There’s a direct correlation between higher education and higher salaries; but, for millions of Americans, the dream of college is attainable only through the nightmare of student debt. The country’s 45 million student borrowers owe a collective $1.7 trillion, according to Forbes.

                By                    Andrew Lisa

For women, the financial burden of education is especially high.

For Women, Caps and Tassels Come With 5-Figure Debt

According to a report from the American Association of University Women (AAUW), “Student debt is making it nearly impossible for many women to afford their basic living expenses after graduating from college.”

When you look at the numbers, it’s not hard to understand why.

  • Under $10,000: 6.68%
  • $10,001-$30,000: 15.65%
  • $30,001-$50,000: 28.51%
  • $50,001-$70,000: 9.07%
  • $70,001-$100,000: 8.18%
  • Over $100,000: 7.58%

When It Comes to Student Debt, the Gender Gap Is More Like a Canyon

Women hold two-thirds of America’s student loan debt, according to the AAUW report. But, when they graduate, they can expect to earn just 74% of what their male counterparts will make. The report showed that the average woman exists on a razor-thin budget after graduation even if she’s not among the 16% who have children. When you factor in the exorbitant cost of child care, the average woman’s monthly budget runs at a deficit, making more debt inevitable and saving for things like retirement almost impossible.

According to the Education Data Initiative (EDI), it takes women an average of two years longer to pay off their student loans than men despite making higher payments with 26% less income.

Whether Bias Is Built Into the System or Not, the End Result Is Inequality

One year after graduation, women owe about 10% more than men, according to EDI — but not all women struggle equally. Black women owe an average of 13% more than they borrowed after 12 years in repayment. In that same time span, the average white woman’s student debt shrinks by 28% while the average white man’s debt shrinks by 44%.

“The data supports a systemic gender bias,” said Mary Jo Lambert-Terry, managing partner at Yrefy. “Societal gender norm construction — which often leaves women responsible for child-rearing and household management — has made it harder for women to obtain degrees in the same amount of time as men, and the cost of education continues to rise.

“This leaves women with a longer path to get their degree and more money owed. Not to mention many women are being paid less than their male co-workers, especially in male-dominated fields, and women are still more likely to earn degrees in fields that earn less, like social work or K-12 education, making it more challenging for them to pay down their loans.”

More Women Are Going to College — With Less Help From Home

Educational dynamics in the United States are rapidly changing in favor of women — but the parents of female learners are more likely to help pay their sons’ way than their daughters’.

“In the United States right now, women outnumber men on college campuses and in terms of graduation rates,” said Melanie Hanson, editor in chief of EDI Refinance. “Despite their gains on campus, many women get less financial support from their families than their male peers.”

The EDI study, for example, found that “parents of male students are more likely to take out loans on their behalf.”

Even when women do receive equal support from family, it’s almost inevitable that they’ll have a harder time keeping up with their repayment schedule if they decide to have children.

“After graduation, women face the source of most of the gender wage gap: childbearing,” Hanson said. “Until women leave the workforce to have children, their earnings are largely on par with their male peers, but women who come back to work after maternity leave find their earnings falling behind, never to recover.”

Learn: How Gen Z Women Can Achieve Financial Independence

For Women, Student Debt Is the Bane of Retirement

About 14% of women in that age range have $10,000 to $30,000 in student loan debts and another 14% have $30,001 to $50,000. That means that, at the age when they should be scrambling to max out their 401(k)s and IRAs, more than one woman in four is approaching retirement with $10,000 to $50,000 in student loan debt. About 7% have $50,001 to $70,000 in college debt, 4% have between $70,001 and $100,000 and another 4% have more than $100,000.

As for the 65-and-older set, about 65% of women have no student debt, which means that 35% — more than one in three — will reach retirement age while still drowning in their old student loans.

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