Latoya Peterson argues that current economic policies don’t address the deep financial problems facing many women of color:
How far will $5 go toward an unexpected emergency? Or even $100? Sadly, for many women of color, not even a single dollar stands between them and financial destruction.
For black women the median wealth (savings and assets minus debit) is only $100, according to a new report. For Hispanic women, it is $120. But the numbers get even worse. For black and Hispanic women ages 36 to 49, the median wealth is $5. For nonwhite women who have never been married, the amount was zero. In the report — “Lifting as We Climb: Women of Color, Wealth, and America’s Future,” the Insight Center for Community Economic Development explores the horrifying financial situation faced by women of color. It shows how lower median wages and a lack of intergenerational wealth reserves contribute to the disparity between women of color and everyone else. The difference amounts to “one penny of wealth for every dollar owned by their male counterparts and a tiny fraction of a penny for every dollar of wealth owned by white women.”
