On the heels of International Women’s Day – celebrated on March 8th to honor and celebrate the economic, political, and social achievements of women – the Institute for Women’s Policy Research together with the North Carolina Council for Women, has released the Status of Women in North Carolina report. The report shows that despite women’s higher levels of education and the significant increase in labor force participation over the past decades, wage and income inequality persists in the state.
According to the report, between 1990 and 2010, in North Carolina:
- The share of women with at least a bachelor’s degree increased sharply from 16 percent in 1990 to 27 percent in 2010.
- The share of women who did not finish high school fell from 30 to 13 percent.
- The proportion of women in poverty increased from 14 to 17 percent
The fact that more women continue to fall into poverty (the state ranks 39th in the percent of women living above the poverty line) despite higher levels of education and career positions is explained in part by the wage gap. Read more