End of student loan forbearance will hurt women more

Before the pandemic, wage disparities already made it tougher for working women to pay off student loans than men.

“Not to paint over individual experiences that could have been good or bad (during the pandemic), but there’s more concern for women that do have college debt and earn less money,” says Kathryn Anne Edwards, an economist at the Rand Corp.

When the federal student loan payment pause ends after Jan. 31, repayment will be especially difficult for certain groups of women who saw their earnings plummet, experts say.

Already a greater problem

Although women surpass men in degree attainment, women also have more student debt. A 2021 analysis of federal data by the American Association of University Women showed women carry an average student loan burden of $31,276, about 7 percent more than men.

Once women enter the workplace, they’re less able to pay off that debt because of earnings disparities from gender and — for Black and Hispanic women — racial wage gaps, experts say.

“(Borrowers) accrue this debt, and then a thing like a pandemic appears, exposing issues that are already present,” says Dominique Baker, assistant professor of education policy at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Threat to lifetime earnings

It could take time for women to make a comeback: Nearly 1.7 million women left the workforce and did not return from February 2020 to August 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Leaving the labor force for any period of time can have long-term effects on lifetime earnings, Edwards says. And slower earnings increases could make it more challenging to repay debt.

Lasting ramifications

There were also changes in the way women work that could have lasting impact, experts say, including reduced hours, time off for caregiving and switching to more flexible or lower-paying jobs.

Now that employers know more about the details of employees’ lives thanks to video calls, Edwards adds, women with children may be perceived to be less committed to the job and could be passed over for promotions.

Women are often responsible for elderly relatives in addition to children and are expected to take off work to provide care, says Kate Nielson, senior director of public policy, legal advocacy and research for the Association of American University Women. “If you’re lucky, it’s a few weeks’ endeavor, and if you’re not, it’s much longer and can be incredibly disruptive,” Nielson adds.

Debt and no degree

It’s unclear precisely how many women fall into this category, but the majority of students who attend college take on loans, and nearly 40 percent of students do not complete their degrees within six years of entering college, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Taking on debt without completing college leaves borrowers carrying debt without the career opportunities and lifetime earnings benefits of a college degree. That can lead borrowers to miss payments and default, which has consequences like wage garnishment, damaged credit and loss of eligibility for federal student loan safety nets.

Find ways to get help

When the student loan payment pause ends, borrowers have options to keep their accounts in good standing and avoid default. That includes enrolling in an income-driven repayment plan — which sets payments at $0 if you’re unemployed — or requesting a forbearance.

You will need to contact your loan servicer to make changes to your payment plan.