Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this report finds that a middle-class upbringing does not guarantee the same status over the course of a lifetime. One third of Americans raised in the middle class, defined here as those between the 30th and 70th percentiles of the income distribution, fall out of the middle as adults.…

The literature on the black middle class has focused predominantly on married-couple families with children, reflecting a conception of the black middle class as principally composed of this family type. If that conception is correct, then declining rates of marriage and childrearing would imply a decline in the presence and vitality of the black…

A key challenge facing western welfare states is that they offset income risks faced by those in breadwinner families. Social Security is an excellent example. It best protects individuals with lengthy work histories or individuals who get married, stay married, and are never employed. Most women fit neither model. Thus, I analyze…

This article identifies typical life course situations that women experience, which contribute to a cycle of discrimination or a recurrence of disadvantages simply because of their sex, race, or age. Although men suffer social, health, psychological, and economic disadvantages as they age, this article focuses primarily on women as a more deprived…