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Many women say their finances are not on as solid a footing as they would like

By: Equities.com

May 12, 2025 at 10:32 AM EDT

Many women say their finances are not on as solid a footing as they would like

American women may be exerting more power in the investment world as generational wealth transfers unfold, but many are still in precarious financial positions, in part because fewer women than men are getting raises at work and more women than men are dependent on a partner for security, a new survey from NerdWallet shows.

Around a third of employed Americans (32%) say they feel like they need an additional job to make more money, including 36% of employed women and 28% of employed men, according to the survey. For some, this may be due to the increasing costs of living and stagnant wages, NerdWallet says.

Just 33% of employed women say their pay rate or salary increased in the last year, compared to 40% of employed men. And only 10% of employed women say they negotiated for a higher salary at their current job, compared to 17% of their male counterparts.

And according to the NerdWallet survey conducted online by the Harris Poll, 19% of women who are married or living with a partner are entirely dependent on their significant other’s income. This is compared to just 5% of men who are married or cohabiting. Only a little over a third of married or cohabiting women (36%) say they’d be financially secure if their significant other died.

Many Americans recognize that women face unique challenges in our society, compared to men, the survey found. In fact, more than 2 in 5 Americans (43%) say women are the people who have the hardest time in American society, compared to just 13% who say this about men,

Some of the financial unease is created by systemic economic factors that continue to favor men, including the persistent gender gap in wages that women face and the increased likelihood that more women than men will be forced to take on unpaid family caregiving responsibilities, pointed out Erin El Issa, a credit cards expert and studies writer at NerdWallet.

“You’d be forgiven for feeling like the odds are against women trying to get ahead financially. But despite these very real systemic issues, there are steps women can take to strengthen their finances and make meaningful progress toward long-term money goals,” she wrote in a post on NerdWallet’s wesbite.

Among the steps NerdWallet recommends:

It never hurts to ask: The job market feels rough right now, but there’s little harm in asking for a raise if your performance is in good standing. If you’re able to secure more money, great. If not, consider your options, whether that means seeking out a new full-time job or doing some part-time work or side gigs to supplement your income.
Get started now: Even if you don’t have a lot of money, you can get started investing right away. Focus on investing some amount of money — however small — consistently to build the habit, and getting a “good enough” asset allocation in place. You don’t need to be an investing expert right now. Instead, get started imperfectly and learn more along the way. Establish your own IRA or if you’re married and not working check out a spousal IRA.
Invest for the future: Studies have shown that women are less likely to invest in the stock market than men, and when they do invest, they’re investing less than men on average. That’s a problem because in the U.S., it’s extremely hard to achieve long-term financial stability through earning and saving alone. Given historical averages, regular investments into a stock-index fund will return nearly double what you would earn in a regular savings account.
Hold your own money: Whether or not your contribution to the relationship and family unit is financial, it’s imperative to have your own money for the future. You may not have any concerns about your relationship ending, but it’s hard to predict what the future holds. Having money in your name helps cushion you from whatever life has in store.

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Many women say their finances are not on as solid a footing as they would like

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