Survey: Women’s Finances More Precarious Than Men’s

Many Americans recognize that women face unique challenges in our society, compared to men. 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, according to a recent NerdWallet survey conducted online by The Harris Poll. Some of these challenges may be financial — federal data shows that women, on average, are paid less and are more likely than men to take on unpaid caregiving responsibilities.

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.

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.

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.

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. That said, be mindful of how much additional work you can reasonably take on without burning out, both for your mental health and to ensure your side job doesn’t jeopardize your ability to do your main job successfully.

Nearly 3 in 10 Americans (29%) say they associate women with being the best at managing money on a daily basis, compared to just 18% saying this about men. However, when asked about the gender of the most financially successful person they know, 44% of Americans say it’s a man, with only 19% of Americans saying the most financially successful person they know is a woman. Part of this may be due to the gender gap in investing.

Other studies, including an earlier NerdWallet survey, 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. But a 2021 Fidelity report showed that women who invest outperform their male counterparts, so the issue probably isn’t lack of ability. Instead, this may be attributed to lack of confidence, less money to invest due to the gender pay gap or a lower risk tolerance, according to other existing research.

In the U.S., it’s extremely hard to achieve long-term financial stability through earning and saving alone. Most of us also need to invest that money in order to have enough to reach financial independence and ultimately retire.

Here’s the difference. Let’s say you have $5,000 to contribute now, and plan to add another $5,000 every year for 30 years. In a savings account that pays 4% interest (for purposes of this example, we’re assuming bank interest rates stay steady, which is unlikely), you’d end up with around $300,000. That’s $155,000 saved and an additional $145,000 in interest. But if you invested that same amount on that same schedule, you may end up with about $535,000 (based on an average annualized stock market return of around 7%, which accounts for inflation.) This doesn’t even take into account the potential tax advantages or employer contributions you may get through retirement accounts.

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.

A recent survey from Prudential Financial finds that women have less than a third of the amount saved for retirement as men. And according to the NerdWallet survey, 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.

Whether or not your contribution to the relationship and family unit is financial, it’s imperative to have your own money for the future.

An individual retirement arrangement, or IRA, can generally only be funded by taxable income, but there’s an exception for married individuals. If your spouse receives a paycheck but you don’t, you can open a spousal IRA and fund it with your spouse’s earned income. This account is in your name, and yours to tap for retirement income, even in the case of divorce.

You may not have any concerns about your relationship ending, but it’s hard to predict what the future holds. Only a little over a third of married or cohabiting women (36%) say they’d be financially secure if their significant other died. Having money in your name helps cushion you from whatever life has in store.

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of NerdWallet from Jan. 13-15, 2025, among 3,059 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, among whom 1,617 are women. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact [email protected].

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