By the time African-American women graduate from college, they have accumulated an average $30,400 in debt, compared to $22,000 by White women and $19,500 by White men, according to a recent report.
The report by the American Association of University Women, titled “Deeper in Debt: Women and Student Loans,” states that Black women are the most educated demographic in America, but also shows that overall, women have almost twice as much student loan debt as men, $890 billion to $490 billion.
“This debt is an albatross for many women as they embark on careers and work to support their households and families,” said Kim Churches, the association’s executive director. “And it only gets worse over time when coupled with the gender pay gap.”
A 2016 AAUW report found that in addition to women who work full-time jobs bringing in just 80 percent of the income their male coworkers earn, Black and Hispanic women with bachelor’s degrees make 37 percent and 34 percent less, respectively, than White men with bachelor’s degrees.
