Women also did not fare well during the mortgage meltdown because they were more likely than men to be targeted by predatory lenders and consequently to have subprime loans. The Consumer Federation of America found that at every income level, women were more likely to receive subprime loans than men. Women of color were especially disadvantaged.
While male unemployment rates were high throughout the recession, the unemployment rate for single women supporting families was even higher. In March 2011 the male unemployment rate was 9.3 percent whereas single women who maintain families had an unemployment rate of 12.3 percent.
4. Only sexist employers discriminate against women.
Pay discrimination is not necessarily the result of sexist beliefs. In fact, discrimination is often carried out by well-meaning people who are not even aware of it. All of us are affected by unconscious biases that affect how we evaluate men and women’s expertise and skills. In a famous study of symphony auditions, economists Claudia Goldin and Cecilia Rouse found that women musicians were more likely to be hired or promoted when they auditioned behind a screen so that judges could not know whether they were a man or woman. Were those evaluating musical talent sexist? More likely they were simply succumbing to unconscious biases. Since then, numerous studies have shown that even with identical resumes and qualifications, men are viewed more favorably than women.
5. Closing the wage gap will create economic equality between women and men.
Wealth — the value of your assets minus your debts — is a much more comprehensive and accurate way to measure a person’s economic well-being than income. Regardless of how high one’s income is, without wealth people are a paycheck away from economic disaster. Perhaps not surprisingly, single women have less than half of the wealth of single men.
Even if men and women had the same incomes, women would have less wealth for two reasons. First, women are more likely to be single parents and have to support more people on one income, leaving less left over to save and invest. Second, women are still less likely than men to work in jobs that come with fringe benefits — such as employer-sponsored retirement plans, subsidized health insurance and paid sick days — that either put wealth in people’s hands directly (such as matched retirement contributions) or provide things that people would otherwise have to pay for themselves.
Women also receive lower Social Security benefits when they retire because of their lower lifetime earnings and because any years they did not work in order to care for children or ill family members are averaged in as years with zero earnings, greatly reducing their average earnings from which retirement benefits are calculated.
It’s not how much you make, but how much you keep that matters.
info@mariko-chang.com
Mariko Chang is the author of “Shortchanged: Why Women Have Less Wealth and What Can Be Done About It.”
Loading...
Comments