Overcoming Barriers to Wealth Creation for Marginalized Women

Women Invested confronts gender wealth inequity by making investment systems work for marginalized women. 

Invest Forward: Closing the Investing Gap for Black and Latinx Low- to Moderate-Income Women

The median net wealth of white men is 13x that of Black women. The dramatically lower wealth holdings of LMI women—particularly Black and Latinx women—reflect, in large part, long-standing systemic racism and sexism that excludes these women from traditional pathways to wealth. This inequity shortchanges individual households, communities, and an economy that is denied the fruits of full and equitable participation. Commonwealth is committed to reducing barriers to entry for all pathways to wealth, improving traditional pathways to wealth, and developing new 21st century pathways.

Wealth creation can take many forms, but participation in capital markets is and will continue to be a critical wealth generation path. The gap in investing by women of color contributes to a profound wealth gap. To learn more about the financial and investment needs, wants, and aspirations of LMI working women and identify opportunities for them to build wealth through investing in capital markets (outside of retirement plans), we partnered with Logica Research. This report summarizes our findings from that survey of 1,500 LMI working women earning between $30,000 and $80,000 annually with a particular focus on Black and Latinx women.