{"id":462,"date":"2020-03-19T19:50:41","date_gmt":"2020-03-19T19:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.financialliteracyhelp.com\/?page_id=410"},"modified":"2020-04-07T15:57:51","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T15:57:51","slug":"financial-literacy-for-women","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.needhelppayingbills.com\/Financialliteracyhelp\/financial-literacy-for-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Financial Literacy for Women"},"content":{"rendered":"

Women have made great financial strides in recent years. Yet they still lag behind in general financial literacy skills. There is help out there for them though – a number of resources list below can help them close the financial literacy gap<\/strong>. As the fact is more women than men now successfully graduate from college, the number of female entrepreneurs and CEOs is up, and the gender pay gap is sadly still there, but it is beginning to shrink. We have information on how they can also close the financial literacy gap and learn about everything from investing to building wealth for themselves.<\/p>\n

As there there is another gender gap that is talked about much less often: and that is financial literacy. A number of studies and measurements show that women tend to struggle more with things like savings, retirement, debt reduction and other long-term financial goals.<\/p>\n

There are a number of intersecting reasons for this. One is simply that the wage gap gives them less money to work with (such as invest) over their lifetime. Another is that they are unfortunately underrepresented in the highest-paying fields. Divorce is very difficult to plan for and tends to take a larger financial toll on female partners as too many do leave the financial decision to their partners. Single mothers, especially those whose partners do not pay child support, also are the biggest contribute to povery levels as they are working to provide for their kids. And child-raising tends to take time away that would otherwise go to various financial opportunities, from earning more to learning about and tending to investments.<\/p>\n

Studies show that, among other things:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 3.8 million American women possess are beneath the most basic financial literacy level needed to understand bank statements and credit card payment terms.
\n\u2022 Only 18% were able to pass a retirement income quiz, as compared to 35% of men per the per the RICP Retirement Income Literacy Survey from The American College of Financial Services.
\n\u2022 Women lag behind men in possessing retirement accounts and “rainy day” funds by about 10%.
\n\u2022 Women are almost 10% more likely to be dealing with unpaid medical bills.
\n\u2022 About 34% of single mothers live in poverty per the census bureau, which is about 2.5 times the national average.
\n\u2022 Though the gender pay gap has decreased since 2017, experts estimate it could take 43 years for it to fully even (the gap is still about 20% among full-time workers).
\n\u2022 Women most often retain custody of children after a divorce, adding a substantial child care bill that they must handle on their own.
\n\u2022 Women of all ages tend to have lower IRA and 401(k) balances than men, but the difference becomes especially acute among those age 55 and up per data from Fidelity.
\n\u2022 Women tend to live about 2.3 years longer than men, increasing their need for retirement funds.
\n\u2022 41% of women in the US experience some sort of an extended financial struggle per Federal Reserve Data.<\/p>\n

\"Financial<\/p>\n

Though women face all of these financial disadvantages, they are still expected to earn and spend at least as much as a man to get by. In some cases, the “pink tax” can make certain items even more expensive.\u00a0So how do women close the financial literacy gap? There is no one simple solution to this problem, but there are many resources available to help.<\/p>\n

Resources and agencies that focus on helping women with financial literacy<\/h2>\n

There are a number of resources out there for women of all ages, whether teenagers, college students, single moms, stay at home mothers, or anyone. Each and every one, whether a non-profit organization or a podcast, is focused on em[powering women and helping them improve their financial literacy. As it is a critical skill to have so women can close the wage, earning, and investment gap that sadly exists in society.<\/p>\n

Non-Profit Women focused Financial Literacy Organizations<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Financial Literacy Organization for Women and Girls (FLOW)<\/strong> offers a variety of programs and events on the topics of economic literacy, entrepreneurship and asset building. In-person events, such as financial boot camps for girls and talks on various financial subjects, are held in the Washington DC area. The “womenar” events are available online on a regular basis.<\/p>\n

Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER)<\/strong> offers a wide variety of internet resources that cover nearly all of the financial fundamentals: retirement planning, saving, social security, starting investment accounts and managing paychecks among others. Resources are also available for issues specific to women such as divorce and widowhood. The organization also holds a number of in-person events throughout the year at various venues throughout the United States. Learn more on getting started with investing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Women’s Institute for Financial Education (WIFE)<\/strong> is a paid membership service, but the website has a huge library of free information on all sorts of financial topics, including investment, saving for retirement and so much more. The primary benefit for members is the facilitation of organizing “money clubs” to regularly meet and go through all sorts of financial activities.<\/p>\n

Invest in Girls<\/strong> is tailored specifically to teenage girls. Young women participate in a full program with a curriculum that gives them a robust personal finance education before they reach the end of high school. The organization also holds various workshops, events and industry trips. There is also technology and apps that young women can use for financial literacy<\/a>.<\/p>\n