Wealth inequality for women in Philadelphia has grown through systems of wealth extraction such as structural racism, racialized patriarchy, and racialized capitalism. These systems have resulted in the top 1% of the population holding 47% of the nation’s wealth and their wealth continues to grow exponentially by extracting from the rest of us.
Even as higher education is opening the door to higher paying jobs, these jobs are not providing a wage that meets or exceeds the cost of inflation, reducing the ability of many women to afford basic needs. The primary cause is the machine of capital extraction that is at war against workers, always working to drive down labor income and those most impacted are women of color.
Hear directly from Taina:
High wealth people manage their money better than people with low wealth
Hear directly from Faith:
People with lower income and wealth are not bad at managing their money compared to their wealthy counterparts. They are facing societal and structural barriers keeping them from building wealth. Reframing how we think about wealth, and who deserves to prosper, is the first step in dismantling the oppressive system we live in today.
Of Philadelphia women surveyed, on average, over half said that they are the primary caregiver for at least one child or minor. When asked about the financial impact of primary caregiving, only 1 in 3 Philadelphia women feel they have the financial support they need to support their caregiving responsibilities.9
While more women than ever receive education at the highest levels, this doesn’t directly lead to higher economic success. In Philadelphia, ~50% of Hispanic and Black women surveyed have student loan debt, compared to 39% of White women.9
With more debt and increasing costs comes limited resources for wealth building such as investing.
The odds are stacked against women when seeking financial stability. The wage gap isn’t the whole picture. The wealth gap should also be considered.
Hear directly from Ingrid:
Access to healthcare is not always by need, but rather by wealth. Similar to the idea of food deserts, there are also healthcare deserts, where residents don’t have access to regular healthcare.
The impact of needing healthcare is also important to note.
When women do not have access to quality healthcare, there is a financial impact for the economy.
In Philadelphia, nearly 3 of 5 (59%) surveyed Black women - the highest rate among the major racial groups represented in the study - said that they experience stress that impacts their physical health.9
Hear directly from Tamara:
Wealth is an individual experience that has no link to the resources of the neighborhood
I know for people in my community, if they haven’t been involved in violence, that a loved one or someone else close to them has been a victim of violence, so that definitely creates stress. Watching the news – that creates stress. Those stressors are impeding our mental and physical health, you know, our well-being as a whole.”
Tamara Cobb exchanges some fruit for a plant
If I can’t walk out my door, my peace isn’t that it’s just peaceful in here. My peace is that it’s peaceful around here. If I got to worry about going to the store and not getting back in my door, then yeah, that would disrupt my peace.”
Hear directly from Ivy:
WOMEN’S WAY is the Greater Philadelphia region’s leading nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of women, girls, and gender and racial equity.
***When we refer to women, we mean cis and trans women and femme-identified people (which includes anyone who is not a cis or trans woman but who identifies as feminine), and also those who identify as gender-expansive, nonbinary, and/or gender-nonconforming.
