Report shows both progress and lingering disparities in the lives of women

While there are more women are in the work force than ever before, they achieve higher levels of education than men, and own 28 percent of the businesses, women in North Carolina and in the nation as a whole continue to face challenges, such as a persistent wage gap, crippling childcare costs, and underrepresentation in politics.
 
On Oct. 11, local community members gathered at MAHEC Ob/Gyn Specialists in Asheville to hear these and other findings presented by Dr. Cynthia Hess of the Institute for Women’s Policy Research at the rollout of the 2012 Status of Women in North Carolina report.
 
To many, the report is long overdue. It represents the first new data since the previous Status of Women report in 1996.
 
The report, which was conducted by the IWPR and the North Carolina Council on Women and sponsored by Wells Fargo, Women for Women, and MAHEC’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, contains data and analysis of critical issues in the lives of women in Western North Carolina, such as employment and earnings, economic security and poverty, health and well-being, and political participation.
 
“Even though there has been significant progress,” said Jennie Eblen, chair of Women for Women, “there are still women in poverty.” In North Carolina, 17 percent of women 18 and older live in poverty, in comparison with 13 percent of men.
 
In addition, “the wage gap remains significant,” said Marti Letson, former chair of Women for Women. “Women are making about $135 less than men per week.” Over the course of a lifetime, this accrues to a $280,000 difference. While the gap has closed, Eblen suggests that this is more due to men making less than women making more.
 
The Women for Women giving circle, an initiative of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, was invited to collaborate with the Council for Women on the research in part because of their regional focus.
 
“We feel like this is a great opportunity for us to support what the Council for Women was already planning to do statewide in the larger metropolitan areas,” Letson commented. “But our involvement has allowed IWPR to get much more detailed information about the rural counties.” The study targeted eight counties in Western North Carolina in addition to Buncombe County. “We chose to do that because of the higher poverty rates in rural counties,” further explained Eblen.
 
Women for Women conducts the majority of its giving through grants. “One of the main reasons that Women for Women decided to participate in the research was that we knew the information would be very important in how we proceed with our grants,” continued Eblen. To Eblen and Letson, this data will be essential in informing Women for Women’s decision-making and advocacy work, and will be used by other organizations and advocates for years to come.
 
Letson and Eblen emphasized the importance of being ready to advocate on behalf of women and girls, and that a key element in advocacy is apprising oneself of the issues and information at hand. “The most important thing that each of us can do is be informed of the issues,” suggested Letson.
 
Events such as the Oct. 11 rollout are key to bringing the attention needed to facilitate change. “We’re really excited by the heightened public awareness of women in this region,” Letson said, because although it is important to acknowledge and celebrate the progress made, there is still considerable work to be done to achieve equality across genders and racial and ethnic groups.
 
“When women thrive,” says Eblen, repeating an oft-cited mantra of Women for Women, “Families thrive and thriving families lead to thriving communities.”

For more information, visit Women for Women’s website at http://www.cfwnc.org/OurInitiatives/WomenforWomen/tabid/276/Default.aspx and for a summary of the report, visit http://www.councilforwomen.nc.gov/documents/publications/Status_of_Women_in_NC_Exec_Summary.pdf.

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.