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Philanthropy Ignores Women's Increasing Impoverishment
Women are not only paid a mere two-thirds
of what men are paid, but they have swelled the ranks of
the poor. The sex-bias in philanthropy persists despite
the fact that women and the children that they solely support
now represent more than 75% of those in poverty in the United
States. Female-headed households, which are five times more
likely to be poor, have more than doubled since 1955.
The most recent Census bureau study reveals
that 45% of female heads of households with children are
living in poverty. And, of course, the situation is worst
for women of color: Fifty-eight percent of Hispanic women
who head households and 56.1% of African-American women
who head households live in poverty, while the same is true
of 37.9% of white women who head households.
Women, especially women of color, have lower
median incomes than men. In 1985, according to Women and
Foundations/ Corporate Philanthropy, four percent of white
men and 23% of minority men had mean salaries below $12,000,
compared to 65% of white women, 660/o of Hispanic women,
and 84% of African American women.
It is therefore not surprising that women
and children are the fastest growing segment of the nation's
homeless population. However, it is shocking that while
federal funding for low-income housing is decreasing drastically,
foundations granted a paltry $1.1 million in 1987 for housing
programs targeted to women. The number of women and children
seeking the protection of domestic shelters has also increased
substantially. More than one half of all American women
will be the victims of sexual assault and/or domestic violence
in their lifetimes. Yet United Way only allots some $11
million a year nationwide to such shelters - a mere half
of one percent of its nationwide budgets. Nationwide, there
are four times more shelters for animals than there are
for beaten women.
Women face obstacles on other fronts as well.
The infusion of women into the workforce has greatly increased
the need for child care. The number of women working full-time
with children age six or younger nearly tripled between
1960 and 1984.
In addition, more and more women are caring
for aging family members. Today, American women spend 17
years of their lives caring for children and 18 years caring
for aging and ill relatives. To date, child care and senior
programs are woefully inadequate or simply non-existen
(Empowering Women in Philanthropy,
The Empowering Women Series, No. 3; A Publication of the
Feminist Majority Foundation, 1991.)
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