Chicago, IL, July 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Financial Health Network, the nation’s authority on monetary well being, in partnership with the Principal® Foundation, in the present day launched The Gender Gap in Financial Health report, exploring why girls in America proceed to fare worse financially than males. The examine explores the systemic challenges to girls’s monetary well being and divulges an interconnected set of points that constrain monetary safety.
Key findings embody:
- Women report worse outcomes than males on each measure of monetary well being: spending, financial savings, borrowing, and planning.
- Women usually tend to report that their monetary conditions worsened throughout the pandemic than males.
- Significant disparities exist alongside racial and ethnic backgrounds, with solely 11% of Black girls and seven% of Latina girls being thought of Financially Healthy, in comparison with 25% of White girls.
- Women who’re married or dwelling with a associate (24%) usually tend to be Financially Healthy than girls who are usually not married (13%).
While revenue alone will not be a sole determinant of monetary well being, it is very important observe that the report discovered girls total report decrease revenue than males resulting from unequal pay, occupational segregation, discrimination, and disproportionate caregiving tasks.
“From shouldering childcare responsibilities to a persistent wage gap, women have long faced barriers to financial health, and the pandemic only worsened this situation,” mentioned Financial Health Network Senior Director Meghan Greene. “Families, communities, and the economy benefit when women make financial health gains, and tangible action can be taken now by employers and policymakers to close the gap through building up our care infrastructure with paid leave and expanded childcare options, bridging the wage gap, counteracting gender discrimination, and expanding opportunities to build wealth. ”
The report recognized 4 systemic limitations to the monetary well being of girls that, if addressed, may make a big distinction in their monetary lives:
Income disparities and challenges assembly fundamental wants
- Women usually tend to have low family incomes (outlined right here as $30,000 or much less) than males; and solely 4% of girls with low family incomes are thought of financially wholesome, in comparison with 50% of girls with family incomes over $100,000.
- Nearly half (45%) of girls with kids below 4 say they often or usually fear about the way to afford diapers.
- 1 / 4 (25%) of girls report that they fear about affording menstrual merchandise equivalent to pads and tampons for themselves or one other individual in the family.
Cost of childcare and lack of caregiving infrastructure
- 70% of girls with kids below 18 report making a profession change, equivalent to decreasing their hours, taking a depart of absence, or switching to a much less demanding job due to their parenting tasks, in contrast with 55% of males.
- More than half of girls with kids below 12 who are usually not working or working part-time say they wish to work extra however can’t resulting from the price of childcare.
Burdensome debt
- More girls than males report carrying unmanageable debt ranges (39% in contrast with 31%).
- 44% of girls aged 18-29 say that debt has led them to delay homeownership, marriage, kids, or different life changes, in contrast with 34% of males in the identical age bracket.
- Almost 2 in 5 Black and Latina girls (39% and 36%) say they’ve altered their life trajectories resulting from debt, in comparison with 1 / 4 of White girls (26%).
Insufficient long-term financial savings
- 35% of non-retired girls aged 50-64 report having no private retirement financial savings.
- Women path males in retirement financial savings and are much less more likely to report having longer-term funding automobiles in their very own title, together with retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, pensions, and different monetary belongings.
“While women show tremendous resilience and hope for the future, these findings illuminate the depth of the gender gap between men and women and the detriment to women’s long-term financial health,” mentioned Jo Christine Miles, director of the Principal Foundation. “We have a clear opportunity to do better by women, especially women of color, as our nation continues to build out from the pandemic.”
Findings additionally revealed that being subjected to harassment on the job is related to materially decrease monetary well being:
- 40% of girls reported being subjected to sexual harassment in the office.
- Gender discrimination in the office was reported by 36% of feminine respondents.
- Women who reported being subjected to harassment have been seven share factors much less more likely to be thought of Financially Healthy than girls who didn’t report harassment.
This report is the Financial Health Network’s first complete look into monetary well being gender disparities. A nationally consultant examine of greater than 3,000 folks was carried out in late 2021 and supplemented with focus teams amongst girls in early 2022. Survey questions have been created in session with inner Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee members and employees, advisory committee members, and SSRS mission staff members in an effort to create inclusive questions on gender, race and ethnicity, and sexual orientation.
For extra info concerning the Gender Gap in Financial Health report, and to see particular suggestions for policymakers and employers, please go to our web site.
About the Financial Health Network
The Financial Health Network is the main authority on monetary well being. We are a trusted useful resource for business leaders, policymakers and innovators united in a mission to enhance the monetary well being of their prospects, staff and communities. Through analysis, advisory companies, measurement instruments, and alternatives for cross-sector collaboration, we advance consciousness, understanding and confirmed finest practices in assist of improved monetary well being for all. For extra on the Financial Health Network, go to www.finhealthnetwork.org and observe us on Twitter at @FinHealthWeb.
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