A: Women have been more vulnerable to the economic fallout of COVID-19.
COVID-19 pandemic has not only created a public health crisis, but an economic crisis as well. In our November 13-16 survey, we asked respondents how COVID-19 has impacted their personal finances.
Our results reveal that women are experiencing the economic effects of COVID-19 more so than men. According to our survey, 54% of men have not been financially impacted in any way, versus just 44% of women who said the same.
In many ways, COVID-19 has had a disproportionate negative impact on women financially. Specifically, we find that 42% of women have experienced a decrease in savings, compared to 29% of men (“reduced significantly" or “reduced slightly").
Furthermore, women have experienced a substantial negative impact on their ability to set aside money for savings and pay their monthly bills. We observe that 10% more women have missed (or will soon miss) a bill payment and 13% more women have stopped or cut back on other savings (e.g., for college tuition or retirement).
Last updated on December 3, 2020. Please check back for updates.
Results based on surveys of 232 respondents from November 13, 2020 through November 16, 2020. All surveys were conducted online from respondents in the United States.
For more information about our survey techniques, click here to visit our Methods page.