Are Women being hit the Hardest by the Global Recession

There has been a great deal of media coverage about the effects of the current economic recession on working families. News reports abound with stories of middle class families that are being forced to cut back and downsize their lifestyles, but it made me wonder if middle class American families are struggling to keep their heads above water, then how are unmarried women faring?

Currently, almost half of American women are unmarried and out of that 20% are raising young children. In a report by Senator Edward Kennedy, in 2008, showed that the unemployment rate for women is rising faster than the rate for men and that for women who still have their jobs, wages are falling at a much steeper rate than for their male coworkers. The report went on to talk about how when families are struggling to get through periods of economic uncertainty, they rely on personal savings, investments, retirement funds and equity in their homes. Senator Kennedy added that

women are facing this recession with a weaker personal financial safety net than men. They have fewer resources to help them weather the storm because of their already low wages, fewer personal savings, and lower participation in employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Harvard Professor, Harvard Professor Mariko Chang conducted a survey of the net worth of unmarried women, and found that the median was $12,900, less than half the $26,850 for unmarried men. Coupling this data with the large number of single mothers that have been employed in fairly well paying manufacturing positions now finding themselves unemployed or uncertain about their job security, the picture becomes even more dire. This problem extends not only in America, but across the globe. A publication by the Canadian Labor Congress reported that

“Over the past five years, women have lost more than 55,000 good paying jobs in manufacturing... they have lost jobs at a greater rate than men with 9% of women in the manufacturing sector losing their jobs compared to 7% of men.”

The truth of the matter is that single women are a very important part of our society, our communities and our economy. Single women are homeowners, business owners and parents. They are employees, they are primary breadwinners and mothers, but they still have lower economic security than the rest of the population. They have higher debt ratio, lower income and a reduced ability to save. This lack of available resources makes them even more at risk during periods of economic hardship.

Policy makers need to make sure that when they are looking for solutions to stimulate jobs and encourage economic growth that they don't leave single women out when they are looking at the groups hardest hit.

By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a freelance writer and regular contributor to several websites and other publications, a volunteer, a full time mom and an active job seeker.