Welcome to AAUW Oklahoma

2023 Summer Leadership Conference was a success!

Advocacy ideas to put what we learned into action.

AAUW 2023 Convention information

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.

2023 Equal Pay Days — Equal Pay Quick Facts

  • Equal Pay Day—representing all women—is March 14. Women working full-time, year-round are paid 84 cents and all earners (including part-time and seasonal) are paid 77 cents for every dollar paid to men. 
  • Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Women’s Equal Pay Day is April 5. Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women working full-time, year-round are paid 92 cents and all earners (including part-time and seasonal) are paid 80 cents for every dollar paid to non-Hispanic white men. 
  • LGBTQIA+ Equal Pay Awareness Day is June 15. Without enough data to make calculations, this day raises awareness about the wage gap experienced by LGBTQIA+ folks. 
  • Black Women’s Equal Pay Day is July 27. Black women working full-time, year-round are paid 67 cents and all earners (including part-time and seasonal) are paid 64 cents for every dollar paid to non-Hispanic white men. 
  • Moms’ Equal Pay Day is August 15. Moms working full-time, year-round are paid 74 cents and all earners (including part-time and seasonal) are paid 62 cents for every dollar paid to dads. 
  • Latina’s Equal Pay Day is October 5. Latinas women working full-time, year-round are paid 57 cents and all earners (including part-time and seasonal) are paid 54 cents for every dollar paid to non-Hispanic white men. 
  • Native Women’s Equal Pay Day is November 30. Native women working full-time, year-round are paid 57 cents and all earners (including part-time and seasonal) are paid 51 cents for every dollar paid to non-Hispanic white men.