Equal pay would significantly reduce poverty for working women and their families across the United States. If working women received equal pay with comparable men—men who are of the same age, have the same level of education, work the same number of hours, and have the same urban/rural status—poverty for working women would be reduced by more than 40 percent.
A wave of women candidates has the potential to bring an agenda for broad and inclusive change to Congress and state legislatures across the country.
Women comprise more than 50 percent of the U.S. population but currently hold just 23 percent of elected seats in Congress and about 1 in 3 state legislative seats. In 2018, a record number of women were elected to office—117 women, including 42 women of color—bringing their expertise, diverse experiences, and agenda for broad and inclusive change to Congress and state legislatures across the country.
The Status of Women in North Carolina: Political Participation presents data on several aspects of women’s involvement in the political process in North Carolina, comparing North Carolina to other states and the United States overall.
Women’s Health in the Middle Years: Your Education. Your Occupation. Presentation by Elyse Shaw, Study Director, to CDC Office of Women’s Health
Starting in 1996, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau among other data sets, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research launched its Status of Women in the States report series, which looks at numerous metrics that relate to the economic achievement, poverty, physical and mental health, education, work and family, violence and safety, reproductive rights, and political participation of women.
The percentage of women working part-time in Utah is still the highest in the nation. Business ownership and representation in professional and managerial positions among Utah women are also increasing, more Utah women now live above the poverty line, and women in Utah have made great strides in education attainment; however, the progress in these areas is markedly different when race and ethnicity are taken into account.
This report provides information on the health, well-being, and reproductive rights of women in North Carolina, including differences by race and ethnicity and by county where data are available.
As of 2016, women in Utah still work outside of the home at similar rates to women nationally and—while not yet at the same levels as U.S. women—they also continue to pursue business ownership, make progress in educational attainment, and overcome some aspects of poverty.
North Carolina receives a grade of C for women’s employment and earnings, which is better than the D the state earned when The Status of Women in the States was published in 2004.
