the status of women in north carolina eastern north carolina
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The Status of Women In North Carolina
Eastern North Carolina
Who We Are Advocacy agency within the NC Department of
Administration Established by executive order in 1963 by Gov. Terry
Sanford
What We Do Advise the Governor, state legislators, and state
leaders on issues that impact women and their families
Monitor grants to 237 service providers Domestic violence, sexual assault, and displaced
homemaker
Certify all NC Batterer Intervention programs
The NC Council for Women
Demographics
Alam
a
nce
Alexander
Anson
Ashe
Avery
Beaufort
Bertie
Bladen
Brunswick
Buncombe
Burke
Cabarrus
Caldwell
Camden
Carteret
Caswell
CatawbaChatha
m
Cherokee
Chowan
Clay
Cleveland
Columbus
Craven
Cumberland
Currituck
Dare
Davidson
Davie
Duplin
Durham
Edgecombe
Forsyth Franklin
Gaston
Gates
Graham
Granville
Greene
Guilford
Halifax
Harnett
Haywood
Henderson
Hertford
Hoke
Hyde
Iredell
Jackson
Johnston
Jones
Lee
Lenoir
Lincoln
McDowell
Macon
Madison Martin
Mitchell
Montgomery Moo
re
Nash
New Hanover
Northampton
Onslow
Orange
Pamlico
Pasqu
otank
Pender
Perquimans
Person
Pitt
Polk
Randolph
Richmond
Robeson
Rockingham
Rowan
Rutherfor
d
Sampson
Scotland
Stanly
StokesSurry
Swain
Transylvania
UnionV
ance
Wake
Warren
Washington
Watauga
Wayne
Wilkes
Wilson
Yadkin
Yancey
Mecklenburg
Alleghany
Eastern Region
Tyrrell
Distribution of Women and Girls by Race and Ethnicity in Eastern NC, 2009-2011
• 1 in 3 women and girls are a racial or ethnic minority
• Median age for women—43 years
• 19% are 65 years old and older compared to 15 in the state
Work and Earnings
Women and Men in the Labor Force in Eastern NC and the NC, 2009-2011
Eastern Carolina North Carolina0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
55%59%
63%69%
WomenMen
Labor Force Participation Labor force
participation rates 64% Hispanic women 56% Black women 54% White women
Employed Women and Men Working Full-Time and Part-Time, 2009-2011
Full-Time Part-Time0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
71%
29%
84%
15%
WomenMen
• 20% of women in NC work part-time for child care or family reasons compared to only 3% of men
• IMPACT: Part-time workers are less likely than full-time workers to receive paid leave, health care insurance, and employer-sponsored pensions
Employment Types by Gender, 2009-2011
Prof
ession
al a
nd M
anag
eria
l
Man
agem
ent
Serv
ice
Office
and
Adm
inst
rativ
e
Sale
s0%
10%
20%
30%
40%37%
13%
24%19%
13%
23%
10%
15%
5%8%
WomenMen
• 1 in 3 women work in managerial and professional positions
• Gender segregation within various occupational groups
Gender Earnings Comparison Median annual earnings for women in Eastern
NC working full time was $29,476 compared to $36,871 for men
The gender earning ratio for full-time workers is 80%
Median annual earnings for both women and men in Eastern NC were lower than the rest of NC ($3,024 less for women and $3,929 for men)
Women with Children
• 77% of women with dependent children are in the labor force compared to 74% in the state
• 92% of men with children work in Eastern NC. This suggest that women are more likely than men to cut back on employment when they become parents
EDUCATION
Women Education levels in Eastern NC and North Carolina, 2009-2011
Bach
elor
's D
egre
e or
Hig
her
Less
than
Hig
h Sc
hool
Dip
lom
a0%
10%20%30%40%50%
19%
45%
27%
40%
Eastern NC WomenNC Women
Eastern NC women are less educated than NC women as a whole
Women and Men’s Education levels in Eastern NC, 2009-2011
Bachelor's Degree or
Higher
Less than High
School Diploma
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
19%
45%
17%
54%
Eastern NC WomenEastern NC Men
Eastern NC Women are more educated than men in Eastern NC
Gender Earnings by Educational Attainment, Aged 25 and older, 2009-2011
Gender Earnings by Educational Attainment Education allows women to earn more The median annual earnings for women with a
bachelor’s degree or higher is more than $12,000 less than the median earnings for men with this level of education
Education still matters
Poverty
• In Eastern NC, as in North Carolina overall, poverty varies considerably among the largest racial and ethnic groups
• For all the racial and ethnic groups shown, poverty rates are higher for women than for men
Poverty Status by Race/ Ethnicity, 2009-2011
Women in Poverty, 2009-2011
18%
22%60%
Women
Below Poverty LineNear Poverty LineAbove 200% of Poverty Line
In Eastern NC, 38% of households within 200% of the poverty line receive food stamps, a higher than the average 33% in North Carolina
