Financial stress is more common in vulnerable employee groups that are likely the target of your DEI efforts:

Nearly half of women can't afford a $400 emergency expense, while only one-third of men can't
20% of Black Americans have a credit score of 620 or lower versus one in 19 White Americans
Households that have at least one member with a disability are less likely to have emergency savings
Same-sex couples are more than 70% more likely to be denied a mortgage than different-sex applicants

Related: Women's financial health has hit a 5-year low, report says

These employee populations are not starting on an even playing ground, and they can be made worse by a lack of attention to financial wellness benefits in the workplace (e.g., 401(k) matching benefits, where the take-up is predominantly from those already privileged and able to afford the match, widening the financial wellness gap). According to The Brookings Institute, women under the age of 35 have 29% the wealth of their white male counterparts. The percentages get even more discouraging when considering Black Americans: black men have 7% of the wealth of white men and black women have less than 1%. Even if you're paying an equitable, living wage to all employees, pre-existing wealth gaps mean any income shocks or economic impacts may have an outsized impact. Households with lower levels of wealth have fewer resources available to temper those impacts.

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Financial wellness benefits: A must-have in a company's DEI efforts

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