Welcome to AAUW Oklahoma

AAUWOK Presidents past

Lots of AAUW history in this picture!! State Leadership Meeting in Oklahoma City on 07/29/23.
(Standing, l to r) Lisa Appeddu, Weatherford; Lila Hoover, Chickasha; Faye Henson, Weatherford;
Jeannette Loutsch, Chickasha; Anjie Jefferies, Chickasha; Lori Gwyn, Weatherford.
(Seated l to r) Diana Campo, Edmond; Jeanna Wing, Tahlequah; Rose Unterschuetz, Tulsa;
Shelli Wasson, Edmond; Carol Erikson, Alva.

Women & Student Debt

Women make up just over half of students enrolled in all sectors of higher education, yet hold almost two-thirds of the country’s student debt: $929 billion. Women who take out loans borrow an average of $31,276—about 7% more than men—and many women of color borrow significantly more.

After taking on a disproportionate burden of student debt, most women then graduate to a pay gap and racial wealth gap that make it harder to repay their loans. Even before the pandemic, women who graduated with a bachelor’s degree expected to earn only 81% of what men are expected to earn. Women, especially Black and Latina women, thus pay off loans more slowly than most men—meaning women also pay more on their loans during repayment as interest accrues. Burdened by loan repayments which further squeeze their budgets, many women put off buying a home, getting married, and having kids.

For the more than two million undergraduate students who are mothers, the gender wage gap and high costs of childcare can make keeping up with loan repayments while supporting a family even more difficult. The 1.7 million undergraduates who are single mothers have higher levels of debt than other students, and student debt is especially high for Black student parents.

2024 Equal Pay Day Calendar

  • All Women’s Equal Pay Day – March 12
  • Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Women’s Equal Pay Day – April 3
  • LGBTQIA+ Equal Pay Awareness Day – June 13
  • Black Women’s Equal Pay Day – July 9
  • Moms’ Equal Pay Day – August 7
  • Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) Women’s Equal Pay Day – August 28
  • Latina Equal Pay Day – October 3
  • Native Women’s Equal Pay Day – November 21

Started by the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) in 1996, the goal of Equal Pay Days is to raise awareness about the ongoing gender pay gap and how the pay gap varies significantly among different communities, particularly for women of color.