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Rise in IVAs and bankruptcies among women

The number of women entering an IVA or bankruptcy has increased dramatically over the last decade, new figures from the Insolvency Service have revealed.

In the last year alone, as The Independent reports, the number of women going bankrupt has risen by 28%.

63% of the DROs (Debt Relief Orders) awarded last year were awarded to women.

And the number of women entering an IVA rose by 22% in 2009, while the number of men entering an IVA saw a slightly smaller rise of 20%.

Today, the Insolvency Service figures tell us, women account for 40% of the total bankruptcy figure.

Between 2000 and 2009, bankruptcies involving women rose from 6,042 to 29,680.

Looking back a few years, a report from the Insolvency Service entitled `Characteristics of a Bankrupt` provides some figures for four of those years:

• In 2001/2, 31.7% of all bankrupts in England and Wales were female.
• In 2002/3, 33.9% were female.
• In 2003/4, 36.6% were female.
• In 2004/5, 39.2% were female.

In total, there were 74,670 bankruptcies in England and Wales last year - and 47,641 IVAs.