New Visa Survey Finds Out How Women Are Changing Their Finances

Today, more women are standing up and demanding a close in the gender gap, including everything from money to marriage, by bending the gender norms and forcing society to recognize women deserve equality when it comes to their male counterparts.

Because of this, Visa decided to partner with Lieberman Research Worldwide and survey US millennial and Gen X men and women, ages 22-53, and what they discovered was very interesting.

Turns out, talking about money and salaries are not as common as we thought, and it still is slightly taboo to discuss finances. In fact, women were more likely to talk about their sex lives with their friends than about their salaries, according to the study.

But the interesting facts didn’t stop there. Two in three women believe there is a gender pay gap, but only 1 in three believe the pay gap affects them.

Currently, women make 77.9 cents to every dollar men make, according to PayScale.com, making the average salary for women 22 percent less than what men make a year.

Ironically enough, most women have to spend more on common products like deodorant and razors than men because of something called the Pink Tax.

The tax is nothing new and it has been around for decades. Women spend an average of $1,351 more a year on services and products such as personal hygiene items and clothing.

Roughly 89 percent of young women believe it costs more being a woman, and 63 percent of men agree. Products, like shaving cream, are priced higher when they are marketed specifically for women. The same basic ingredients in the same basic container yet women pay more.

The disappointing thing is, more women feel like they are constantly living paycheck to paycheck no matter how much they make.

But starting conversation through surveys such as the Visa Money is Changing study helps to shed light on areas that need constant attention in order for change to occur.

By insisting society closes the wage gap we can ensure working women of every generation are able to support themselves without the need to depend on someone for extra help.

It’s imperative we empower women and one of the major ways we can do that is to create equality between the genders in every aspect of life, including equal pay for equal work.