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Why Women Have Less Wealth and What Can Be Done about It
Oxford University Press
September 2010
On Sale: September 13, 2010
224 pages ISBN: 0195367693 EAN: 9780195367690 Hardcover
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Self-Help Money
Women now receive more college degrees than men, and enter
the workforce with better job opportunities than ever
before. Indeed, the wage gap between men and women has never
been smaller. So why does the typical woman have only 36
cents for every dollar of wealth owned by the typical man?
How is it that never-married women working full-time have
only 16% as much wealth as similarly situated men? And why
do single mothers have only 8% of the wealth of single fathers? The first book to focus on the differences in wealth between
women and men, Shortchanged is a compelling and accessible
examination of why women struggle to accumulate assets, who
has what, and why it matters. Mariko Lin Chang draws on the
most comprehensive national data on wealth and on in-depth
interviews to show how differences in earnings, in saving
and investing, and, most important, the demands of
care-giving all contribute to the gender-wealth gap. She
argues that the current focus on equal pay and
family-friendly workplace policies, although important, will
not ultimately change or eliminate wealth inequalities. What
Chang calls the "wealth escalator"--comprised of fringe
benefits, the tax code, and government benefits--and the
"debt anchor" must be the targets of policies aimed at
strengthening women's financial resources. Chang proposes a
number of practical suggestions to address the unequal
burdens and consequences of care-giving, so that women who
work just as hard as men will not be left standing in
financial quicksand. A comprehensive portrait of where women and men stand with
respect to wealth, Shortchanged not only sheds light on why
women lack wealth, but also offers solutions for improving
the financial situation of women, men, and families.
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