New Survey Shows Why Women Feel Behind on Financial Goals

Women often face a few extra obstacles on the road to financial wellness. The gender pay gap and other inequalities in the workplace and in the world of investing can unfortunately cause women to feel behind on their financial goals.

A new survey from Laurel Road found that more women feel like they're falling behind on their personal finances compared to 2023.

Why do so many women feel behind on their personal finances? Let's take a look at the Laurel Road survey findings to learn more.

Women in 2024 are more likely to feel "behind schedule" on finances

Laurel Road surveyed more than 2,100 U.S. men and women in February 2024 about their finances, and only 25% of women said that they are "not behind schedule" on any important goals for their financial security. This is down from 34% of women in 2023.

Here are a few areas of their personal finances where women are feeling more stress in 2024.

Retirement savings

The Laurel Road survey found that 38% of women feel behind on retirement savings. It's understandable that women might feel extra pressure to save for retirement; because of the gender pay gap, women often struggle to save as much for retirement as men. The American Association of University Women (AAUW) cites survey data showing that U.S. women have only about 32% of the wealth that men own, and women's retirement income is only about $0.70 for every dollar that men receive in their golden years.

If you've had to cut back on your retirement savings in the past year due to higher inflation or higher costs of everyday expenses like car insurance, you're not alone. But don't feel like it's too late to save or that you can never catch up! Depending on your age, you likely have plenty of time to save, invest, and let your money grow for retirement. And women tend to be good investors: Motley Fool research found that women tend to outperform men at investing, earning an extra 0.4%-1.0% of average annual returns.

Credit card debt

Almost a third (30%) of women in the Laurel Road survey said that they're feeling behind on credit card debt repayment. High-interest credit card debt is a poster child for "bad debt." No one loves paying high APRs, especially if it's for everyday items that you should ideally pay for with cash or from your checking account.

If you have credit card debt, it's never too late to make a plan to pay it off. Get a budgeting app or debt payoff app to zero in on the fine details of where your money is going every month. You might be able to pinpoint a few hundred dollars of easy savings just by canceling subscriptions and cooking at home more often. Debt payoff apps can show you a plan for how your debt will shrink over time, depending on your interest rates and monthly payments.

And if you have a decent credit score, you should consider applying for a zero-interest balance transfer credit card. These cards can buy you some time to pay off your debt faster with a year or more of 0% APR (terms apply) -- but be sure to pay off the full transfer amount before the end of the 0% APR introductory period, and watch out for balance transfer fees.

Women are less confident about negotiating a pay raise

An interesting finding from the Laurel Road survey was that men were less happy with their salaries than women. In fact, 29% of men said they feel behind on their salary goals, while only 22% of women felt that way about their own paychecks.

But men felt more confident about their chances of getting a pay raise or promotion from their current employer: 66% of men said they were at least "somewhat" confident about climbing the career ladder, while only 54% of women felt that way about their own future career prospects.

This survey data reinforces some of the other trends we've seen in the workforce, where women sometimes struggle to negotiate -- not because women are bad at negotiating, but because women sometimes face backlash from employers when they ask for more money or display ambition in the same ways that men do. This is part of the problem of gender discrimination and the gender pay gap. Women sometimes get criticized or face negative consequences for the same behavior that gets men praised as "confident" and "good leaders."

If you want a pay raise in 2024, whether you're a man or woman, keep in mind that unemployment is still quite low (3.9% as of February 2024), and many companies have shortages of talent. A recent Mercer survey found that employers are planning to promote about 10% of their total workforce in 2024.

Unless your company has recently announced layoffs or your industry is in a downturn, you might have plenty of power to demand a better salary or a promotion in 2024. Don't assume that your employer has all the power. If you're a strong performer and your career skills are in-demand, your company should want to keep you on the team.

Bottom line

The past few years of high inflation have been bad for many people's bank accounts and credit card balances. It's understandable that the Laurel Road survey found more women feeling behind on their personal finances compared to last year. But there is good potential for pay raises and promotions for U.S. workers this year. If the job market stays strong, if the economy gets better and the "vibecession" goes away, more women (and men) may have a prosperous 2024.