This report examines the situation of the one-half of the nation's nine million working poor who are female. It begins by looking at just who the working poor are. Two areas of study are education levels and types of jobs. The discussion then shifts to minimum wage earners and their characteristics, the current status of the minimum wage, and the…

Although the economic status of older persons has improved, women are at risk for poverty in old age as a result of their lifelong work experiences. Gender differences in work history, type of occupation, industrial sector, and retirement circumstances are contributing factors. (SK)

Argues that the concept of comparable worth provides a viable way out of the growing poverty of women. Reviews the history of low wages for women in the United States, discusses anomalies in the dominant economic-gender system exposed by comparable worth, and addresses the social and political implications of comparable worth. (KH)

This document contains congressional hearings to raise a variety of issues and problems pertaining to women in the workplace. It focuses on legislation that might alleviate any adverse conditions that might exist, especially H.R. 2577, the Economic Equity Act of 1987. Issues include barriers in pay equity, wider opportunities for women and…

Pay equity is the most important issue affecting all women (but especially women of color) seeking economic equity in the workplace. Over the last two decades, the earnings of White women as a percentage of the earnings of White men have remained constant at about 60%. The wages of women of color, on the other hand, increased dramatically (as a…

This report compares the status of women and men on such measures as age, marital status, educational attainment, occupation, income, and poverty status. Findings are based on data collected by the Census Bureau in the Annual Demographic Supplement to the March 2002 Current Population Survey. Overall, women slightly outnumber men in the total…

This document is a transcript of a Congressional hearing on the economic status of women held by the Joint Economic Committee on February 3, 1982. Witnesses who testified at the hearing included Representatives Reuss, Richmond, Heckler, Wylie and Schroeder, Senators Jepsen and Kassenbaum, and a number of women active in women's equality programs.…

These four fact sheets address a number of issues relating to women in the work force. The first, "An Overview of Women in the Work Force," offers a look at the numbers of women in the labor force, the occupational categories represented by women workers, women in professional and nonprofessional occupations, and women in nontraditional…

Based on the realization that the rapid worldwide growth of educational systems over the last two decades has not produced the expected eradication of social inequality, an international seminar was held for educational policy-makers, planners from developing countries, research workers in the area, and representatives of aid agencies from 33…

This book, through a review of the status of working women on bottom and on the top, refutes a set of myths about women, work, and poverty that have shaped welfare reform. Chapter 1 highlights the big changes affecting women in the U.S. economy. Chapter 2 describes who is poor in the United States and examines how poverty has come to be defined.…

Women of all ages continue to enter the work force in greater numbers while the work force participation rate for males is declining. Women are disproportionately concentrated in low-paying, dead-end jobs. Employment discrimination continues to be a significant problem. Job interruptions necessitated by family responsibilities are a major factor…

Although the role of women in the American economy has come a long way in the years since 1950, women have made relatively little progress in quite a number of areas. In the years during and after World War II, women's employment has increased significantly, with married women being the ones who have entered the work force most rapidly. Despite…

Although the distribution of income has become more equitable for some groups, inequitable distribution has affected the poor, minorities, and women most adversely. Income inequality and poverty may be attributed to ability differences, education and training, job tastes, property ownership, market power, and discrimination. In economics, the…

Although midlife and older women comprise an increasing portion of the work force, gains in work force participation will not mean a decent living, security, or equal opportunity in the workplace of the future. Several factors influence the wage gap for older women: higher education does not mean higher earnings; women are less likely than men to…

This document contains eight articles from German newspapers that feature women who have achieved career success in very diverse economic sectors, while simultaneously highlighting the discrimination and other problems (including lower income, fewer promotions to executive positions, and smaller pensions) that many other German women continue to…