New financial wellness platform for LGBTQ+ community launched

July 11, 2023 Queer Forty Staff 2 min read

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRCF), the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, has launched WorthIt, a new financial wellness platform for LGBTQ+ community members that provides tools needed to navigate challenging, often discriminatory systems and gain more economic stability.

Recent research shows the likelihood of LGBTQ+ adults living in poverty is greater than their cisgender, straight peers in part due to higher rates of unemployment and underemployment. The challenges faced by LGBTQ+ people when seeking employment have widened the income gap, with full time LGBTQ+ workers earning approximately 90 cents for every dollar earned by an average worker, and LGBTQ+ women earning just 79 cents for every dollar earned by men.

Though there have been some improvements, with the percentage of LGBTQ+ adults living under the poverty line dropping in recent years, 17% of LGBTQ+ adults, and over a fifth (21.2%) of transgender adults, are living under the poverty line as of 2021. Sadly, the probability of poverty is even higher for multiply marginalized communities, with more than a quarter (28.9%) of Black LGBTQ+ adults, and a third (31.5%) of American Indian/Alaska Native LGBTQ+ adults living in poverty. In comparison, 12% of non-LGBTQ+ adults, including less than one in ten (7.4%) of white non-LGBTQ+ adults, are living in poverty.

“We know far too many folks in our community are focused on surviving. We deserve to thrive. All across this country LGBTQ+ folks, and especially Black and Brown and trans folks, are struggling to meet basic financial needs because of bias that makes everything from education to employment to banking a real challenge. While we continue to work to change policies and systems, we also know that resources built by the community and for the community can change lives. That’s why we created WorthIt — to help get folks closer to the financial freedom we all deserve.”
HRC President Kelley Robinson

To combat this disturbing reality, the HRC Foundation is partnering with LifeCents, a leading financial wellness provider, to create WorthIt.

Tailored to the needs of LGBTQ+ adults ages 18 to 44, WorthIt aims to raise awareness around economic injustice within the LGBTQ+ community and provide the tools and information needed to help close the LGBTQ+ wealth gap. This work builds on the success of a similar platform, SAGECents, launched in 2020 by SAGE – the world’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQ+ older people – and designed specifically for LGBTQ+ elders.

The platform, launched during Pride month, will serve as a trusted resource for basic financial education by providing access to community-centered information for those seeking to increase their economic stability and is accessible via WorthIt.hrc.org.