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Women in the Workplace
Women Are a Significant Part of the Workforce
- Women account for 48% of the workforce.
Sklar, Holly., Mykyta, Laryssa., Wefald,
Susan. Raise the Floor: Wages And Policies That Work For
All Of Us. Ms. New York: Ms. Foundation for Women. 2001.
- Three out of four women of childbearing age are now employed.
- 40% of working women are mothers with children under 18
- 58% of mothers with children under age 2 work
- 62% of mothers with children under age 6 work
- 70% of mothers with children under age 18 work
Catalyst, Mothers’ Day Update on
Working Moms (May 11, 1997)
Women Work to Support Themselves and Their Families
- 70% of working women work out of economic necessity.
US Census Bureau
- 41% of working women are the sole providers for their
households. They are single, divorced, separated or widowed.
28% have dependent children.
1997 AFL-CIO survey, “Ask a Working
Woman”
- Of the 68.5 million families in the United States in 1993,
12.4 million (18 %) were headed by women—8 million
were white, 3.8 million were black, and 1.5 million were
Hispanic.
Nancy Campbell, “Women and Work,”
Ohio State University Women’s Studies Department,
1998
Many Working Women Are Part of the Working Poor and
Live In Poverty
- Women account for 48 percent of the labor force, but 59
percent of workers making less than $8 an hour.
Sklar, Holly., Mykyta, Laryssa., Wefald,
Susan. Raise the Floor: Wages And Policies That Work
For All Of Us. Ms. New York: Ms. Foundation for Women. 2001.
- Nearly 4.5 million families with female heads of household
were below the poverty level in 1993. This figure represents
35.6% of all families with female heads of household.
Nancy Campbell, “Women and Work,”
Ohio State University Women’s Studies Department,
1998
- Working women’s families have the lowest median
income of all family types.
US Census Bureau
- Fifty-seven million women were employed in 1994. The largest
proportion still work in technical, sales, and clerical
occupations. Of the 57 million, 41 million worked full time;
nearly 16 million worked part-time. Two-thirds of all part-time
workers were women. 3.3 million held more than one job to
make ends meet.
Nancy Campbell, “Women and Work,”
Ohio State University Women’s Studies Department,
1998
- 18% of the general population lacks health insurance;
however, 43% of women who work part-time and 34% of women
over age 55 do not have health care coverage.
Families and Work Institute’s 1998
Business and Work-Life Study
- Only 53% of employers provide at least some replacement
pay during periods of maternity leave, a time when women
need their paycheck the most.
Families
and Work Institute’s 1998 Business and Work-Life Study
Just
the Facts
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