THREATS TO COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY EDUCATION AND CAREER ADVANCEMENT - Impacts of the OBBB on Women and Families - September 2025

Oct 15, 2026

The policy brief analyzes how the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) endangers college affordability and undermines women’s education and career advancement. It links the law’s large federal cuts—especially to higher education, student loan repayment, Medicaid, ACA, and SNAP—to higher debt burdens, reduced support for student parents, and stalled economic security. It highlights disproportionate risks for women of color and students with parenting responsibilities, emphasizing immediate and long-term impacts on families and national stability.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Overview

Harmful OBBB Higher Education Provisions

SNAP and Students: OBBB Cuts and Consequences

THREATS TO COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY EDUCATION AND CAREER ADVANCEMENT Impacts of the OBBB on Women and Families | September 2025 In July 2025, President Trump signed the Republican-led H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill”(OBBB) into law. The new law is a sweeping tax and spending package that forgoes trillions in federal revenues to award tax cuts to the wealthy while stripping essential care and protections from women and families. While implementation of the OBBB’s wide-ranging provisions will be staggered in the coming months and years, the threat to women’s economic security and well-being is both imminent and far-reaching across each of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research’s (IWPR) Federal Policy Solutions to Advance Gender Equity four priority areas. This policy brief focuses on the OBBB’s impacts on women’s education and career advancement, specifically on the issues outlined in IWPR’s College Affordability and Supporting Student Parents policy briefs. As millions of women and their families—particularly women of color and student parents—seek higher education, explore student loan options, and face the continued burden of student loan debt, the harmful consequences of the new law will only further compound existing challenges they face in striving for economic equity and security. The OBBB Higher Education Provisions Harm Women and the Economy: • Compounds existing college access and student loan debt challenges for women, students of color, and student parents by cutting $1.4 trillion in higher education, health care access, and food assistance programs and dismantling student loan programs and repayment options. • Limits women’s college affordability options and adds to their student debt repayment burdens, threatening the economic security and well-being of women and families and the nation’s economic stability. • Takes critical investments away from women and student parents seeking education to provide tax cuts for the wealthy, which will stall economic growth and have long-term negative impacts on the financial security of families and the nation. 1 OVERVIEW Postsecondary education can yield critical benefits and provide a path to economic security for women in the United States. Yet, the rising cost of college often makes student loans the only viable option for women to afford college, particularly Black women without intergenerational wealth. Women hold nearly two-thirds of all student loan debt in the nation. They are more likely than men to take on higher debt and are more likely to stay in debt longer. This has major impacts on the lives of women and families and can add to food and housing insecurities and other forms of debt. Student parents—particularly student mothers—who already face unique barriers to academic success and basic needs insecurities, are more likely to face additional challenges and a lack of institutional support services, take out student loans, and have a harder time paying them off. HARMFUL OBBB HIGHER EDUCATION PROVISIONS The OBBB threatens college access and the future economic well-being of women—particularly women of color and parenting students—and the nation’s overall economic stability. Analysis from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth finds that the increasing role of women as breadwinners is essential to supporting family incomes and maintaining US economic security. Key OBBB provisions that put the economic security of women, families, and the nation at risk include: • Cutting $1.4 trillion from crucial programs that support students’ access to higher education, health, and well-being. Though the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the OBBB will cost $3.4 trillion over the next 10 years, the law includes nearly $300 billion in cuts to higher education and the student loan repayment system. In addition, the OBBB also cuts $1.1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and $186 billion from the Supplemental Nut

FAQs

What is the OBBB and when was it signed into law?

In July 2025, President Trump signed the Republican-led H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB), into law.

How does the OBBB threaten women’s college affordability and economic security?

The brief states the OBBB cuts major higher-education and related supports, eliminates student loan programs and repayment options, and increases pressures on women and families’ student debt repayment, threatening economic stability.

What consequences does the brief describe for SNAP recipients and student families?

The brief notes a large SNAP cut and extended work requirements that could lead to millions of families losing some or all benefits, with broader local economic harm when SNAP spending decreases.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Maya Linwood