Twenty-five years ago, fewer than one in three women had credit cards or checking accounts in their own names. Today, most women have a personal credit card, and nearly half have checking accounts in their own names. But in many areas, our survey found that women still have a long way to go. Despite the fact that women are making more financial decisions than ever before, they are more likely than men to feel uncomfortable dealing with the financial world. Women are less confident of their ability to deal with the home-buying process and are much less likely than men to say they are familiar with the jargon of homeownership, such as escrow accounts, title insurance, and loan points.
Women also report that they are less likely to follow the stock market and open retirement accounts.
Of course, some of this disparity may be due to the fact that women are more likely than men to admit when they don't know something. But regardless of the reason for the difference, it's still clear that we have some work to do to help women be more conversant and confident in the financial arena. That's where a nonprofit like the Fannie Mae Foundation can make a big difference. Our efforts center around homeownership, because buying a home is still the largest single financial transaction most Americans will ever make, and owning a home is the surest path to wealth creation for the vast majority of people, especially minorities and women. Over the past decade, the homeownership rate has hit an all-time high of nearly 68 percent, with impressive advances across the board, in all geographic regions, all age groups, and all racial and ethnic groups.