Peter De Vries once wrote satirically that a suburban mother's role is to deliver children obstetrically once, and by car forever after.

Today, despite a record number of women in employment, and a general societal understanding that a women’s 'place' is no longer exclusively in the home, women are still significantly poorer at retirement than men. 

The average pension pot for a 65-year-old woman in the UK is £35,800, one-fifth of that for the average 65-year-old man.

The gender pay gap of 8.9 percent is partly responsible for the difference in pension provision, but it is not the only factor.