Credit: Getty
Earworm
Jonathan Van Ness just explored the gender wealth gap on his podcast, and we’re listening
5 years ago
Jonathan Van Ness discussed the gender wealth gap on his Getting Curious podcast, and it’s an absolutely infuriating yet fascinating listen.
We all know that the gender pay gap means men are still being paid more money than women. Just last year, a BBC analysis of gender pay gap data found that fewer than half of the UK’s biggest employers had succeeded in narrowing the gap. And the pay discrepancy at 45% of firms had actually increased in men’s favour. Almost eight in 10 British companies (78%) – across every single industry – still pay men on average more than women.
Queer Eye host Jonathan Van Ness wanted to learn more about this by inviting Sallie Krawcheck onto his Getting Curious podcast. Krawcheck is the CEO of Ellevest – a company on a mission to close the gender investing gap. One particular issue that the pair talked about is the gender wealth gap, and how it differs from the gender pay gap.
So, what exactly is the gender wealth gap?
Krawcheck said: “I would argue, even more importantly, there’s what you make, then what you keep and have. So there’s the gender wealth gap as well. How do we get more money in the hands of women by helping them figure out how to navigate this world? But also to invest, which is something that each of us can take small steps towards.”
Explaining the term ‘gender wealth gap’ more, she added: “It means what your net assets are, what you actually have. What cash you have on hand, what home you have.”
Credit: Getty
Telling Van Ness why it’s so important to discuss this issue, Krawcheck continued: “Sitting here in our country today (the US), women make about 82 cents on the dollar to a man. We can cut that in all kinds of ways but the bottom line is: it’s been closing slowly, too slowly. It’s decades away from closing for white women, it’s 100+ years for black women […]. It’s bad but it’s getting somewhat better. That’s the gender pay gap.
“The gender wealth gap – how much do I have, how much am I keeping? – is… dramatic pause… two cents on a man’s dollar. And it’s actually been getting worse. So we as women are not making as much as men are, and when it’s said and done, we’re not keeping as much because we’ve got more debt, more credit card debt, more student loan debt, we’re not investing as much and we have more years out of the workforce.”
When Van Ness pointed out that his mother would be more generous with money than his father, Krawcheck replied: “You’ve got three times as many women, single mothers, with childcare than you do men. And children are expensive. So that is part of it, but you’re also starting to hit on another point Jonathan which is: what happens in the home around money?”
“So many women today say ‘oh I’m bad with money, I’m not good at it, if I get married or partnered you do the money and I’ll do the birthday parties or I’ll do the budgeting’. One thing we really need to change in this country today is that we speak to children differently about money.”
Listen to Jonathan Van Ness’ Getting Curious podcast with Sallie Krawcheck
Krawcheck talked about women’s finances in much more detail, so it’s a must-listen for women everywhere.
Images: Getty
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