Apparently Even Student Debt Is A Women’s Problem

Most people are well versed in the student debt crisis, which has now reached a staggering $1.5 trillion. A part of the crisis that isn’t covered as much as that trillion dollar figure though, is how it disproportionately this is impacting women. According to new data, women now hold two-thirds of the country’s $1.5 trillion student-loan debt. Per the American Association of University Women (AAUW) there are a few reasons for this. One is that women are enrolling in colleges and universities at a higher rate than men. The second issue, per AAUW, is that women find themselves having a harder time paying back their student loans (ahem, the gender wage gap probably has something to do with that). In the report titled Buried in Debt that is making the rounds put together by social impact group Summer 44.75% of women said that making their next student debt payment would be a struggle. 65.19% said they’ve never had help with their monthly payments (from a relative or someone else). In other words, largely women are paying off this debt on their own while earning less than their male counterparts. And it is having very real consequences. 79.95% of women say they aren’t saving for retirement because of student loans, 59.89% aren’t going on vacations, and 55.29% say they can’t buy a home because of this. A whopping 25% of women say they are putting off having children because of their student loans. If you are reading this and feeling like your life is just one horrible statistic here are a few resources to delve into. We might not be able to change the systemic problems at play here, but we sure want to see you get out of debt: Graduating With Student Debt? Here Are 5 Things You Can Do Immediately 5 Things You Might Not Know About Your Student Debt 4 Different Strategies For Paying Down Student Debt Feature Image: Twenty20