In the U.S. and abroad, women have disproportionately lost jobs and income. More women are low-wage workers whose jobs are more likely to have been furloughed or eliminated. Or if they managed to keep their jobs, the demands of child care have often forced many to give up work to care for children. And for those who work from home, women have often taken on more domestic duties—such as cooking, cleaning, and childcare—than men, making doing their jobs even more difficult. 

While many people have returned to work as the pandemic starts to ease, women still account for more than 57% of pandemic job losses as of October 2021. As we continue to celebrate Women’s History Month, we examine the implications these job losses have not just for women, but for the entire economy. 

The pandemic’s outsize impact on women

In December, 2020 alone 100% of the job losses in the U.S. were women. Women lost 156,000 jobs in that month, while men gained 16,000. 

And during the first months of the economic shutdowns, when 20.5 million people lost their jobs, women were affected most when businesses closed their doors, losing more than half of jobs. (Women lost 5.3 million jobs, compared to 4.6 million jobs  for men.)

Here’s how that breaks down in some key sectors and industries:

Source: CNBC, May, 2020

One reason women have dropped out of the labor force more than men is reportedly the increased demand for child care at home, while schools and daycare facilities close. This trend is especially true for women of color. “This crisis continues to have a racially disparate impact, and to really hit hardest Black women and Latinas who are doing jobs we can’t do from home,” Emily Martin, vice president for education and workplace justice at the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) told Fortune Magazine. Martin says that women of color are more likely to work jobs that don’t allow them to work from home and care for their children simultaneously. Workforce participation fell 2.4% among white women with children, 3.8% among Hispanic women with children, and 6.4% among Black women with children. 

The negative impact of the pandemic on women’s employment isn’t just happening in the U.S., but all over the world. Women’s jobs are nearly twice as vulnerable as men’s, according to a July, 2020, study from consulting firm McKinsey & Company. And although 39% of jobs throughout the world are held by women, 54% of those who have lost jobs globally are women. 

These job losses could be a drain on the global economy, with global GDP growth expected to fall by $1 trillion in the next nine years as women leave the workforce. 

Women need more social support

But there is an alternative. Making changes during the pandemic to increase gender equality both in the workplace and outside of it could mean $13 trillion in GDP growth by 2030, the same study found. Building better childcare infrastructure and increasing access to technology, for example, can create jobs and opportunities for women to advance. If those changes happen once the economy has recovered from the pandemic, that predicted growth would fall by $5 trillion.  

Historically, women entering the workforce has been beneficial for economic growth. In the U.S., every 10% increase in the participation of women in the working world has resulted in 5% growth in median real wages for men and women, according to a Harvard Business Review July, 2018, study. Making employment more accessible to women may further that growth.

In order to achieve greater gender equality, legislators need to improve the solutions in place for working parents to allow them to work and take care of their children, says a Brookings Institution report. Designing a greater and more affordable childcare infrastructure could allow mothers to more easily return to work after having children, according to a February, 2021, study from American Progress. 

This study urges legislators to increase wages, including raising the federal minimum wage to close the gender wage gap. The report also pushes for increased protections for women, LGBTQ people, people of color, and people with disabilities in the workplace. 

There seems to be some acknowledgment from government policymakers that increased support is necessary for women. Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, the nation’s central bank, suggested in February, 2021, that legislation setting up infrastructure for childcare could help improve the circumstances for working women. And in his campaign, President Biden called for increased workplace protections for women and measures to close the wage gap between men and women.

Stash supports Women’s History Month

Stash hopes to provide financial knowledge and tools to help women start building wealth and make the most of their money. 

With Stash, you can start saving for retirement by opening an individual retirement account¹ (IRA) with just $1. You can also start investing in a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, and ETFs with any dollar amount.

For more resources on how Stash is supporting women during Women’s History Month, go here.

The post Here’s Why Women are Hit Hardest by the Pandemic appeared first on Stash Learn.

• As of October 2021, since the beginning of the pandemic, the economy has lost more than 4 million jobs, and women account for 57% of those losses. 

