MONEYCULTURE FOR WOMEN

SOME FINANCIAL CHALLENGES FOR WOMEN

An Un-level Playing Field.

The wage gap.

There is one. Women now make up 47 percent of workers, compared to 38 percent in 1970. Yet, On average, women are paid less, making about 20 percent less than men working full time. Women’s median weekly earnings for full-time work were $770 in 2017; men, $941. It’s a function of job consideration and the well-established gender gap.

Financial Literacy disparity.

Women also experience a measurably lower rate of Financial Literacy . It has nothing to do with capacity. It has to do with acceptance and availability.

Generally speaking, women earn less, save less, and live longer — but are still responsible for the same living expenses that men are subject to. And since women live longer, they face additional costs, including more long-term and overall health care expenses.

Even success carries the possibility of failure.

Starting a small business:

More than 11.6 million firms are owned by women, employing nearly 9 million people, and generating $1.7 trillion in sales as of 2017.

Women-owned firms (51% or more) account for 39% of all privately held firms and contribute 8% of employment and 4.2% of revenues.

Almost all (99.9%) of women-owned businesses are considered small businesses (fewer than 500 employees). 36 percent of all businesses are women-owned, and they account for 12 percent of all sales and 15 percent of employment. An additional 2.5 million businesses are owned equally by women and men.

Women are breadwinners. In fact 42% of working women in the United States are the sole breadwinner for their families.

Retirement:

Single women of all types — unmarried, divorced and widowed— from age 44 to 64 are underprepared for retirement. IRA and 401(k) balances fall short compared to male equivalents. Single and married women tend to focus on priorities other than retirement, like paying for their children’s needs and owning a house.

Social Barriers:

Until relatively recently, women had little control over their own finances. A woman was generally supposed to marry young and take care of the household, while their husband was expected to be a “breadwinner”. Single motherhood and working outside the home were heavily stigmatized, and women could not vote or own property in most states until only a few decades ago. Traditionalist thinking refuses to take these realities into account and many women are entirely unprepared for the financial consequences of a change in their situation.

Divorce:

One in five women falls into poverty because of divorce.

Three out of four divorced mothers don’t receive full payment of child support.

About one out of every three women who own a home and have children lose the house after divorce.

About a third of working women can’t meet an unexpected $2,000 expense within 30 days.

Student Loan Debt:

Today women have a higher likelihood than men of completing college and graduate school. However, lower pay, financial instability, and student loans create a debt repayment shortage.

Overcoming these obstacles demands serious dedication to planning. Our course and programs for women cover each point and more to discuss how to mitigate the obstacles.