How Unequal Pay Leads to Greater Interest
Last week, Equal Pay Day had everyone talking about pay equity. Let’s keep the conversation going and talk about the ramifications of unfair pay. According to Bloomberg News, since women make less than men, it takes us longer to pay off our student loans. As a result, we end up paying more in interest. This leaves less money to save for a down payment for a house, to save for retirement, or to start a business. American Association of University Women’s study shows us this is particularly harmful for black and Hispanic women. As our issue brief on workforce development points out, our region’s labor market increasingly requires post secondary credentials for a job that pays family sustaining wages and benefits. Still, the median wage for men with a bachelor’s degree in our region is $73,937 and the median for women is $54,425.
Here’s what we’re doing today:
Read the Bloomberg News article and commit to paying off any of your student loans in a shorter amount of time. Save interest. Share your tips for paying down student loans on social media.
Sample Tweets:
I made an extra payment on my student loans with my tax return #interestsaved. #our100days
I pay more than the minimum required monthly payment for my student loans. #our100days
I negotiated my interest rate to lower the amount owed for my student loans. #our100days