• While women gained 304,000 jobs in October 2021, they were still 2.4 million jobs behind where they were in February 2020, before the pandemic. 

• Almost 80 percent of people over the age of 20 who left the workforce in January 2021 were women. 

• While January’s unemployment rate was 6.3 percent overall, it was 8.5 percent for Black women over the age of 20.

“Unfortunately,” says Ruth Thomas, co-founder and senior consultant at the financing and loan outfit CURO based in San Carlos, California. “We are now starting to understand the gender impact of the pandemic and the economic fallout being dubbed the ‘Shecession.’” 

So what does this Shecession mean if you’re a woman with a job eyeing a pay raise during a pandemic? 

“They aren’t even thinking about asking for a raise, but they should,” says Sonya Sigler, an author, executive coach and consultant based in London, England. Sigler says she keeps encountering women who fear asking for a raise, because they’re afraid to rock the boat during this already-turbulent time. 

Addressing pay inequality

But Thomas notes this is a particularly good time to ask for a raise, and points to a study showing that 60 percent of companies are now making a concerted effort to address pay equality.  

Indeed, inequality is everywhere, from the top to the bottom. On the low end, if the federal minimum wage were increased to $15 per hour, the people who would benefit would be 59 percent women and only 41 percent men. This just shows that the lowest wage work still overwhelmingly belongs to women. And at the top, even the highest-paid women are still earning 82 cents to every man’s dollar. 

And we still see troubling numbers in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) fields, where only a quarter of the workforce is women, and about half of women in STEM report experiencing gender discrimination.

Despite the relative dearth of women in the workforce and companies’ often lackluster efforts to address pay inequality, women who are still employed should feel emboldened to make their needs heard, according to Sigler.

Ask for what you want

“My advice to women is to ask for what you want – a raise, a promotion, a change in your schedule, or whatever else it is that you want. You can’t get what you don’t ask for,” Sigler says, adding that if you ask for and don’t get a raise, then ask for specific details on what criteria must be met to get that raise or promotion. 

“That gives you a game plan to meet and then to ask again,” Sigler says.

Working remotely may actually help

And make sure to ask for enough! A 2019 study showed that the majority of women ask for raises of $5,000 or below. About the same number of men and women ask for raises of $5K-$10K, but men were way more likely than women to ask for raises of $10K or more. 

Though the fallout from this pandemic will likely affect women in the workforce for years to come, Thomas notes one silver lining: the acceptance of flexible work situations. For the most part, gone are the days that working remotely or working odd hours made an employee seem underinvested. Now, it’s the norm. And Thomas says this tears down a major blocker for women’s career progression. 

At least that’s one thing to celebrate this Women’s History Month.

The post Asking for a Raise if You’re a Woman appeared first on Stash Learn.

There were more IPOs led by women in 2021 than ever before, topping 2020’s total of four women-led public offerings, which was a record at the time. Women-helmed IPOs in 2021 included:

• Dating app Bumble went public under Whitney Wolfe Heard in February 2021. 
• In May 2021, health care clothing company FIGS, led by two women, held its IPO.
• Actress Jessica Alba also took her consumer goods business The Honest Company public in May. 
• During the same month, Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud conducted the video platform’s IPO. 
• Clothing rental company Rent the Runway, created by Jennifer Fleis and Jennifer Hyman, went public in October 2021.

While it’s exciting to celebrate women breaking new ground, women still led a small percentage of the more than 1,000 companies that went public in 2021. I can’t stop myself from wondering: Why do so few IPOs come from companies run by women? 

“Homosocial reproduction,” says Elizabeth J. Sandler, founder and chief executive officer of executive coaching, solutions, and design company Echo Juliette, based in New York. She adds that Rosabeth Moss Kanter, a professor of leadership and strategy at Harvard Business School, created the term in 1977, and it is what still dominates business today.  

“It is the principle that we are most comfortable working with people who are socially similar to ourselves,” Sandler says. “Because corporations are run mostly by men, investors are mostly men and therefore founders of companies taken public are mostly men.”

