Data about Women and Girls
The
ICSW is mandated to study the changing needs and problems
of the women of Iowa and to share that information.
Children
and Family Policy Center's Women,
Work, and Poverty draws upon fifty years of national
and Iowa data to track the disparities in poverty and income
levels between men and women. It shows that, while there
have been dramatic increases in women’s employment
rates, education levels, and earnings compared with men,
the gender gap in poverty rates has remained consistent
over this period. Public policies – particularly around
child support enforcement and comparable worth for Iowa
employees – have helped equalize income levels by
gender. At the same time, combined Iowa investments in welfare
benefits and child care assistance have declined substantially
over time, both in terms of real dollars and as a share
of the state budget. Women, Work, and Poverty indicates
that addressing both gender and racial disparities in income
and poverty should again become a source of public policy
dialogue, as it was in the 1980s, when significant policy
advances were made.
Iowa
ranks 37th among all states for wage equity, and high wage
earners are hit the hardest, according to Women,
Work and the Iowa Economy, a study released in fall
2008 by the Iowa Policy Project. The study found that 67%
of Iowa women are in the workforce, compared with a national
average of 59%. For those in the 80th percentile of earners
(about $19 per hour and up), Iowa has the eight largest
pay gap in the nation. Recommendations to improve wage equity
mentioned in the report include targeted recruitment of
women into high-wage, male-dominated professions, expanding
child care assistance eligibility, and instituting some
form of paid family leave.
Annual
Report - 2008
Iowa
Gender Wage Equity Study 2010
Iowa
Gender Wage Equity Study 2008
The
Wage Gap for Iowa Women in their 20s and 30s
Iowa
Gender Wage Study - 1999 (conducted by Iowa Workforce
Development)
2006
Status of Iowa Women Report
The
Status of Women In Iowa (publication by Institute for
Women's Policy Research)
Women
in Iowa 2011 (publication by State Data Center of Iowa)
List
of ICSW Publications
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