6 Ways Men and Women Differ When It Comes To Money

Here are six ways men and women differ when it comes to money, from credit scores to self-confidence.

Women account for more than half of the consumer spending in the U.S., manage a growing share of investments, and are increasingly the primary breadwinners in their households.

Yet despite their influence over American household dollars, women still lag in other, related, areas — from wages to their confidence about their own financial wherewithal.

These differences have taken on increased importance in today’s conversations about American culture, with President Barack Obama calling in January for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to start gathering information on pay by gender, presidential candidates discussing the issue during the current campaign, and some arguing that paying women more could significantly reduce poverty.

Here are six ways men and women differ when it comes to money, according to sources including the Census Bureau, financial services institutions and a credit score company.

Men make more for the same work

Women make about 79% of what men do for the same work, according to a 2014 comparison of the median earnings of full-time, year-round workers. (That’s the most recent year for which the Census Bureau provides data.) Black and Hispanic women make a smaller percentage of what their male counterparts make than white women do.

A gap exists for highly educated workers: A 2015 Bloomberg analysis found that while men and women made similar salaries when they graduated from business school in 2007 — $105,000 for men and $98,000 for women — by 2014 those same workers had seen their salaries diverge. The men were earning $175,000, compared with $140,000 for the women.

Reasons generally cited for the “pay gap” include women being less likely to work in higher-paying fields, hold high-ranking positions and negotiate for salaries and raises.