15 Things Men Get Wrong About Women and Money

Money myths are nothing new — most of us have believed them at one time or another. Despite significant social progress in gender equality, however, damaging myths about women and money persist. Ranging from the relatively harmless (such as the trope that women are carefree shoppers), to the more insidious (the suggestion that women are naturally bad at investing or leadership), these myths can influence how we view the sexes and their respective money habits. Find out which of your money beliefs about women are true — and which are mere myths.

We've got news for you if you still believe the myth of the credit-card obsessed woman: Women tend to have lower debt and better credit scores, on average, than men, says a study from credit bureau Experian. Women's credit score average is 675, five-points higher than the male average of 670. Plus, women have 3.7 percent less debt than men. One key difference? The number of open credit cards. Women do have 23.5 percent more credit cards than their male peers, on average, although their credit utilization rates are the same. That means the extra cards are used responsibly — and not on unrestrained shoe shopping sprees as the myth would suggest.

Among the most toxic myths about women and money is the belief that women are the inferior investors. That's flat-out wrong says a survey by Fidelity Investments, which found the opposite is actually true. On average, women's portfolios tend to out-perform men's by about 0.4 percent. Women save more, too — also by a margin of 0.4 percent. While these differences may seem subtle, they become significant over time and can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars over an investing career. The reasons for this advantage are varied, and include the fact that men tend to trade more often, which eats away at their returns via trading fees. Women also tend to be more risk-averse than their male counterparts, which makes them likely to avoid an equities-heavy portfolio. Plus, women tend to invest in 401(k)s and IRAs earlier and more often than men.

This myth is a familiar trope in movies and on TV — a woman heads out to shop for a few things and comes home overburdened with shopping bags stuffed with shoes and accessories. While it's true that many of us are guilty of impulse buying (75 percent of us, according to a recent survey featured on Today), men and women report that they impulse shop at about the same rates. But while everyone does it, men are more likely to spend $500 or even $1,000 on impulse, while women are more likely to spend $25 or less. What's worse: Men are twice as likely to make impulse purchases while intoxicated, which probably explains why someone would spend $1,000 on a whim.

This one is often trotted out to explain the gender gap or the glass ceiling; women's careers suffer because they are more interested in marriage and family. While social stereotypes about women's eagerness to marry may sound familiar, it's not the end of the story: It turns out that men are also eager to marry, according to a Pew Research report. Respondents of both sexes said that a successful marriage is one of the most important things in their lives. In another study of young adults, approximately 82 percent of men and 84 percent of women express that being married someday is "very" or "somewhat" important. Still, the studies did note some subtle differences; while both sexes view marriage as very important, on average, women do express a desire to be married at a younger age.

The Harvard Business Review knows a thing or two about entrepreneurship. The storied publication conducted a study that disputed some myths about female underperformance in entrepreneurship. The study found that such stereotypes affected how venture capitalists made funding decisions. These decisions ran contrary to the available data on the relative success of male versus female-led ventures. The key takeaway is that myths are self-perpetuating: The more we believe them, the likelier they are to become true. Becoming aware of our own biases can help affect social change and create more equitable opportunities among the sexes. And don't forget that entrepreneurship also takes many forms; Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, Martha Stewart, and Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post all demonstrate the power of female entrepreneurship.

If there's no such thing as a glass ceiling, you wouldn't know it by examining the percentage of women in high-powered roles, notes a critique on the subject authored by The New York Times. The article states that there are fewer women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies than there are male CEOs ... named John. That suggests a disparity so massive as to make a mockery of the notion a glass ceiling doesn't exist. But similar disparities exist outside of the corporate realm — in virtually every leadership endeavor, such as editors of prominent publications, federal judges, governors, and movie directors — the gap persists. The study doesn't elaborate on the reasons why, but it does dispel the myth that the glass ceiling doesn't exist. Whatever the reason, it still very much hangs over women's heads. In my personal experience, women in top leadership positions have always been quite scarce, leading me — like many others — to wonder whether social change will ever reach the board room.

This one hasn't quite become a myth yet — more women do more of the grocery shopping by a slight margin, depending on which survey you look at. Men's Health magazine reported that 84 percent of the men they surveyed said they did the grocery shopping, which may say something about that magazine's readership.

Regardless, the times are definitely changing in America's grocery stores, and the stores are responding by catering to the new clientele. According to a recent Washington Post news report, for some stores this means grouping items that often go together (such as barbecue sauce near the meat counter) or creating mission-oriented aisles with displays focused on "lunch" or "tonight's dinner" with clear signage pointing men the way.

