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This November, millions of Americans will go to the polls to choose our next President.
Will you be one of them?
Just 65% of women voted in the 2004 presidential election, leaving the needs and concerns of more than 35 million women - the majority of whom are single mothers and unmarried women - out of the political discourse.
Why does this matter?
American poverty is disproportionately female.
- There are over 14 million women living in poverty in the US- one eighth of the adult female population.
- Women comprise 51% of the total adult population but 60% of adults living in poverty. Women are more than 40% more likely than men to live in poverty.
Women earn less money than men.
- Women earn on average 77 cents to the white male
dollar. However, this number is far worse for women of color. African American women earn just 66 cents to the male dollar, and Latino women earn just 54 cents.
- Women with children earn 10-15% less than women without children- a phenomenon sometimes referred to as the "mommy tax." There is not a comparable tax on men's wages when they become parents.
Women are disproportionately segregated into lower-paying jobs.
- Eighty percent of women are clustered in just 20 of 420 occupational fields, many of these jobs characterized by low pay, lack of employee benefits, and lack of advancement opportunities.
Women are far more likely to have family care responsibilities than men.
- Between 59 and 75% of family caregivers are women, and more than 80% of women have children at some point in their lives.
- A large portion of low-income women are single mothers. Having a child is the number one indicator that a person will live in poverty, and not surprisingly, 37% of single mothers and their families do.
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America's working women deserve better, including:
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Access to safe and affordable child care
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Expanded family and medical leave
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Funding for job training and education
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Make your voice heard -
educate yourself about the candidates,
and vote on November 4!
The Single Mother Voter Engagement Project is made possible by the generous support of the Barbara Lee Family Foundation.
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