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A gender pay gap is emerging in the amount of pocket money UK parents give their children. Even at the tender age of under 15, it seems boys receive significantly more than girls — and, like their dads at work, are more insistent in asking for more. Parents are forking out an average £6.55 per week to children, according to the annual Halifax pocket money survey, the highest level recorded since the onset of the financial crisis in 2007.

However, boys received an average of £6.93 per week — almost 12 per cent higher than the average £6.16 parents gave to their daughters. Last year, boys also received more pocket money than girls, but the gap was just 2 per cent, the Halifax said. Despite receiving significantly more, boys were also more likely to complain that they were not receiving enough money. This year, 44 per cent of boys said they thought their parents should give them a rise, compared to 39 per cent of girls. "Just like in the modern workplace, I suspect there is an element of 'if you don't ask, you don't get' as some little girls are probably too nice to ask for more," said Lindsay Cook, co-founder of consumer website Money Fight Club. "Really, girls should get in some practice before they enter the world of work. In my experience, a large proportion of employees never ask for a raise, but wait until they are given one."

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