Sandler says when the pandemic first hit and caused travel and meeting cancelations, her calendar had more than 100 meetings with investors, tech founders, and senior executives. All of them were men. 

Big challenges for women-led companies 

Other statistics bear witness to this trend: Only .64 percent of venture capital money has gone to companies with Black or Latinx women founders since 2018, according to one recent study of minority women in business. Women-led startups also consistently get under 3 percent of all venture capital funding. In 2021, women start-up founders received 2% of venture capital, the smallest amount since 2016. And more generally, some women may experience a  motherhood penalty, workplace sexual harassment, which goes unreported 75 percent of the time, even the feeling some women reported to this writer about being “pushed out” by their male peers.

Still, mentoring programs, concerted efforts by companies to address gender discrimination, and, of course, incredibly talented women are helping change the game.  

Groundbreakers of the past two years

In 2021, founder and chief executive  of the dating app Bumble, Whitney Wolfe Heard, became the youngest-ever woman to lead her company to an IPO in February, 2021. She is 31, and her company was valued at $8 billion. Meanwhile, Anjali Sud was the first South Asian woman to take a business public when Vimeo joined the Nasdaq. 

2021’s strong start follows 2020, when Leen Kawas, founder of the pharmaceutical company Athira Pharma, was the first woman to take her company to an IPO in the state of Washington in more than 20 years. Roni Mamluk guided Ayala Pharmaceuticals through an IPO the same year, when the company was valued at $10 billion. In Michigan, Ann Marie Sastry took her A.I. software company Amesite through an IPO in September. And rounding out the 2020 foursome was Maria L. MacCecchini, whose drug company works to cure Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, and had its IPO last January. 

“We are catching up to progress, but it just takes time,” says Lindsey Allard,  CEO and Co-Founder of PlaybookUX, a user experience testing company in New York. “The more women who take that leap and become a leader or founder are pushing things forward a little bit more.”

The post Why So Few Women Have IPOs appeared first on Stash Learn.

Women face a unique set of financial challenges. In the U.S. They tend to earn less money than men do, ask for smaller raies, and they’re also behind on retirement savings. And as the country continues to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, women must still make up ground they lost during the months that shutdowns closed many businesses and curtailed worker hours, having suffered economically more than men, representing the majority of layoffs 

Stash’s goal during Women’s History Month is to provide women with the tools to overcome those hurdles and build their financial lives. With that in mind,  we’ve put together content especially for women, including suggestions for getting started with investing, saving for retirement, and putting together a financial plan. Plus, check out our podcast Teach Me How to Money, featuring women talking about student loans, credit, careers, and more.

Check back with us as we update this page with more stories throughout the month.

The post Celebrating Women’s History Month at Stash appeared first on Stash Learn.

But when it comes to the business world, women may fall far behind their male peers. They tend to earn less, in a phenomenon known as the gender wage gap, and they tend to hold fewer leadership positions. In fact, only about 41 of the Fortune 500, a list of the largest public and private companies in the U.S., are led by female chief executives. (Female CEOs at Fortune 500 companies include Mary Barra of General Motors, Corrie Barry of Best Buy, Roz Brewer of Walgreens, Heyward Donigan of Rite Aid, and Jill Soltau of J.C. Penney, among others.)

And that relative lack of female leadership might be a problem for business.

Greater Diversity at women-led firms

Some research in recent years highlights the impact that women can have in businesses, particularly when they attain executive leadership positions. Companies with women at the helm may tend to have better stock returns than their male-run counterparts, and may also gain more trust from potential investors. Some of the reasons? Such businesses may be more diverse in general, allowing for potentially greater idea sharing, creativity, and problem solving on the part of their workers. 

Financial information and analysis company S&P Global found that in the 24 months following the appointment of a female CEO, stock price increased 20% in the public companies it examined in a 2019 study. Similarly,  following the appointment of a female chief financial office, the firms in its study sample experienced a 6% increase in profitability and an 8% increase in stock returns.

