Data on Women's Economic Security

Poverty is a women's issue. Over 14 million women - one in eight - live in poverty. Single mothers, women of color, and elderly women are especially vulnerable. More than one in three single mothers, more than one in five African American and Latina women, and one in five elderly women living alone are poor. Several factors contribute to the high rate of poverty among women, including unequal opportunities in education and employment, the high numbers of women who work in jobs that do not provide adequate wages and benefits, the time many women devote to unpaid family caregiving, domestic violence and other barriers to employment, insufficient child support, and the recent erosion of many other supports for poor women and their families.The worsening recession is causing pain across the country, especially for the millions of women and families who already were struggling to make ends meet. On this page you can learn more about the status of women's economic security.

• State Wage and Economic Data
• Povery Among Women and Families: Getting Worse Even Before the Downturn (September 2008)