More than 80 percent of women “feel apprehensive” about staying on track with their financial goals due to the current economic environment. 

That’s according to a new survey by Laurel Road, a digital-banking platform of Cleveland, Ohio–based KeyBank with “specialized offerings” for health care and business professionals. 

The sixth-annual survey from Laurel Road explores financial security and employment trends among 2,006 U.S. college-educated adults, per a March 9 news release. 

Not narrowing the pay gap

Over half (52 percent) of the women surveyed reported feeling their employers are not doing all they can to lessen the gender pay gap, with 59 percent of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) women agreeing that their company hasn’t been successful in improving pay disparity. 

This is an increase from the 44 percent and 48 percent of women and BIPOC women, respectively, who felt their companies missed the mark last year.

Feeling more financially secure

While there is still room for improvement, especially on the wage gap, overall, more women (34 percent) reported feeling financially secure this year than last (25 percent). This finding is encouraging, as it demonstrates an increase in women taking charge of their finances and planning for the future, Laurel Road said. 

The survey also found that two in three women overall report that they feel behind schedule regarding personal financial security, with 35 percent of all women identifying retirement savings as a key area in which they feel behind — while BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) women feeling “generally behind on all financial goals.” 

The findings also indicated not having enough money (60 percent) and too many other responsibilities (41 percent) are “key hurdles in making headway” toward their goals.

“As we continue to field this study year after year, our goal is to bring transparency to the issues women face in the workplace every day which can impact their quality of life, both emotionally and financially,” Alyssa Schaefer, general manager and chief experience officer at Laurel Road, said. “We often set up forums and panels to openly discuss such issues and our hope is that this research helps spark similar conversations and initiatives across the country. Ultimately, we want to encourage change by fostering open dialogue about these reoccurring trends.”

Feeling undervalued at work

While economic uncertainty is top of mind, 64 percent of college-educated women feel that their current salary does not match their value, a slight decrease from the 69 percent of college-educated women who reported feeling undervalued last year. In comparison, only 39 percent of college men feel they are undervalued.

New opportunities depend on salary

With only 37 percent of women receiving a salary they feel correlates with their value, the report found 61 percent of women surveyed shared that a higher salary would encourage them to leave their current role. 

This was followed by remote-work opportunities (28 percent), better work-life balance (32 percent), and stronger benefit packages (31 percent) as other top motivators for women to leave their current roles. This sentiment echoes last year’s survey findings, in which women reported higher pay (68 percent), remote work (34 percent), better work-life balance (34 percent), and better management (21 percent) as the top reasons to leave their current roles.

Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the U.S. between Feb. 21 and Feb. 23 among 2,006 U.S. adults by HarrisX, a market research and consulting services company with offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Tampa, Florida. 

The sampling margin of error of this poll is plus or minus 2.2 percentage points. The results reflect a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. Results were weighted for age by gender, region, race/ethnicity, income, and education where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population, Laurel Road said.