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14 | TH E M R EP O RT COVER STORY Cutts said. "That was dead on arrival. But a married woman's income would be heavily dis- counted, if it was counted at all, because even if she was working now, it's very clear that she would quit working once she started having babies." This concept kept women out of financial transactions like homebuying for decades, but to- day, those traditional notions are a thing of the past. Now, women can choose a different path. Crews Cutts said more women are asking, "What do I want for myself and my financial future?" This idea can be a "liberating kind of thing," she said. A Present Picture F ast-forward to contemporary society, and women are still facing gender inequality. Women on average earn less than their male counterparts at just 94 cents to the male dollar, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Although the gender wage gap is far from coming to a close, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) 2017 Adult Composition of Home Buyer Households data, single females are buying homes at more than twice the rate of single males. In fact, single women accounted for 17 percent of U.S. homebuyers in the last year, compared to just 7 percent of single men, accord- ing to NAR's data. This housing gender gap has existed for some time, but it continues to widen for a variety of reasons. Now, single females are more independent; common cultural as- sumptions about a woman's desire for marriage, her place in the work- force, and the idea that a home purchase should follow marriage are quickly becoming outdated. "Young women today have been raised with the expectation that any job is open to them—that they can choose when and how many children to have even into their 40s, even 50s," Crews Cutts said. "And that they, in terms of credit avail- ability and opportunity, can make choices for their own finances." So it's not that women haven't been capable. Women have been capable since forever. It's American culture that has progressed and changed dramati- cally—and it's opened the door of opportunity in the process. Breaking Down the Factors O ne of the biggest cultural changes is the idea that women are embracing indepen- dence and "singledom" lifestyles— a concept described by Bella DePaulo, author of "Singled Out" and Professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara. According to DePaulo's novel, single women are more likely to accept their situation than single men. A lot of older single women accept that they may never get married, and they're more willing to move onward and upward with their lives. They're not waiting for a spouse to buy their dream house. Leonard Kiefer, Deputy Chief Economist at Freddie Mac, adds in- sight to that perspective. As societal normality's become less traditional within this generation, the single woman market is more than likely going to continue to increase. "The share of women living alone is much higher for younger generations than older generations," Kiefer said. "As millennials take up a bigger share of the housing market, the share of single women buying homes is likely to rise." Though much of the indus- try is focused on the millennial buyer, a large share of the single- female homebuying population is actually much older than this coveted generation. According to Jessica Lautz, Managing Director of Survey Research and Communication at NAR, the median age of single-women homebuyers is 50 years old. "I was actually surprised that older people are also big-time housebuyers, and people over 52 years old make up 26 percent of the homes bought," said Dr. Eddie Seiler, Chief Economist at Summit Consulting. "These baby boomers or older people include divorcees and widows." This older set of single-family buyers could climb, too—especially when considering the disparity in the life expectancies of men and women. According to Seiler, the current average life expectancy of men is 76 years old, while the average woman lives to about 81 years old. As boomers age, this could put a whole new generation of single-female buyers on the map. The Education Effect T here was a time when college-educated females were virtually unheard of. To- day, women are more educated than ever, and according to Selma Hepp, Chief Economist of Pacific Union, this rise in higher degrees is one of the biggest reasons for the single-women homebuying boom. "It's economics of marriage," Hepp said. "One of the main driv- ers is that women are now more likely to have higher education than men and hence, be employed." According to data provided by Hepp from Women's Policy Research, about 36 percent of women aged 25 to 34 years old—or those in the millennial generation— have a bachelor's degree or higher, "Young women today have been raised with the expectation that any job is open to them—that they can choose when and how many children to have even into their 40s, even 50s. And that they, in terms of credit availability and opportunity, can make choices for their own finances." —Dr. Amy Crews Cutts, Chief Economist, Equifax