New report highlights serious wealth gap for women of color

A new report from the Insight Center for Community and Economic Development paints a harsh picture of the wage gap that exists for women of color.
We’ve known there is a gender based wage gap for a long time, and that race also plays a factor. But this report, which compares the wage gap of white single women to that of single women of color, puts the challenges into perspective.

• Single black and Hispanic women have a median wealth of $100 and $120 respectively; the median for single white women is $41,500.
• Nearly half of all single black and Hispanic women have zero or negative wealth, the latter of which occurs when debts exceed assets.
• About one-third of single Hispanic women and one-fourth of single black women have no checking or savings account.
• On reservations where unemployment rates can be as high as 70 percent, Native American women are hard pressed to fulfill “job search” requirements to qualify for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.
• While 57 percent of single white women own homes, only 33 percent of single black women and 28 percent of single Hispanic women are homeowners.
• Only 1 percent of single Hispanic women and 4 percent of single black women own business assets compared to 8 percent of single white women.
• While 66 percent of white men and 60.4 percent of white women receive retirement income from assets, the same is true for only 40 percent of Asian women, 25.4 percent of black women and 23 percent of Hispanic women.

It’s these types of wealth disparities that can translate into cycles of poverty for generations to come.

The report also includes recommendations for addressing these wealth gaps.