Shortchanged: Why Women Have Less Wealth and What Can Be Done about It By Mariko Lin Chang Oxford University Press. 2012. 224 pages. $19.95 paper

Extract

Move over, gender wage gap. There is a new measure of gender inequality on center stage. In Shortchanged: Why Women Have Less Wealth and What Can Be Done about It, Mariko Lin Chang introduces a new measure of gender inequality—the gender wealth gap. Chang argues that the gender wealth gap is not an extension or exaggeration of the gender wage gap, but rather a unique dimension of women's economic status. In Shortchanged, Chang shifts the dialogue on women's equality and economic well-being away from earnings, and argues that wealth is a better indicator of financial stability because it represents all economic resources available to the holder. Wealth provides a cushion to soften the economic blow due to loss of income because of illness, divorce, job loss, or other emergencies. Wealth can be passed down from one generation to the next. Wealth generates income through investments. And wealth provides a direct link to social and political power. For these reasons, Chang contends, we must pay attention to this underresearched indicator.