The Institute for Women’s Policy Research released the 2012 Status of Women in North Carolina report yesterday. The report, which was sponsored by the NC Council for Women, lays out the progress that the state has made toward gender equality while highlighting persistent social, economic and political challenges women face.

What can be done? Here are six ways to increase women’s economic security.

A report released last week by the North Carolina Budget and Tax Center showed that North Carolina’s poverty rate remains high at 17.9 percent, and that many communities are still struggling to recover from the Great Recession. In 2011, 19.2 percent of women lived in poverty, an increase from 16.1 percent in 2007.

Women’s poverty rates vary by geography. Read More…

North Carolina is one of five states receiving a $1.6 million grant as part of the Accelerating Opportunity program. The program, which is designed to increase the number of adults who earn a GED and a credential, focuses on developing pathways in high-growth fields such as business technologies, health sciences, and transport systems. Nine colleges in North Carolina participate in the program and the state will extend the Basic Skills Plus program – a program that supports adults in the transition between the attainment of basic skills and occupational credentials -  to all 58 community colleges by 2014.

It’s been a busy week in North Carolina, so you may have missed some exciting news out of the west. On Tuesday, Buncombe County became the second county in the state to pass a living wage resolution. What is a living wage? The calculations differ, but basically it comes down to making enough to meet basic needs without public or private assistance. In Buncombe County, the living wage for full- and part-time county employees will now be set at a minimum of $11.35 per hour or $9.85 with employer-provided health insurance. Click here to read more about the Buncombe County Living Wage Campaign spearheaded by Just Economics.