NCNW Student Loan Debt Survey Results
August 24, 2022
NCNW is committed to improving the living conditions and life options for women of color, their families and communities. That commitment includes vigilant attention to public policies that promote those aims. There are few areas of public policy that have a more dreadful impact on the life options of Black women than the crushing burden of student loan debt.
Attached you will find a synopsis of response to a recent survey on the topic of student loan debt. 871 NCNW members and supporters completed the survey. Our findings support the idea that substantial forgiveness of student loan debt is prudent, possible and humane.
On the following pages you will find that student loan debt is a major inhibitor of financial and emotional health. The heavy burden of student loan debt the survey respondents experience is not typically caused by poor decisions about the type of education to pursue. Indeed, most borrowers are currently employed in areas related to their field of study. Nor is the debt a result of failure to complete a post-secondary degree. The survey respondents have not shirked their moral obligation to pay. The survey reveals that most are working and paying toward their educational obligations. Most survey participants have low-to-moderate income.
We must take into consideration that Black women work 21 months to earn what a White man earns in 12. This stark evidence of pay disparity accounts for much of the debt overhang. Simply put, if Black women were paid fairly, they would pay off student loan debt more quickly. Virtually every private decision — where to work, to live, whether to marry, obtain additional education or have a family — is impacted by student loan debt.
The quest of an education is in the highest and best tradition of the American dream. Sadly, due to runaway college costs that surpass the rate of inflation, that dream is out of reach of too many Americans. We must be reminded that our society benefits from an educated citizenry as much as the individual does. People who pursue education lead stable lives and they embrace social responsibility. We must view education as an investment, not a burden.
Sincerely,
Janice L. Mathis, Esq.
Executive Director
Read our survey results
https://bit.ly/ncnwstudentloandebt
