Economic Opportunity, Research
South Carolina’s Gender Wealth Gap
by WREN Staff on Jun 10, 2020
Description:
This brief aims to raise awareness and inspire action to close the gap and advance prosperity in South Carolina. It defines the gender and racial wealth gap; quantifies the gap in South Carolina; highlights some of the factors that create and perpetuate it; and offers high-level policy recommendations.
Disclosures:
- Analysis conducted by Jessie Wang, Ph.D., Robert E. Hughes Assistant Professor of Economics, Furman University, using the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) from 2014. SIPP is a household-based survey designed as a continuous series of national panels. SIPP serves to collect source and amount data related to various types of income, labor force participation, social program participation and eligibility, and general demographic characteristics to measure the effectiveness of existing federal, state, and local programs. We use the person-level net worth data from SIPP to look for the suggestive evidence of a gender wealth gap. In general, wealth data is hard to collect. The dataset used here is small and not representative of all of the demographic characteristics that we would like to assess, and it is not possible to identify causation, only correlation.
- The SIPP dataset relies on respondents to identify as “male” or “female” and does not allow for analysis of those who identify as nonbinary or transgender. There is a paucity of data on the economic well-being of LGBTQ+ individuals, but national research has shown that transgender and nonbinary women earn significantly less than their cisgender counterparts.
- “People of color” is a term used to encompass respondents who do not identify as White. Because of the small size of the dataset, we are not able to stratify findings by race or ethnicity in further detail.
- While the “wage gap” is often used as a benchmark for inequality, wealth is a more comprehensive measure of financial well-being than income alone. Wealth is important because it allows people to plan for the future and weather crises, such as medical emergencies or job loss.
- For this discussion, wealth is equivalent to net worth, or the total value of assets minus all liabilities.
Download your copy of the report here.
More Wealth Gap Resources.
Racism
Inequality.org examines racial economic inequality. Inequality.org has been tracking inequality-related news and views for nearly two decades. A project of the Institute for Policy Studies since 2011, our site aims to provide information and insights for readers ranging from educators and journalists to activists and policy makers.
The Black-White Wage Gap Is as Big as It Was in 1950
Wealth Gap and Wage Gap
From Jobs To Homeownership, Protests Put Spotlight On Racial Economic Divide
White Americans’ Hold on Wealth Is Old, Deep, and Nearly Unshakeable
The Gender Wage Gap Is Wider in States with a Low Minimum Wage
Examining the Black-white Wealth Gap- Research from the Brookings Institute
America’s Women and the Wage Gap
Closing the Women’s Wealth Gap
The Wage Gap in South Carolina
The Simple Truth about the Pay Gap
Underpaid and Overloaded: Women in Low-Wage Jobs
Study: South Carolina is 5th-Toughest State for Working Moms
The Lifetime Wage Gap, State by State
Women and Poverty, State by State
What is Systemic Racism? – Wealth Gap
The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap
Student Debt
States with the Most and Least Student Debt
Pipelines, Pathways, and Institutional Leadership
Student Loan Debt Climbs To $1.4 Trillion in 2014
Private Equity’s Failing Grade
Caregiving
Caregiving in the United States 2020
Childcare
Child Care Costs in South Carolina
Inequitable Access to Childcare Subsides
COVID-19
National data showed: Women have been hit hard by the coronavirus labor market: Their story is worse than industry-based data suggest.
The Initial Economic Impact of COVID-19 on South Carolina’s Child Care Sector: Survey Report
“Some Days I Feel Like I’m Melting”: How Single Mothers in New York City Are Coping with Quarantine
Valuing Women’s Caregiving During and After the Coronavirus Crisis
On the Margins: Economic Security for Women of Color through the Coronavirus Crisis and Beyond
Nearly Half of Men Say They Do Most of the Home Schooling. 3 Percent of Women Agree.