An outdated stereotype about men being the ones to earn money while women recklessly spend it is behind a recent BIG W social media post that’s been labelled sexist by women online.
In the reel, a woman is in her front yard with a garden hose, watering a man (presumably her partner) who is sitting on the ground. It’s accompanied by the line: “Don’t forget to water your money tree.”
It was posted to Big W’s Instagram and Facebook pages this week, along with the hashtags: #mumhumour and #mumlife.
“Just doing our part to keep the money tree thriving. Don’t worry we support everyone’s money tree around here,” the caption said.
Women who took to the post’s comment section to point out the sexism have said their comments have been deleted.
At first, the post might seem harmless. It’s not overly hostile towards women, and it doesn’t explicitly insult anyone. But it’s the assumptions about who we expect to hold financial power in a heterosexual relationship that’s doing the damage.
The money-tree analogy also implies that women are simply consumers who need a man’s income to fund their spending.
Research shows that women do tend to manage household budgets, but this doesn’t mean they are spending endlessly and frivolously without contributing money themselves.
As the cost-of-living rises, most women are managing households and raising kids on less, while also contributing more financially to meet essential expenses.
For generations, men were expected to be the primary earners and women’s economic dependence on men was reinforced through restrictive laws, workplace discrimination, poor access to employment. For a long time, there was also an expectation that women would step away from paid work to care for children. These conditions have contributed to a stubborn gender pay gap that has persisted across generations and sees women earning and retiring with much less than men.
In 2026, most households need two incomes to survive, and women are increasingly becoming breadwinners, full-time workers and business owners. For the women who head up single-parent households, the financial burden relies entirely on their shoulders.
To think that any man is a woman’s “money-tree” in 2026 is not only inaccurate but it perpetuates an old idea about how men and women contribute financially to households.
Let’s not forget that BIG W is a major Australian retailer whose customer base is made up of millions of women who earn and manage money, choose where to invest it, and make financial decisions for their families. Disregarding the reality of these women’s lives doesn’t seem like the best way to keep them on board.