The research also found that women-led companies generated nearly $2 trillion in excess profits over the study horizon, compared to those led by men, and the companies they led tended to have more diverse boards, with twice the number of women on them.

The study examined 5,825 executive appointments, of which 578 were female, at Russell 3000 companies between December 31, 2002 and May 31, 2019.

The results from the S&P study appear to correlate with other research. For example, a study conducted at Stanford School of Business between 2014 and 2018 shows that investors seem to favor more diverse companies. Following 60 announcements about gender diversity improvements at public companies primarily in the tech and financial industries, the researchers found the share price of the companies increased. Some of the reasons, the researchers reportedly postulated, were that investors tended to think of gender diverse companies as more ethical, and their employees as more creative, and perhaps able to solve personality conflicts better.

Not everyone agrees on cause and effect

However, investment bank Credit Suisse, in its own 2019 study of the impact of women in executive roles at 3,000 companies it covers globally, says that while it found a similar correlation between company performance and gender diversity in leadership, it stresses that it does not prove a definitive cause and effect. Instead, it notes that firms that hire more women and focus on diverse hiring may simply be better at making decisions about operations, which could have a positive impact on performance.

Nevertheless, the studies are important as numerous industries, particularly those that require  science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) backgrounds, also grapple with diversity issues. For example, until recently, 70% of big tech companies’ workforces, including Apple, Google, Facebook, and Twitter were male. Similarly, entire industries such as software development and engineering have less than 20% representation by women in the workplace, according to Catalyst, a nonprofit organization seeking to advance women’s equity.

As we celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, it’s important to consider the contributions that women make in business, and the roles diversity and inclusion can also play in promoting stronger business. 
If you want to invest in women-led companies, Stash allows you to do that through its ETFs and other investments. Note: The research noted above does not guarantee that a company’s hiring and leadership practices regarding women will result in better performance.

The post Why Companies Led By Women May Do Better appeared first on Stash Learn.

The best way to do that is by offering a story from my past. When I was 14, I got my first job as a lifeguard with my best friend Amanda. It was admittedly a pretty sweet gig for a teenager, but it paid minimum wage, which was and still remains $7.25 per hour in Pennsylvania. My brother worked at the golf shop at the same place with several other teenagers—all boys—who spent most days in the air-conditioned store watching TV. They all earned more than I did, and received yearly raises and tips from the golfers (usually men). 

I worked there for four summers and never got a raise, despite my certification to literally guard lives. So at the beginning of that last summer, Amanda and I took matters into our own hands and got higher-paying jobs at a nearby summer camp. This was my first experience taking control of my financial life. I did it because I had a friend by my side telling me that I could do better, and I told her the same. I still consult Amanda, and other women, about my career and money today.

Stash’s theme for Women’s History Month is “Owning It.” To me, this story is a reminder that the women of my generation grew up talking about money inequalities more than any of our predecessors. By sharing our experiences, we’re owning our finances and setting ourselves up for success. But the future can look grim. My generation confronts high unemployment, a huge student debt crisis, and an ever-increasing cost of living that puts basics out of reach. 

With the spirit of talking in mind, I spoke to some Gen Z women at Stash about the challenges we face, and how having conversations with other women is crucial. 

Gen Z’s relationship with the American Dream 

Gen Z’s American Dream looks different. Instead of buying homes and saving for kids, we’re making rent and paying off our student debt. “I think the ‘American Dream’ has come into question for a lot of Gen Z because of various systemic factors and barriers, like crippling student loan debt, for example,” says Vera Hanson, Press Relations Manager at Stash. 

The youngest members of Gen Z are in their prime college age, when it’s more expensive than ever before, with a private university education costing an average of $41,411 per year. In fact, last year, Gen Z saw the biggest jump in student loan debt of any generation—average indebtedness increased 39% to more than $17,000. “For me, it’s the sense of a lack of optimism,” says Pri Maheshwari, Stash’s Social Media Manager and Strategist. “It feels like we’re expected to get a college degree, and yet we still might not even get a job.”  

