| CB03-FF.03 | February 14 , 2003 | |
| Photos, radio sound bites & VNR | ||
Women’s History Month: March 1-31, 2003
In 1981, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution establishing National Women’s
History Week. The week was chosen to coincide with International Women’s Day,
March 8. In 1987, Congress expanded the week to a month, and it has issued
a resolution every year since then for Women’s History Month. The U.S. president
also issues an annual proclamation on Women’s History Month. As last year’s
presidential proclamation stated, “Women’s History Month provides our country
the privilege of honoring the countless contributions that American women have
made throughout our history.”
Earnings
$29,215
The median annual earnings of women age 15 and older who worked full time,
year-round. After adjusting for inflation, earnings for these women climbed
3.5 percent in 2001, the fifth consecutive increase. In contrast, earnings
for their male counterparts did not change significantly over that period. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02-124.html>
76 cents
For every $1 their male counterparts earn, that is the amount women earn who
work full time, year-round. This ratio represents an all-time high, eclipsing
the previous high of 74 cents for every $1, first recorded in 1996. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02-124.html>
$2.9 million
Estimated work-life earnings of women with a professional degree (i.e., medical,
law, dental or veterinarian) who work full time, year-round. For women, like
men, more education means higher career earnings: it is estimated that those
without a high school diploma would earn $700,000 during their work lives,
increasing to $1.0 million if they have a high school diploma and $1.6 million
with a bachelor’s degree. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02-95.html>
Education
84
The percentage of women age 25 and over with at least a high school diploma,
slightly higher than the percentage for men. (From soon-to-be-published Internet
tables.)
- The gap between men and women with college degrees has not closed completely, but the percentages are close: 25 percent of women age 25 and over have a bachelor’s degree or higher compared with 29 percent of men. (From soon-to-be-published Internet tables.)
- Younger women have gone beyond closing the education gap. They have opened a reverse gap: 33 percent of young women, ages 25 to 34, have completed college, which exceeds the 29 percent of their male counterparts who have done so. Young women, 25 to 34, also have higher high school completion rates than young men: 89 percent versus 85 percent. (From soon-to-be-published Internet tables.)
56
The percentage of college students who are women. Women have constituted the
majority of college students since 1979. <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet>
<http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school.html>
1982
In each year since this year, more American women than men have received bachelor’s
degrees.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02-95.html>
Jobs
57
The percentage of women age 16 and over in the civilian labor force. The percentage
for men is 70 percent. <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet>
Labor force participation rates for women age 16 and over vary greatly by state, ranging from 66 percent in Minnesota to 48 percent in West Virginia. <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet>
50
Among the 71 million women at least 16 years old who work, the percentage who
work full time, year-round. <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet>
More than 9-in-10 employed, civilian women age 16 and over work in one of three occupational groups: sales and office (37 percent); management, professional and related (36 percent); and service (18 percent). <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet>
Voting
61
Percentage of women, age 18 and over and citizens, who cast a ballot in the
last presidential election. This compares with 58 percent of their male counterparts.
Among all voting-age people, women have voted at higher rates than men in every
presidential election since 1984.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02-31.html>
Women in the Military
1.6 million
Number of women who are military veterans; another 164,000 currently serve
in the armed forces. <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet>
Motherhood
1.9
The average number of children currently born to women 40- to 44-years-old
by the end of their childbearing years. This average is one child fewer than
the average for women in this same age group in 1980 (3.0 children). <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-170.html>
55
The percentage of mothers in the labor force who have infant children, down
from a record 59 percent in 1998. This marks the first significant decline
in this rate since the Census Bureau began asking the question in 1976. In
that year, 31 percent of these mothers were in the labor force.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-170.html>
Among mothers ages 15 to 44 who do not have infants, 74 percent are in the labor force. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-170.html>
19
The proportion of all women, ages 40 to 44, who are childless. That is almost
twice as high as women of the same age group in 1980 (10 percent). <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-170.html>
Marriage and Family
25.1 years
The median age of women at the time of their first marriage. The median in
1970 was 20.8 years. Women, on average, are 1.7 years younger than men the
first time they marry. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-113.html>
- Fifty-five percent of women are currently married (including those married to an absent spouse and those who are separated); 25 percent have never married; and 10 percent each are divorced and widowed. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-113.html>
15
The percentage of wives who earn at least $5,000 more than their husband. In
unmarried-partner households, that proportion is 22 percent. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-113.html>
21
The percentage of wives who live in married-couple households and have higher
levels of education than their husbands. In unmarried-partner households,
that proportion is 28 percent. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-113.html>
10 million
The number of single mothers, up from 3 million in 1970. About 26 percent of
all parent-child situation consist of a single mother and her own child or
children, up from 12 percent in 1970.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-113.html>
30.7 million
The number of households — about 3 in 10 — maintained by women with no husband
present.
<http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01-113.html>
Population Distribution
145.0 million
The number of females as of July 1, 2001. That exceeds the number of males,
who numbered 139.8 million. Males outnumber females in every age group through
ages 30 to 34. Starting with 35- to 39-year-olds, women outnumber men. At 85
and over, there are more than twice as many women as men. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2003/cb03-16.html>
85
The number of males per 100 females in Gary, Ind. This is the lowest male-to-female
ratio of any place with a population of 100,000 or more. The highest male-to-female
ratio belongs to Salinas, Calif., with 114 males for every 100 females. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01cn181.html>
- Among the nation’s 245 places with a population of 100,000 or more, the female population exceeds the male population in 201 places (82 percent). <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2001/cb01cn181.html>
Editor’s note: The data presented are the latest available. Some of the preceding data were collected in surveys and are, therefore, subject to sampling error. Observances typically covered by the Census Bureau’s Facts for Features series include African-American History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Mother’s Day, the Fourth of July, Hispanic Heritage Month, American Indian/Alaska Native Heritage Month, Thanksgiving and the end-of-the-year holidays. For a complete list, see <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/factsheets.html>. For quotes & radio sound bites, see <http://www.census.gov/pubinfo/www/radio/actualities.html>. Questions or comments should be directed to the Census Bureau’s Public Information Office: telephone: (301) 763-3030; fax: (301) 457-3670; or e-mail: <pio@census.gov>.
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