Poll: Teen Girls Now Have Same Income Expectations as Teen Boys

Survey Shows Pronounced Shift Since 2014, When Teen Girls Had Lower Income Expectations Than Teen Boys

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Apr 07, 2016, 10:15 ET

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., April 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In a pronounced shift from two years ago, teen girls now have the same income expectations as teen boys, according to a new survey from Junior Achievement USA and Voya Foundation. The survey, titled "2016 Teens and Personal Finance," shows that 41 percent of teen girls expect to make $35,000 or more in their first job, compared to 40 percent of teen boys. In 2014, only 35 percent of teen girls expected to make $35,000 or more in their first job, compared to 44 percent of boys. The survey of 1,000 teens was conducted in the first week of March 2016 by Opinion Research.

"There has been a great deal of discussion since 2014 about 'equal pay for equal work,'" said Jack Kosakowski, president and CEO of Junior Achievement USA. "Based on the survey results, it appears this is raising teen girls' expectations of what they should be paid in their first job. From an educational standpoint, it's important that we prepare young women and young men with the skills necessary to be successful in the workplace and to take full advantage of all opportunities presented to them."

A summary of the survey is available here.

A resource that can help teens explore work readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship is JA Influencer, a free online resource from Junior Achievement and Voya Foundation. Voya has partnered with Junior Achievement since 2001; the partnership is centered on the shared belief in the need to actively prepare and equip future generations to succeed.

About Voya Foundation
Voya Foundation's mission is to improve the quality of life in communities where Voya Financial^® operates and its employees and customers live. Voya Foundation provides grants and establishes signature partnerships in the areas of financial literacy and children's education, and fosters employee engagement to deepen our positive impact on the community. For more information, visit www.voyafoundation.com.

About Voya Financial^®Voya Financial, Inc. (NYSE: VOYA), helps Americans plan, invest and protect their savings — to get ready to retire better. Serving the financial needs of approximately 13 million individual and institutional customers in the United States, Voya is a Fortune 500 company that had $11 billion in revenue in 2015. The company had $452 billion in total assets under management and administration as of Dec. 31, 2015. With a clear mission to make a secure financial future possible — one person, one family, one institution at a time — Voya's vision is to be America's Retirement Company™. The company is equally committed to conducting business in a way that is socially, environmentally, economically and ethically responsible — Voya has been recognized as one of the 2016 World's Most Ethical Companies^® by the Ethisphere Institute, and as one of the Top Green Companies in the U.S., by Newsweek magazine. For more information, visit voya.com or view the company's 2014 annual report. Follow Voya Financial on Facebook and Twitter @Voya.

About Junior Achievement USA^®Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches 4.6 million students per year in 112 markets across the United States, with an additional 5.6 million students served by operations in 121 other countries worldwide. Visit www.ja.org for more information.

SOURCE Junior Achievement USA