Women Are Feeling Poorer Than a Year Ago. They Say Trump is to Blame

Americans feel poorer than they did a year ago—and women, in particular, say that President Donald Trump is to blame.

According to a poll conducted by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), a nonprofit fighting for gender justice, an overwhelming majority of adults in the U.S. say that the country is “off track” when it comes to inflation and the cost of living. 

Overall, 42% of respondents say they consider themselves to be worse off today than a year ago when it comes to their ability to afford everyday needs. Only 27% say that they are better off. Some 38% say that they’re less able to save money and 37% say that it's harder today than a year ago to afford healthcare. 

The NWLC’s poll was conducted in mid-January and draws on responses from more than 1,500 adults across the country. 

In 2024, Trump campaigned for a second presidential term on a promise to “end inflation,” and to deliver an economic boom. In 2025, inflation was subdued at 2.7%, roughly in-line with the long term annual average. But wage growth has only barely kept up with inflation and some of the administration's policies over the past year have exacerbated economic inequality considerably.

Women, for example, in 2025 suffered higher rates of unemployment than men, with Black women particularly feeling the squeeze. Recent research from the National Employment Law Project (NELP) also found that just 25% of unemployed women received unemployment insurance benefits during the first six months of 2025, compared with nearly 30% of unemployed men.

“In states across the country, unemployment insurance is still structured around the model of a white, male, able-bodied, full-time worker who has a caregiving wife at home,” said Amy Traub, report author and senior researcher and policy analyst at NELP.

Although women typically receive lower benefits, they also have less wealth to draw on and are also more likely to be raising children without the support of a spouse, partner or family member, according to the NELP.

Uma Mehta Iyer, chief external affairs officer at NWLC, also noted that the Trump administration’s attacks on civil rights had exacerbated economic inequalities. “Americans—and especially women—are seeing the cruel consequences of the Trump-Vance Project 2025 agenda and all the ways that it’s making their lives worse," she said.

More than half—57%—of respondents to the NWLC poll say that it’s harder to raise a child now than a year ago, including 61% of women, 68% of Latinas, and 64% of Black women. And 43% of women—including 54% of Black women—say that they had lost rights under Trump.

Because of this, it’s perhaps not surprising that, among the respondents, 74% of parents with children under 18 say that making high-quality child care affordable would help their family. Some 85% say they support guaranteeing access to affordable long-term care for older adults and disabled people, and the same proportion say they would support policies to help people afford health insurance.