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Facts on U.S. Working Women U .S. Department of Labor Women·s Bureau Fact Sheet No. 86-2 1986 WOMEN WHO NAIRTAIR FAIIJ:LIES o The number of families maintained by women grew almost 90 percent between 1970 and 1985. The growth is attributed largely to more marriages ending in divorce and more women having children without marrying. o In March 1985, there were more than 10.5 million families principally supported by women who were divorced, separated, widowed, or never married. These families accounted for almost 17 percent of all families in the United States, compared with 13 per cent in 1 97 5 . o As of 1985, 69.0 percent of women maintaining families were white, 28.8 percent were black, and 8.9 percent were of Hispanic origin. o Characteristics of women who head families include higher unemployment, lower educational attainment, more dependent children, and lower earnings when compared with other labor force groups. This explains in part the high incidence of poverty in families maintained by women. o Sixty-one percent of women maintaining families in 1985 were in the labor force--that is, working or looking for work--compared with 54 per cent in 197 5. o Four-fifths of the employed women maintaining families in 1985 worked at full-time jobs. Half of the women maintaining families had earnings which comprised three-fourths or more of family income. o In 1985, the unemployment rate for women who maintain families stood at 10.5 percent, more than 3 percentage points above the national average of 7.2 percent. o Despite some movement into professional and managerial jobs, particularly by divorcees who are generally younger and have more education, most employed women maintaining families have tended to remain in the generally low paying or less-~killed jobs. ~ike m?st employed women in 1985, the largest proportion of women maintaining families were in administrative support jobs, including clerical work. o In 1985 black and Hispanic or1g1n women maintaining families had lower median earnings, lower median ages, lower labor force participation rates, and higher unemployment rates than white women maintaining families. Also, their families were less likely than similar white families to have more than one earner. o The growth of black female-headed families has been especially dramatic. The number of such families more than doubled between 1970 and 1985. In 1985, 44 percent of all black families were headed by women, compared with 23 percent of Hispanic origin families and 13 percent of white families. Growth in Families Maintained by Women, 1970, 1980, and 1985 (Numbers in thousands) Year 1970 1980 1985 White Number Percent of of all families families 4,185 6,302 7,257 9.1 11.6 13.2 Black Number Percent of of all families families 1,349 2,495 3,029 2 8. 3 40.3 44.1 Hispanic* Number Percent of of all farnil ies families ** 637 935 ** 21.8 23.4 * Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. ** No data available. o In 1985, 3 out of 5 women maintaining families had children under age 18 in the home. Labor force participation rates show these mothers have a strong commitment to the labor force (67.8 percent). Nearly seventy-seven percent were in the labor force when their youngest child was school age, as were 53.2 percent of those with preschool er s. o In 1970 there were about 6.7 million children in one-parent families: by 1985 almost 13 million children were in such families. Most of these children are being raised by their mothers. o A record 6.3 million families with children were maintained by mothers in 1985, and they accounted for one in five families with children. In 1975, there were about half as many such families, and they constituted only one in seven of the families with children. o In 1985, about 11.2 million children under the age of 18 were living in a family maintained by a woman. More than two-fifths - 2 - were living with a divorced mother and more than one-fifth were living with a never-married mother. o Mothers raising children by themselves often receive no support from the absent father. In 1983, only about half of women with dependent children were awarded child support or had an agreement to receive it. o The educational attainment for women maintaining families is below that for all family types. They are less likely to have completed high school or attended or graduated from college than the householder in other family groups. Educational Attainment of Householders in Families March 1985 (Percentage distribution) Type of family All families Married-couple and other maleheaded Female-headed Less than high school High school graduate 26.3 36.3 37.4 24.7 35.8 39.1 39.5 26.0 34.8 Attended college o Poverty in families headed by women is a source of increasing public concern. In 1984, the number of these families with incomes below poverty level exceeded the number of married-couple families in poverty. From 1980 to 1984, the number of persons in poverty in families maintained by women increased 17 percent. o Families maintained by women have a poverty rate which is three times that of all families and five times the rate for marriedcouple families. Moreover, almost 55 percent of related children under 18 in families with a female householder in 1984 lived below the poverty level. More than half of the black families and the Hispanic families maintained by women had incomes below the poverty level. Of related children under 18 in these families, two-thirds of the black children and seven-tenths of the Hispanic children lived in poverty. - 3 - Ill 111 U S Department of Labor Office of the Secretary Women·s Bureau 200 Const1tut1on Avenue. NW Washington. DC 20210-9990 Postage and Fees Paid U S Department of Labor Off1c1al Business Penalty tor pr,vale use $300 M-020 Third Class Mail Lab 441 o Because average income among families maintained by women is low, proportionately more live below the poverty line than other families. In 1984, more than 1 of 3 families maintained by a woman was poor, compared with 1 of 14 other families. Median Weekly Earnings of Families> by Type (Annual Averages) Type of Family Total families with earners Married-couple families Families maintained by women Families maintained by men 1985 1980 $522 5 82 $407 445 297 225 380 450 Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics and Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. u.s.
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