Female Debt

An underdiscussed aspect of women’s lives that deserves more attention.

• For a long time now, the number of women falling into the debt trap has been increasing steadily in many countries, for a multitude of reasons.
• While women owe less money than men, they are more likely to have problems with debt than men, which explains a whole bunch of the world’s problems in a nutshell.
• Various studies have shown that women tend to be better with money than men, but they earn less on average, can therefore save and invest less, and are often financially less resilient.
• Women are more likely to save more than men, but their savings are worth less on average, and they are often viewed as higher risk borrowers - resulting in more expensive loans for women.
• A low income doesn’t automatically put you at risk of being in debt, but a higher salary can offer more opportunities to save and build up a safety net, according to the charity Debt Change.
• Student debt also burdens more women than men, with women taking out more debt in the first place - for a variety of reasons - and then taking longer to pay it back.
• As a result of all this, women often get smaller loans at worse conditions than men, which can snowball into less financial growth, fewer opportunities and more unsustainable debt.
• A 2020 report from the UK found that separated or divorced mothers aged 55 and over were more likely to have significantly worse financial problems than fathers of the same age.
• Precarious employment, low pay, the increased pension age and real-term reductions in welfare benefits are causing increasing numbers of mothers to fall into long-term debt.
• And a separate report released by the charity Agenda found last year that young women are being driven to self-harm as a result of poverty, debt and their struggles to pay household bills.
• And finally, rising levels of female debt means the amount of debt - particularly housing debt - women enter pension age with will continue to increase dramatically.
• The following reading gives you a 360 degree view on the issue of female debt, its multifaceted causes and often devastating consequences.