National Citi Survey Finds Women across All Income Levels Are Experiencing Pain of the Recession

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new nationwide survey released today by Citi revealed that women across all economic sectors believe that their personal financial situations have deteriorated over the past year and that the majority (65 percent) have permanently changed their spending and saving habits in response to the recession. According to the data, key findings include:

“This new data reveals this is a transformational recession for women who are particularly feeling the effects of the economic downturn and tightening their purse strings and protecting their lairs.”

Thirty-eight percent of women say they are worse off financially compared to one year ago, including women with household incomes of at least $100,000 (29 percent) and women with at least $250,000 in assets excluding real estate and retirement (39 percent).
The large majority of women across all annual family income levels rate the economy as only fair to poor, including 79 percent of women with less than $50,000 in income, 70 percent of women with a family income of more than $100,000, and 73 percent of women with more than $250,000 in assets.
Three in five (63 percent) women believe that the country’s economic conditions will deteriorate further before things hit bottom, a similar assessment as men (61 percent).

“We know that women are a critical barometer for the U.S. economy because they drive the majority of household spending decisions and increasingly manage how their families invest,” said Lisa Caputo, Chairman and CEO of Citi’s Women & Co., a financial resource from Citi dedicated to helping women achieve their financial goals. “This new data reveals this is a transformational recession for women who are particularly feeling the effects of the economic downturn and tightening their purse strings and protecting their lairs.”

Women with Children Hardest Hit

According to the survey, working mothers have been hardest hit by current economic conditions, with more than half (53 percent) indicating that they are working longer hours to make ends meet, compared with just 24 percent of women without children and 33 percent of men who said the same.

Polling data also revealed that 75 percent of all women with children say their spending and savings habits have forever changed compared with 61 percent of women without children and 60 percent of all men who said the same. Specifically:

63 percent have postponed the purchase of a major item such as an automobile or other expensive item (compared with 50 percent of women without children in the home and 52 percent of men).
52 percent have taken money out of savings or investments to help pay expenses (compared with 42 percent of women without children and 39 percent of men).
At the same time, women with children are most likely to have returned to school in an effort to increase their employment opportunities, with nearly a third (31 percent) pursuing additional education compared with 16 percent of women without children and 21 percent of men.

Affluent Women Also Experiencing the Squeeze

Wealthier women are also making changes in response to the recession, with fully two-thirds (66 percent) of women with assets greater than $250,000, and 71 percent of women making more than $100,000 reporting that they are cutting back on everyday expenses.

Nearly half (46 percent) of both groups say they are postponing purchases of major items, and 29 percent of high-income and 31 percent of high-asset women say they have thought about postponing their retirement.

Signs of Optimism Despite the Pain

Although just one in five (21 percent) women believe that we have reached the end of the recession, women across all categories expressed optimism that circumstances will improve over the next 12 months. Nearly three in five women (58 percent) expect that business conditions in their area will become much or somewhat better over the next year, a sentiment shared by 57 percent of men surveyed.

“Although we cannot understate the impact of today’s challenging economic climate on women and their lives, it is encouraging to see some rays of light at the end of the tunnel,” said Ms. Caputo, who is also Executive Vice President of Citi Global Marketing and Corporate Affairs and member of Citi’s Senior Leadership Committee. “Citi is deeply committed to addressing the concerns of women and dedicated to providing the tools and services that women can use to build their financial knowledge and create strategies for themselves and their families. A survey like this gives us a deeper understanding of our clients’ needs and aspirations as we work with them to help them achieve their financial goals.”

Survey Methodology

Hart Research Associates conducted the telephone survey of approximately 2,005 adults, including 1,069 women, nationally from September 1-5, 2009. The Random Digit Dialed (RDD) survey has an overall statistical margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points, and the margin of error for women is plus or minus 3 percentage points. The survey also included a sample of respondents who use only a mobile telephone.

About Women & Co.

Women & Co. is a financial resource program from Citi dedicated to helping women achieve their financial goals. Women & Co. provides members with education on a vast array of financial and investing topics, which members access through womenandco.com, by reading our newsletters, listening to audio conferences, attending Master Class seminars in major metropolitan areas. For more information, visit www.womenandco.com.

About Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140 countries. Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

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