Poverty Rate Falls But Being a Woman Increases the Odds of Being Poor in America, the Wage Gap Remains Stalled, and Uninsurance Among Women Dropped by 37 Percent Under the ACA
Despite a slight decrease in the poverty rate last year, more than 16 million women in America lived in poverty and two-thirds of the elderly poor were women, according to new analysis released today by the
Poverty in 2016:
* More than 1 in 8 women 18 and older--more than 16 million--lived in poverty in 2016. This represents a 0.6 percentage point decrease from 2015.
* About 1 in 9 men 18 and older--about 11 million--lived in poverty in 2016. This represents a 0.6 percentage point decrease from 2015.
* The poverty rate for elderly women was 10.6 percent in 2016, a .3 percentage point increase from 2015. Women made up nearly two-thirds of the elderly poor.
"For women, the news is grim: being a woman in America increases the odds of being poor," said
Wage Gap in 2016:
* Women working full time, year round were typically paid just
* Black women working full time, year round were typically paid just
* Latinas working full time, year round were typically paid just
"Women of America, you didn't score even a penny raise this year," said
* More than 92 percent of women and girls had health insurance in 2016, up 0.4 percentage points from 2015.
* Nearly 90 percent of non-elderly adult women had health insurance in 2016, up 0.7 percentage points from 2015.
* The uninsurance rate for non-elderly adult women has dropped by 37 percent, from 16.9 percent in 2013 to just 10.6 percent in 2016.
* More than 17 million non-elderly adult women relied on Medicaid in 2016, up nearly 3.5 million since the Affordable Care Act was implemented in 2013.
"The statistics tell a positive story," said
NWLC will continue to update its analysis here (https://nwlc.org/resources/nwlc-resources-on-poverty-income-and-health-insurance-in-2016/).
Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2016
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