"Equally troubling is the lingering occupational gender segregation that systematically disadvantages women and perpetuates the gender gap in both yearly and lifetime earnings. Gwen Sharp at Sociological Images finds that women make up about half of the total paid workforce but only hold a quarter [...]

"Single mothers are especially struggling. In another report from the Institute of Women's Policy Research, 66 percent said they failed to pay bills within the past year, 44 percent had difficulty paying rent or making mortgage payments, and 80 percent of single mothers said they [...]

"Even mothers receiving support from fathers tend to take more responsibility for meeting family needs, intensifying the experience of economic insecurity. A recent report issued by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research assessed some of the most stressful consequences of a high unemployment rate, based [...]

"But rather than increasing the Social Security COLA to keep up with escalating health costs, most inside-the-beltway discussions these days revolve around adopting a lower COLA as a way to help close Social Security's modest projected shortfall. The super committee may be considering such a [...]