Survey provides insight into economic ‘risk & reality’ for women
In mid-April, the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas, in conjunction with Little Rock-based Stone Bank, released a report on women in the state’s economy. Part of the report notes that few women say they are “very confident” with financial decision making.
Titled “You Learn as You Go: Economic Risk & Reality for Women in Rural Arkansas,” the report’s conclusions were based on survey responses from more than 800 women across the state and in-depth conversations with more than 100 participants.
“When you listen closely across communities, generations and across the state, you begin to hear patterns,” said Women’s Foundation of Arkansas CEO Anna Beth Gorman while presenting the report. “What they’ve been telling us is now backed by data.”
Following were among the findings of the survey.
92% of women manage their household finances either with a partner or entirely on their own, but few describe themselves as “very confident” in their financial decision-making.
Childcare costs are a critical barrier to employment, and maternal leave is inadequate.
Women’s entrepreneurial potential is constrained by gender bias, limited access to capital, caregiving burdens and lack of networks.
Rural women are more likely than those in metro areas to say they do not know how they would cover an unexpected $400 expense.
“Rural communities don’t hide the gaps; they reveal them,” Gorman said. “What might be buffered or masked in a more resourced area is often fully visible and fully felt in our rural communities. Access to financial institutions, access to information, critical capital for a loan — when those systems aren’t working, you see it more clearly. And because of that, rural communities give us one of the most honest pictures of how women are actually navigating financial decisions today.”
Following is financial data for Benton and Washington counties from the research conducted for the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas report.
When asked how they would cover an unexpected cost of $400, women of Northwest Arkansas provided the following responses:
• Savings, 44.26%
• Credit card, 28.11%
• I don’t know, 9.77%
• Unsecured loan, 9.21%
• Borrow from friends/family, 5.31%
• Car title loan, 3.33%
When asked how involved they are in financial decisions, the responses were almost evenly split. Following are the responses to how involved they are in financial decisions:
• I make decisions together with another adult, 48.3%
• I make all financial decisions, 45.4%
• Another person makes most financial decisions, 6.3%
Following are the responses to the reasons for limited banking:
• High fees, 19.5%
• Not enough money, 18.4%
• Concerned about information privacy, 9.3%
• Inconvenient locations, 13.5%
• Lack of trust, 8.2%
• ID verification challenges, 3.3%
On average, women in Northwest Arkansas use 2.384 apps for financial services. Following are the responses to the financial apps used:
• PayPal, 60.7%
• CashApp, 58.7%
• Venmo, 49.1%
• Apple/Google Wallet, 36.7%
• Zelle, 14.6%
• Prepaid cards, 4.9%
• Money orders, 8.1%
• Western Union, 2.8%
When asked where women turn for financial advice, many options were cited. The women surveyed easily used more than one source for that advice. Following are the responses to where women receive their financial advice:
• Friends or family, 44.4%
• Employees of local financial services, 37.4%
• Banking or financial institution blog, 27.2%
• Fintech companies, 23.9%
• YouTube, 16.9%
• Facebook, 10.1%
• TikTok, 12.0%
• Podcasts, 18.3%
• Instagram, 11.8%
• Reddit, 15.1%
• Snapchat, 8.3%
• X (formerly Twitter), 8.5%
• Threads, 3.3%
Lastly, women were asked about the financial alternatives they’ve used over the past year. Notably, not using alternatives was the top choice for women in Northwest Arkansas. Following are the responses to the financial alternatives used in the past year:
• Rent to own, 3.9%
• Payday loans, 12.4%
• Auto title loans, 8.2%
• Pawn shops, 18.1%
• Personal loans from friends and family, 14.9%
• Retail layaway programs, 2.7%
• None of these, 56.5%