Single mothers enrolled in postsecondary education face substantial time demands that make persistence and graduation difficult. Just 28 percent of single mothers graduate with a degree or certificate within 6 years of enrollment and another 55 percent leave school before earning a college credential.

Millennial women are the most educated generation of women in the United States and are now more likely than men to have a college degree. At the same time, progress on closing the gender wage gap has stalled for nearly two decades, indicating that unequal pay continues to be a challenge to new generations of women workers.

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) analysis of the April employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) establishment survey finds that in March women added 83,000 jobs and men gained just 20,000 jobs for a total of 103,000 jobs added to payrolls in March.

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The construction industry offers rewarding careers to women. Jobs in construction are projected to grow at all levels and apprenticeships offer well-established pathways to skilled, well-rewarded jobs in the trades.

Independent college students’ life circumstances, and in turn their college experiences, are often dramatically different than those of dependent students. Viewing higher education policies and programs through the lens of independent students, with their often-complex schedules and financial and family responsibilities, is important to increasing college access and success, since so many students are financially independent.