Too many women and their families are living paycheck to paycheck, working in low-paying jobs without benefits and with few prospects for advancement. Over 14 million adult women in the United States live in poverty, while millions more struggle at incomes just above the poverty line.
Women are more likely to be poor than men.
- There are over 14 million adult women in the United States living under the federal poverty line, compared to 9.5 million adult men. Almost 6 million women live in extreme poverty, defined by having an income of less than half of the federal poverty level.1
- Women are 40 percent more likely to be poor than men. One in eight women is poor, compared to about one in eleven men.2
- Women represent 60 percent of the total number of adults in poverty,3 but only 51 percent of the total adult population.4