College Debt Dogs Women More Than Men

CHICAGO — It’s a struggle each month for Khallilah Beecham-Watkins to balance her student loan payment with the expense of supporting a young family.The 28-year-old education program specialist for a Chicago not-for-profit aspires to pay off her own college debt before her infant daughter eventually begins a four-year degree. But with a monthly child care bill of $750, there’s little extra to put toward her loan payments, and even less to put toward the new home she wants to buy with her husband, who is also repaying student loans.“I’ve had to put a lot of my dreams on hold,” the South Side resident said.Beecham-Watkins’ story is consistent with many young women today, who hold nearly two-thirds of the nation’s outstanding student loan debt, according to the American Association of University Women, a not-for-profit that researches women’s equity in higher education and the workforce.