Are women just not negotiating enough for equal salaries? The data suggests otherwise. Women don't enjoy equal pay not because they can't (or won't) negotiate, but in part because the very act of negotiating is viewed unfavorably when undertaken by women. In a Harvard and Carnegie Mellon University study, researchers noted that male supervisors penalized women more than men for initiating negotiations, while female supervisors penalized both sexes equally. That suggests a significant disparity in how the negotiations tabled by either sex are likely to fare. So, while everyone should, in theory, benefit from salary negotiations, the research suggests otherwise: women are actually more likely to be penalized for it, partially explaining the gender pay gap. Having experienced this phenomenon first-hand, many women might view the very act of asking for a raise too risky a proposition.

It stands to reason — if women are impulse buyers who spend their time shopping for sparkly things, then they can't be effective savers. This myth, too, is not supported by facts. In a recent study, Fidelity Investments found that women were both better savers and better investors than men. On average, women save .4 percent more than men do while their investment portfolios earn .4 percent more than men's portfolios do (more on that below). Still, despite their good habits, women's savings account balances lag behind those of men, according to a recent study by Vanguard. That study found that men's retirement account balances were 50 percent higher than women's ($123, 262 for men compared with $79,572 for women). The reason why? Men earn more.

As it turns out, women often research their investments more than their male counterparts, suggests a study conducted by Ohio State University researchers. That runs contrary to the myth that women don't enjoy reading or learning about investing. The study found that women tend to be more risk-averse and dedicated to a longer-term investment plan than their male counterparts, which in turn compels them to study potential investments more thoroughly. The study notes that 79 percent of women want to know all the details about their investment, while only 73 percent of men feel the same way, likely because women recognize risk more often and tend to be less confident than men in making prudent financial decisions.

See also: Top 10 biggest myths about investing

Here's another one that seems so familiar — women naturally can't resist the allure of shoes and handbags and other shiny things, and so they shop. But when researchers ask women why they shop, they find that mostly they shop for the people they care for: children, parents, husbands, and coworkers. A woman shopping is probably not looking for something shiny for herself. She's looking for a treat for her kids, a gift for a coworker, clothing for her husband, and the makings for Sunday brunch for Mom. Seen is this light, shopping is more of the unpaid emotional labor women do every day.

A University of Warwick study found that what you think a leader looks like may color how you view female leaders. When asked to draw an effective leader, almost all of the respondents drew a male figure — even though the prompt was entirely gender-neutral. In other studies, women who exhibited strong leadership skills in team exercises (such as offering creative solutions, speaking out boldly, etc.), weren't awarded any points for such actions, while their male counterparts were. These studies demonstrate how our preconceived notions affect what we perceive about others. So the next time you're left wondering whether there are enough strong female leaders, ask yourself — are you looking closely?

The evidence that women are innately worse at math than men is flimsy, at best, suggests a recent study in Sage Journals entitled "Women in Academic Science: A Changing Landscape." Among the issues the study noted are fluctuations in sex-based math and spatial ability performance that vary over time, nationality, and other factors. These variations suggest differences are not biological or innate. Instead, this article concludes that any under-performance is likelier due to social factors and early conditioning which rewards male math performance more strongly. It all adds up to another good reason why you shouldn't believe the gender-based hype and continue to encourage children of both sexes to play with and enjoy a variety of games.

If you still believe the negative myths about women and money, here's another reminder of why it isn't true: Men are likelier to fall behind on their mortgages, in part, perhaps, because they take on home loans that are, on average, 5 percent larger than those shouldered by the fairer sex. Men also use more of their available credit, while women are quicker to seek credit counseling to help repair financial woes. While the differences between the sexes are modest, they are statistically significant and suggest women act more responsibly with money in many scenarios. This may be, in part, because women are more often entrusted with the day-to-day financial decisions in their households, such as shopping and budgeting, rendering them more capable of managing larger financial responsibilities, as well.

The gender pay gap is real — full stop. The myth that a pay gap doesn't exist is fully contradicted by PayScale.com data, which shows white women still earn 78 cents for every dollar a working white man earns. When comparing against the exact same jobs, women still earn a little less than 98 cents for every dollar a man makes. Though that gap may seem small, consider that it means an extra $2,000 per year on a $100,000 salary. When compounded over the length of a career, it translates to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Why the gap? In part, says PayScale, it's because there are relatively few women in high-level or leadership roles. Still, that doesn't clearly explain why women earn less for the exact same job. What the study does make clear, however, is the existence — and persistence — of the gender pay gap. It's one thing that is definitely not a myth and persists even when controlling for myriad possible factors.

This article by Janet Alvarez was originally published on Wise Bread.