The rising cost of living isn’t helping. Average rent in the U.S. increased 46.5% from 2010 to 2019 and home prices have surged 14% in the last year alone. And the cost of health insurance and medical care continues to get more expensive each year, along with most other basics. Meanwhile, real wages haven’t budged in 40 years. “When so much of your paycheck goes to your living expenses, I think it just makes planning for the future that much harder,” Vera says.

Money talk no longer taboo

Our willingness to talk about money has actual consequences. A February, 2021, Stash survey^‡ found that 47% of Gen X women said that they found talking about money taboo, compared to a third of Gen Z women. Pri says that she’s open with friends about salary information and rent. “Why is that information secret?” she asks. “It just helps someone else realize: ‘Oh, I’m capable of achieving the same thing.’”

Conversations with other women of the same age can help close the wage gap between men and women. As of 2020, women earned $0.81 for every dollar a man earned, and the gap is wider for women of color. Hearing what your colleagues earn “means starting to accurately understand what you’re worth,” Vera says.

Declaring financial independence

These conversations have also helped us reject previous generations’ preconceptions about women, money, and careers. “My mom grew up with very traditional Indian parents. They literally told her ‘Just pick a major. You’re gonna get married and it won’t matter what you do.’ But I feel more empowered and that people think I can do it because the attitudes towards women and money are shifting a little bit,” Pri says.

My colleagues also feel that because women aren’t necessarily expected to invest, adults tend to leave them out of discussions about building wealth. “I can’t think back looking on any class, or conversation—prior to college—having anything to do with money that would have maybe created an equal playing field between my male peers and myself,” says Lindsey Repp, Senior Associate of Brokerage Operations.

That’s something we can change for the next generation of women, by passing on our knowledge of saving, investing, and building wealth to them.

The post Gen Z Women Talk Money appeared first on Stash Learn.

A February, 2021, survey* from Stash found that men are nearly twice as likely as women to have learned about investing when they were young. The data also showed that talking about money makes women feel more confident about their finances. But the majority of women surveyed felt they didn’t have someone they could talk to about their finances. 

Getting an early start is critical

As kids, the data suggests, women don’t tend to get the same financial education as men do, which can put them behind as adults. Seventy-one percent of men were taught about finances at a young age, compared to almost two-thirds of women. And while 39% of men learned about investing as kids, only 22% of women did.

This education gap might contribute to differences in how men and women approach money in adulthood. Stash’s report saw that when thinking about their personal finances, women are more likely to feel overwhelmed (38%) and anxious (37%). Men, meanwhile, are more likely to feel knowledgeable (38%) or confident and in control (37%). Additionally, almost half of the women polled said that they feel confident in their short-term financial decisions, but don’t know where to start when it comes to long-term financial decisions.

Overcoming an investing gap

Women also experience a gap in investing. When asked how confident they felt about their knowledge of investing, women most often said they felt somewhat confident (28%) or not confident at all (23%). Men most said they felt very confident (40%) or somewhat confident (28%). Women also said the following about investing:

• 46% of women don’t feel they have enough money to begin investing
• 39% of women don’t invest because they don’t want to lose money
• 35% of women want to invest but don’t know where to start

Talking about money can empower people, particularly women, to take control of their finances. In fact, Stash’s survey discovered that talking about finances helps people feel more supported (48%) and informed about their financial decisions (43%). And roughly three-quarters of respondents, regardless of gender, who talk to women about their finances feel confident they know how to achieve their short-term and long-term financial goals. 

While talking about money can help people become more confident and knowledgeable about it, 58% of women say that they don’t currently have a woman in their life that they can talk to about their finances. But that might be changing. While 47% of Gen X women said that they found talking about money taboo, only a third of Gen Z women felt that way. 

How women can start investing with Stash

Stash is helping to close the gap in investing opportunity and education so that women can build wealth. With Stash, you can start investing in a portfolio of stocks, bonds, and ETFs with any dollar amount. You can also start saving for retirement by opening an individual retirement account (IRA) with $5 on Stash. 

