Women’s Voices. Women Vote, Releases Economic Findings On Unmarried Women On Pay Equality Day

Washington, D.C. – With unmarried Americans bearing a disproportionate share of the nation’s economic hard times, Women’s Voices. Women Vote (WVWV) today released a report titled, “The Economics of Unmarried America” aimed at drawing a clear and nonpartisan picture of the lives of unmarried Americans. The report’s findings were compiled by Lake Research Partners of Washington, D.C.

“While the country’s economic decline has touched all Americans, its effect on unmarried women has been devastating,” said Page Gardner, president and founder of WVWV, a national nonpartisan organization focused on the increased participation of unmarried women in the civic process.

Gardner continued: “With the report released today, on Equal Pay Day, we hope to spotlight their struggle, outlining for lawmakers that this is a population in need — a population of single mothers and fathers struggling daily just to keep their families fed and safe.”

Among the report’s key findings:

• The unemployment rate for unmarried men (15.7%) is nearly double the overall national rate (8.5%), and unmarried women are unemployed at a higher rate as well at 9.6%. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 2009]
• Unmarried women make just 57 cents on the dollar compared to married men. [U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2008]
• Of all American adults who live in poverty, unmarried women account for half. [U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey , 2007]
• In the last year, 21 out of every 1,000 single mothers have filed for bankruptcy — in comparison, married couples with children filed at a rate of 15 out of every 1,000. [MSN Money, “7 Ways to Fight Off Bankruptcy”]
• 18.6 million unmarried Americans are uninsured. [National Health Interview Survey, 2007]

In many cases, unmarried women and men are trying to support not only themselves but children, too, and stimulus legislation and programs like SCHIP can help ease their economic burden.

“Unmarried women earn less, pay more toward housing, are more likely to live in poverty … this is not about politics,” said Gardner. “It’s about millions of women finding some relief from the ever-burgeoning struggle they attend to daily — for themselves and for their children.”

The full report of “The Economics of Unmarried America” may be found at: http://www.wvwv.org/research-items/the-impact-of-a-declining-economy-on-unmarried-women.

Women's Voices, Women Vote, is a national nonpartisan organization that promotes the participation of the nation's 53 million unmarried women in the democratic process. For more information, please visit our Web site: www.wvwv.org.