From Your (Wo)manInWashington blog 

Remember back when the economy was beginning its head-first pitch over the cliff and everyone was talking about subprime mortgages? As policy makers slowly get their heads around preventing such a devastating re-occurrence, they should keep in mind who got taken the worst. Unmarried women, typically the most economically vulnerable group, were most often the victims of the predatory lending and outright deception which created the credit bubble.

With their lower incomes and higher unemployment, unmarried women more frequently resort to payday loans and carry greater credit card debt. They were disproportionately targeted by brokers and lenders who sold them subprime mortgages even when they qualified for a lower-cost loan. The effect is devastating – single mothers now file for bankruptcy more than any other group. This is true even if they were comfortably middle class, owned their own homes, had good jobs and college educations.

Sometimes gender discrimination means a lower salary or slower advancement. This time it means foreclosure and homelessness for women and children. Doesn’t seem fair, does it?

Read what the Center for American Progress has to say in their piece on Protecting Unmarried Women from Unscrupulous Lenders.

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