It’s no secret that women on average make less than men. But this gap is starting to narrow.
Freedom Debt Relief Reviews says that women can be proactive in the financial management to help close this gap even faster. In this article, we’ll go over why the financial gender gap exists and show a few techniques for doing just that.
The Gender Income Gap
Let’s first look at how much more men currently make then woman and where the trend is heading. From a Business Insider report, women make between 55% to 84% of what white males make, depending on race. Asian women come in at the top of the range while Hispanic women are at the bottom.
On average, women make 79 cents of every dollar a man makes and $10,800 less annually, according to a reportfrom the Senate Joint Economic Committee Democratic Staff created in April 2016.
Freedom Debt Relief Reviews notes that the gender income gap is closing, but the report shows that pay between the two sexes won’t match until 2059.
Retirement
Business Insider also found that women over 65 earn less across all income sources compared to males. Looking at aggregate income, the numbers came out to:
- All Sources: $965M vs. 641M
- Social Security: $286M vs. $277M
- Earnings: $317M vs. 149M
- Pensions $195 vs. $100M
Penalizing Women With Children But Rewarding Men
This one is a little bizarre at first glance. According to the same Business Insider report, women are being penalized in the workforce while men are rewarded. Below are data and conclusions that lead to this strange outcome.
Weekly earnings for women and men with and without children:
- Women no children: $765
- Women with children: $744 (-3%)
- Men no children: $840
- Men with children: $962 (+15%)
Women with children have the lowest weekly earnings of all four groups while it is just the opposite for men. The main culprit is how a mother is viewed in the workplace vs a father.
Freedom Debt Relief Reviews mentions from the report that employers perceive motherhood as a “signal of lower levels of commitment and professional competence.” While working fathers are viewed as having “increased work commitment and stability.”
Some of the differences are choices that women make upon returning to work such as part-time hours and different jobs, which both end up decreasing their pay.
How Women Can Close The Financial Gap
Women can improve their income by choosing investments that have higher risk. Women tend to choose conservative investments and often too conservative, which only hinders their earnings.
Enhancing their investment education can help increase earnings. For example, understanding what goes into various types of investments and why they provide the types of returns they do.
Working with a financial planner is another way to increase earnings. A financial planner has the knowledge and experience to help you achieve your financial goals.
