How are women’s earnings doing compared to their male counterparts?
A survey by the U.S. Census Bureau said the median earnings of women and men in 2004 were $31,223 and $40,798 respectively. The overall female-to-male earnings ratio was 77 percent. Women’s earnings, as a percentage of men’s earnings, were about 90 percent or higher for the following groups: installation, maintenance and repair; community and social services; construction and extraction; and healthcare support. In contrast, women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s earnings were about 65 percent or less for legal occupations, sales and related occupations and healthcare practitioner and technical occupations.

By 2008, what percentage of all entrants into the workplace will be women or people of color?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 70% of all new entrants will be women and people of color.

How are women doing in selected professional careers?
Investment Careers. Although the percentage of white women and women of color on Wall Street rose between 2001 and 2005 (from 32 percent to 33 percent for white women and 9 percent to 11 percent for women of color), women still do not hold positions of power, according to the Securities Industry Association.

Political Careers. Despite the fact that women account for 51.1 percent of the U.S. population, they hold only 81 of the 535 seats in the 109th Congress. Research by the Inter-Parliamentary Union showed that the United States ranked 61st in terms of women's representation in national legislature or parliaments among 180 countries in November 2005, down from 58th place in December 2003.

Fortune 500 “C” level officers. The 2005 Catalyst Census of women corporate officers and top earners of the Fortune 500 found that in the last 3 years, average growth in the percentage of corporate officer positions held by women fell 0.23 percentage points.

Federal Government Careers. There are over 4,000 women in senior level positions. At the Department of Labor, half of the senior leadership team is comprised of women. That's an all-time high according to Elaine Chao, U.S. Secretary of Labor. She stated, in an August 2006 speech, that women comprise 26.5 percent of federal employees in the senior pay levels.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, what are the 10 leading occupations for mature women? The 10 leading occupations for women aged 55 and over at the end of 2004 were secretaries and administrative assistants (720,000); elementary and middle school teachers (371,000); registered nurses (353,000); bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks (339,000); nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides (251,000); cashiers (240,000); maids and housekeeping cleaners (230,000); first-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers (228,000); managers, all other (207,000); and first-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers (204,000).

And, how do women compare with men in terms of starting small businesses? American women, of all ages, are starting small business at more than twice the rate of men. However, yearly earnings of women business owners were only 49% of male counterparts according to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2004.

Good Book… . Did you know that women represent a majority of the employment base of our economy; a majority of the business and personal consumers; and they are the individuals principally responsible for family financial investment and retirement decisions? But…there is more to the story about women and their financial fitness. Take a quick glance at our research.

On average, how long might a woman at age 55 live? She can expect to live another 27½ years according to the Department of Labor. Women typically outlive men by about 5 years but the gap is closing. For example, deaths from lung cancer have almost tripled in women in the past 20 years. One study concluded that, on average, middle-aged female smokers live no longer than male smokers. Before I forget, the median age of U.S. women has gone up again in 2006 – it is now 37.8 years

How are mature women preparing financially for retirement? Women have saved less than men for retirement according to a Hewitt Associates study of 2.6 million Americans who are eligible for a 401(k) or other defined-contribution plans. In 2005, women had a median sum of $18,130 in a 401(k), vs. $40,730 for men.

Why are female boomers, in particular, headed for a rough ride in retirement? According to Paul Hodge of Harvard, women were likely to have been paid less than men and many have taken considerable time out of the workforce to raise children or to care for aging family members.

How many households led by women live under Federal poverty levels? Poverty rates are highest for families headed by single women. In 2004, 28.4 percent of households headed by single women lived in poverty. Today, 6+ million grandparents are solely responsible for raising their grandchildren and they are, as one result, growing poorer by the day.

How do these levels of poverty influence the outcomes of the next generations? The United States ranked next to the last among 22 developed nations in the world in terms of the child poverty index. Statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2005 showed children accounted for nearly one third of the 37 million poor in the country. One third of children in the United States were born out of wedlock, and half of the children live in single parent families headed by women.

What role does Social Security play in helping women to avoid the worst aspects of poverty? Widowed, divorced, and never-married women depend heavily on Social Security. It accounts for half or more of the income of nearly three-fourths of these non-married female recipients. For one in four, it is the only source of income. The deep level poverty rate for all older women would be significantly higher without Social Security, increasing from 12.4 percent to over 50 percent.

Are overall poverty rates increasing for senior citizens? The number in poverty increased for seniors 65 and older – 3.6 million in 2005, up from 3.5 million in 2004. Statistics are not in, of course, for 2006 but expect an additional rise in poverty level among senior citizens.

How can women, of almost any age, stay out of poverty? Some women are working longer. For example, there has been an increase in labor force participation for women ages 62-64 – from 28% in 1987 to 40% in 2005. 24% of women ages 65-69 are working. Of women 70 and older, 7 % were working in 2005. Others are returning to school to prepare to work longer in new careers where marketplace need is highest.

Here’s a multiple-choice question for you! There are more older widows than widowers in virtually all countries because: (a) Women live longer than men. (b) Women typically marry men older than themselves. (c) Men are more likely than women to remarry after divorce or death of a spouse. (d) All of the above. Ok, so it’s a rhetorical question.