Trump’s War on Higher Ed Is an Attack on Women

Borrowers most likely to be in default are the working- and middle-class Americans who have little room in their budgets. As of September, the Education Department warned that 5.3 million borrowers were in default. A survey by the Institute for College Access and Success found that 42 percent said they were making trade-offs between paying for their student loans and paying for necessities. Black women, especially, are disproportionately debt-burdened. “It feels like punishing the people that those programs were meant to serve,” Turner said. “We’re taking steps back as opposed to taking steps forward.”

Turner pointed out that defaults and garnishments will have a wider impact on local and national economies, as families can afford less and pull back on spending to be able to cover the basics. But there will be even longer-term damage if the administration succeeds in making it harder to access college in general, and harder to pay back student loans for those who do: Fewer women will be able to participate in the workforce. That will exacerbate the affordability crisis and have a bigger impact on fertility rates than women not attending college, Turner said. “A lot of people aren’t having as many children because children are expensive and they can’t afford childcare,” she said.

In the short term, Blackwell added, the changes to higher ed will mean fewer women will attend college at all and many more will struggle once they get there, especially as diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are attacked. “Black and Latina women really need that sense of belonging,” she said. “If they don’t feel safe or supported, that could be the difference between their staying enrolled and dropping out.”