Stash also offers financial advice and education to help new investors learn the ropes. On Stash Learn, can find resources on how to build a diversified portfolio, how to save for your short-term and long-term goals, how to budget your money, and more. You can also sign up for Stash’s newsletter, The Wallet, for weekly news and personal finance tips. 

And in celebration of Women’s History Month, join Stash’s webinar with the Council for Economic Education on March 25, 2020. We’ll be tackling some of the historical barriers women have faced in the fight for financial independence, trends we’re seeing among female investors today, and some basic investing principles to take with you moving forward.

Download the full survey data here

The post Women Have More Money Anxiety. Why Talking to Other Women Might Help. appeared first on Stash Learn.

But in a recent survey, Stash found that women may handle market fluctuations better than men do. When the Dow Jones and S&P 500 fell by more than 20% in March 2020, as the of Covid-19 pandemic started unfolding, female Stash investors held on to their investments, while male investors were more likely to sell them. And this data is consistent with data from earlier market dips. 

From March to July, 2020, during the peak of the pandemic, male Stash customers were 17% more likely to “panic sell” their investments than female Stash customers, who were more likely to hold onto their investments and ride out the volatility.¹ 

Female Stash investors were also 10% more likely than their male counterparts to purchase investments during this period of the pandemic. Additionally, women were 10% more likely to invest in a diversified portfolio, purchasing shares of ETFs versus single stocks.¹ 

Women were also more likely than men to increase their retirement investments during this period, compared to October, 2019 to February, 2020, or the period before Covid-19.² Female Stash investors were 63% more likely than men to increase their retirement investments during the pandemic.² 

Still, women demonstrate less confidence when it comes to making long-term financial and investment decisions, according to research from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Thirty-four percent of women surveyed said that they didn’t feel comfortable making investment decisions, compared to roughly 50% of men.

Historically, female Stash customers have actually demonstrated investing habits that might upend some misconceptions about women and their finances.

How women historically invest at Stash

In 2018, female Stash investors performed similarly to how they did during the March, 2020 market drop. On two particularly volatile days for markets in 2018—February 5 and 8—when indexes such as the S&P 500 suffered big losses, men were 87% more likely than women, on average, to sell an investment. By selling after a market drop, men effectively locked in their losses.³  

And that behavior continued into the following week, with male users still being 76% more likely than women to sell an investment, compared to female users.³

While women tend to perceive themselves as less tolerant of risk than men, they’re actually not. In 2018, nearly 90% of female Stash users self-identified as having a low or medium risk tolerance when they first open an account, compared to 75% of men. This means that female Stash users perceive themselves as less willing to make riskier investments, opting for less volatile stocks and ETFs—they want safer investments, in other words.³

The data, however, revealed that female users are just as likely as men to take on investment risk. Roughly 50% of women have invested in higher-risk investments on Stash—the same as men.³

So, while women may view themselves as more conservative investors, in practice, they’re not.

Follow the Stash Way

All investors, including women, can follow the Stash Way, which includes regular investing, investing for the long term, and creating a diversified portfolio. By investing regularly and over time in a portfolio that has a mix of stocks, bonds, and ETFs, you can potentially spread your risk across different investments, which can help you during periods of market volatility. 

Stash’s diversification analysis tool can help you build a portfolio suited to your appetite for risk. You can also open a Smart Portfolio⁴ with Stash, which is a personalized portfolio that Stash’s Investment Team of financial experts creates for you based on your risk profile. Stash actively monitors and manages the account for you, and rebalances when necessary. 

How women can start investing with Stash

You can join the millions of women already investing with Stash today. By signing up with Stash, you can enter the market and start building your financial future by investing for the long-term and riding out the highs and lows of the market. 

You can start investing for any dollar amount with Stash, or open a retirement account with $5.

The post Are Women Better Investors? Stash Data Flips Gender Stereotypes appeared first on Stash Learn.