Quick Facts on Single Moms and Educational Attainment
Head of Household
Single mothers are increasingly running the show with 80% of single-parent families headed by women.
There are 12,905,000 one-parent families in the United States — 10,404,000 are headed by women; 2,501,000 are headed by men.
- 47% of women are on their own.
- 27% are single.
- 20% are divorced, separated or widowed.
Income: Female-Led Households vs. Male-Led Households
Single mothers lack the financial safety net of a spouse
- 22% of single working mothers earn more than $30,000 per year.
- 14% of single working mothers earn more than $50,000 per year.
- 5% of single working mothers earn more than $75,000 per year.
- 50% of married working women earn more than $40,000 per year.
Single Parent Gender Disparity
Single mothers generally fare worse financially than single fathers
- 16% of all single parent male family households live in poverty.
- 35% of all single parent female family households live in poverty.
- Overall, women earn about 74% of men's wages.
Education
More than 80% of single moms lack the education they need to advance in a career
- 83% of single mothers have a high school diploma.
- 33% of single mothers have some college education.
- 16% of single mothers have a bachelor's degree or higher.
60% of sales-related jobs in the service sector require skills beyond high school.
Jobs that require advanced skills are experiencing significant growth.
High level skills are required across industries.
Women in the Workplace
Women are working every day—and not getting ahead
- 99% of all American women will work for pay at some point in their lifetime.
- 60.7% of mothers with children under the age of 3 work.
Women comprise 46% of labor force.
Women's labor force participation is expected to grow to over 2.3 million in 2015.
Sources:
U.S. Census Data and Not Just Getting By!: Single Working-Poor Mothers and Education, Mary Gatta, Ph.D., Center for Women and Work, Rutgers University
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