Black women owe 22% more in student debt than white women, on average

In the United States, women owe the majority of the outstanding $ 1.7 trillion in student loans. In 2020, women held nearly $ 929 billion in outstanding student debt.

And according to a new report from the American Association of University Women, black women carry about 20% more student debt than white women. Researchers estimate that a year after graduation, white women owe an average of $ 33,851 in undergraduate loans, while black women owe an average of $ 41,466.

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Source: American Association of University Women

Graduate schools can exacerbate the racial disparities in women’s debt.

Among those with debt, white women will, on average, owe $ 56,098, while black women are more likely to owe $ 75,085.

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Source: American Association of University Women

“While there are more black women enrolled in colleges than ever before, it is deeply worrying that black women have so much more student debt than their white counterparts,” said Kim Churches, CEO of AAUW. “Unfortunately, it’s not surprising: it is a strong reflection of the large racial wealth gap in our country that leaves black families with less money to contribute to higher education.”

Laura Hamilton, professor of sociology at the University of California, Merced and co-author of a recent report on student debt relief for the Roosevelt Institute, says the discrepancy doesn’t surprise her, either.

“Black women are much more likely to attend college than black men, and they are exposed to significant disparities in racial wealth, which means they have to pull out more money to go to college,” she says. “So that’s not surprising at all.”

In addition, researchers have found that in order for women to earn the same amount as men, they must acquire an additional degree. For example, the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce estimates that a woman with a bachelor’s degree makes an average of $ 61,000 a year, which is roughly the same as a man with an associate’s degree.

“Women with a master’s degree earn, on average, what a man with a bachelor’s degree makes, and a woman with a bachelor’s degree would, on average, earn what a man with an associate’s degree makes,” said Nicole Smith, Chief Economist at Georgetown CEW previously told CNBC Do it. “So in terms of repaying those loans, you have women borrowing ever larger amounts, and their ability to repay is affected by their lower wages.”

Churches says racial inequality in total student debt is “another example of how deeply ingrained systemic racism continues to penalize black households – a reminder of the importance of acting quickly to correct the situation.”

“It should be a top political priority that certain black women have easy access to and can afford education,” she says. “Our entire society pays a heavy price for this type of inequality, and it is imperative that we work to correct it.”

To that end, the AAUW report suggests simplifying repayment options, closing the wage gap, increasing investment in higher education, and increasing student debt relief.

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