女性也憑藉自身收入獲得了更多財政權力，現在女性控制了北美全部財富的三分之一。
Still, the study released Thursday suggests women remain on average less confident than men about finances.
週四發佈的這一報告還顯示，平均來看，女性在理財上依然不如男性自信。
Men are more likely than women to have investments and a financial plan by a factor 62 percent versus 52 percent, the bank said.
銀行稱，男性相比女性更可能去投資或制定理財計劃，這麼做的男性爲62%，而女性爲52%。
They also tend to be less prepared for retirement due to a variety of factors, including lower earnings, intermittent work histories and longer life spans.
女性爲退休所做的準備一般也不如男性充分，這是由多種原因導致的：收入低、職業經歷時斷時續、壽命更長。
Di Vito said the gap is closing in many areas where women are lagging.
迪•維託說，在許多女性理財觀念落後於男性的地區，這一差距正在縮小。
"There is still a gap, but it's getting less and less. Even in the area of retirement, baby boomer women are the first generation of women retirees that actually control their own personal wealth," she said.
她說：“差距依然存在，但正在不斷縮小。即使退休了，嬰兒潮一代女性卻是第一代能真正掌控個人財富的退休女性。”
