Women plan to ask for a raise in 2022 (54%) or leave current job for higher pay (68%)
Two years after the Covid pandemic first disrupted daily life in the United States, women are continuing to see a significant impact on their lives, particularly via financial barriers and workplace hurdles. According to a new survey released by Laurel Road, a digital banking platform of KeyBank with specialized offerings for healthcare and business professionals, women continue to leave the workforce, perceive themselves to be underpaid or financially disadvantaged, and struggle with mental health burdens related to work-life balance in higher proportions than men. Yet, many women are making career moves to make up for lost ground in 2022 and either plan to ask for a raise or are willing to switch jobs for the pay they feel they’ve earned.
The fifth-annual survey from Laurel Road exploring financial literacy and management among 1,000 U.S. college-educated adults, found that of those women who lost annual income in 2021, the average percentage was 41%, up from 33% in 2020, and BIPOC women lost even more – an average of 47% of their annual income. As well, almost three-quarters (73%) of women still felt they have been disproportionately impacted by events related to COVID-19, a decrease of only 4 percentage points from 2020. BIPOC women are even more likely to agree (84%), a decrease of only 1 percentage point from 2020.
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In addition, nearly 7 in 10 (69%) employed, college-educated women felt they were underpaid with respect to their current value to their company, significantly higher than the 53% of employed college educated men who said the same. What’s encouraging is that women are looking to make up for lost ground: 54% of women – and 59% of BIPOC women – stated they think they will ask for a raise in 2022.
“Although women disproportionately faced setbacks from the pandemic, whether it be delaying their own professional growth because of childcare responsibilities or experiencing a greater loss of income, our study found that they’re also seeking new careers or preparing to ask for a raise to elevate their financial future,” said Alyssa Schaefer, General Manager & Chief Experience Officer at Laurel Road. “Our hope is that these findings institute change by serving as a conversation starter on the challenges women face as a result of the pandemic, both at home and in the workplace, while also providing women the tools they need to continue to feel empowered to achieve mental wealth, encouraging generations to come.”
The Great Resignation Continues
Women are quitting their jobs at higher rates than men as the coined Great Resignation continues to sweep the U.S. In fact, 34% of women and 35% of all surveyed BIPOC women reported leaving their jobs in 2021, compared to 30% of men. Only 10% of women reported doing so involuntarily.
And women continue to explore ways to change their employment situations, with nearly 1 in 3 (31%) female respondents noting that it was at least somewhat likely they’d leave their current job in the next year, including 43% of BIPOC women. When asked what would inspire them to leave their current job for another, women stated higher pay (68%), remote work (34%), a better work-life balance (34%) and better management (21%) as the top reasons.
Women, Especially Women of Color, Feel Employers Can Still Do More to Narrow Pay Gap
The survey showed that 44% of women do not feel their employers have been successful in narrowing the pay gap, with almost half (48%) of BIPOC women agreeing that their company isn’t doing all it can to lessen the gender pay gap.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t stop with just a paycheck. The survey found 42% of women feel that women at their company are less financially empowered than men overall, with 49% of BIPOC women indicating they feel this way.
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Childcare Impacts Respondents Across the Board
When asked about navigating work and childcare responsibilities, 51% of dads reported they feel childcare responsibilities during COVID-19 impacted their ability to work in one way or another, while only 46% of moms felt the same. Interestingly, this reflects a significant decrease for men from 2021, when 72% of dads indicated childcare responsibilities had impacted their work in the last year. There was a slight increase for women from 2021, when 42% of moms reported feeling the impact of childcare at work last year.
The top impact of childcare responsibilities for women (23%) has been delaying their own professional growth because of childcare responsibilities, while men report that they’ve felt the impact on both their professional growth (19%) and the need to reduce work hours (19%) equally.
When it comes to what they’re looking for in an employer, 27% of dads and 31% of moms reported that they are more likely to pick a job based on an employer’s support for them as a caregiver or parent.
Women Are Assessing Financial Goals to Make Money Moves
As the pandemic wears on, more than 3 in 4 (76%) women reported feeling like they are behind schedule when it comes to financial security goals, compared to 73% who felt they were behind in 2021. When asked in which ways they felt behind, women identified retirement savings (50%), investments (32%) and salary (24%) as the goals they are most behind on.
To discuss these issues further and bring to light ways women can achieve financial empowerment, Laurel Road will be bringing together personal finance and mental health experts for The Luminary event on March 10. Follow Laurel Road on Instagram for further updates.
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