Women, mothers report greater fear about economic security A May
2008 analysis by the Institute for Women's Policy Research finds
that women and mothers are more anxious than men about their
personal economic security. On issues ranging from retirement
security to the risk of job loss, women reported higher rates of
economic anxiety than men with similar demographic
characteristics. For example, the study found that 20 percent of
female college graduates reported were worried about facing
economic insecurity, compared to 14 percent of men with college
degrees. Overall, 39 percent of women worried about having
enough money to live on, compared to 28 percent of men. "Women's
unease about their finances is not simply a greater propensity
to worry," the authors of the study report. "It reflects their
experiences of material hardship." Among married parents,
mothers were more likely to experience economic anxiety (27
percent) than fathers (21 percent). Mothers were also a greater
risk of losing their jobs (24 perc