Deeper in Debt: Women and Student Loans in the Time of COVID

This is an update to the report "Deeper in Debt: Women and Student Loans." Americans today carry $1.54 trillion in student loan debt. That number has more than doubled over the last decade--increasing at nearly six times the rate of inflation. Women are particularly burdened, holding nearly two-thirds of all outstanding loans--around $929 billion. Even before coronavirus upended the global economy, the gender wage gap made it harder for women to repay their student loans. More women than men reported difficulty making payments during the first year after graduation (23.2% vs 21%, respectively). The global economic shutdown will only exacerbate the student debt problem. Record-high unemployment, the loss of supplementary income and inadequate benefits will make it harder for recent graduates--and for women in particular--to pay back their student loans. [For the original report, see ED580345.]