Women are more likely than men to live below the poverty line in Eastern NC (18% compared with 12%)
Families with Single Mothers In Eastern North Carolina, the share of families
headed by single women with children among all families with children ranges from 18 percent (in Perquimans) to 47 percent (in Hertford and Hyde)
Families headed by single women with children make up a disproportionate share of families living in poverty; in 17 of 20 counties in Eastern North Carolina, more than six in ten families in poverty with dependent children are headed by single women
In North Carolina as a whole, only eight percent of single women with children under 18 and family incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line receive welfare cash assistance
Childcare
Importance of Childcare
• Early care and education programs provide an important workforce support for mothers and fathers. Affordable, quality child care makes it possible for parents to do their jobs while knowing their children are receiving adequate support and a good education
• In the absence of quality, affordable children care, many women interrupt their tenure in the labor market, reducing their ability to provide for their families and save for retirement while other women may be forced to put their children in low-quality, unreliable care
Cost of Child Care
• Cost of Year-Round Child Care– Ranges from $6,227 for a four year old to $9,185 for an infant– For contrast annual cost for tuition and fees at public college
in the state are $5,685• Child Care Subsidies
– In Eastern North Carolina, only a small percentage of children who are eligible for child care subsidies receive them.
– The number of eligible children ranges from 190 to 5,051 per county, while the percentage of eligible children who receive a subsidy varies from 10 percent (in Camden) to 29 percent (in Pamlico)
Health
Importance of Healthcare Health is an important component of women’s
overall well-being that contributes to their economic stability, educational attainment, and employment opportunities.
Women as a whole in this region have worse health outcomes on a number of indicators than their counterparts in the state.
This suggests that health remains an aspect of women’s status in Eastern NC that needs to be examined and addressed.
Health Insurance, 2009-2011• Same proportion of women in Eastern NC do
not have health insurance as in the state• Lack of health insurance coverage leaves
women without coverage not only for basic wellness and check up visits, but also for severe or chronic medical problems.
Health Concerns On several other selected indicators of women’s
health, Eastern North Carolina has relatively poor outcomes, including: age-adjusted mortality rate from heart disease Diabetes Breast Cancer Stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases
The majority of counties in Eastern North Carolina for which teen pregnancy rates are reported, the rates are considerably higher than the overall state rate of 43.8 per 1,000 teens aged 15–19. Currituck and Halifax counties have the highest teen
pregnancy rates at 64.3 per 1,000 and 64.1 per 1,000, respectively
Conclusion Many women in
Eastern NC are thriving, yet the data reviewed show that there are still areas for improvement, including: The wage gap Access to affordable
child care Educational attainment
Policy Recommendations Promoting quality flexible working practices to
make it easier for parents to combine paid work with caregiving
Increasing financial supports, including child care, for women with low levels of income
Expanding career counseling and mentoring for women and girls
Facilitating further access to education and encouraging women and girls to pursue education and careers in nontraditional areas
Policy Recommendations Monitoring workforce development to ensure that
women and men have equal access to training in high-growth, well-paid careers
Supporting more targeted teen pregnancy prevention programs and increased support for teens who are already pregnant and parenting
Improving access to health services needed to monitor and address conditions such as heart disease and diabetes
Ensuring that all families who need it receive welfare cash assistance from “Work First,” North Carolina’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program
For more information, visit:
http://www.councilforwomen.nc.gov
http://www.facebook.com/NCDOA
http://www.twitter.com/ncdoa
http://www.councilforwomen.nc.gov/listservs.aspx
http://iwpr.org
http://www.enoughviolence.com