Hard-hitting truths on diversity and women-in-the workplace taken from Working Mother's sister organization, Diversity Best Practices.

U.S. Women's Political Participation65% of women citizens voted in the 2004 presidential election, higher than the 62% of their male counterparts.

*U.S. Census Bureau. (2005, May). U.S. voter turnout up in 2004, Census Bureau reports.

Women of ColorCongresswomen - of the 87 women serving in the 110th U.S. Congress, 21, or 24.1%, are women of color, all serving in the House.  Women of color constitute 3.9% of the total 535 members of Congress.

*  Center for American Women and Politics. (2007, January), Women of color in elective office 2007. Retrieved February 19, 2007, from http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/Facts/Officeholders/color.pdf

Mayors - in the nation's 100 largest cities, two women of color serve as mayors. One is African American and one is Latina.

* Center for American Women and Politics. (2007, January), Women of color in elective office 2007. Retrieved February 19, 2007, from http://www.cawp

Women Lawyers30.2% of lawyers are women.

* 
American Bar Association. (2006). A current glance at women in the law
2006. Retrieved January 8, 2006 from
http://www.abanet.org/women/CurrentGlanceStatistics2006.pdf

Women in Corporate LawWomen comprise approximately 16.6% of the Fortune 500 General Counsels, up from 15.4%. Women comprise 15.7% of the Fortune 1000 General Counsel.

*  American Bar Association. (2006). A current glance at women in the law 2006. Retrieved January 8, 2006 from http://www.abanet.org/women/CurrentGlanceStatistics2006.pdf

Women EntrepreneursNearly 10.4 million firms are owned by women (50% or more), employing more than 12.8 million people and generating $1.9 trillion in sales.

*  Center for Women's Business Research. (2007). Top facts about women-owned business. Retrieved January 9, 2007 from http://www.cfwbr.org/facts/index.php

Businesses Owned by Women of ColorWomen of color own an estimated 1.4 million firms, employ nearly 1.3 million people, and generate $147 billion in sales (as of 2004).About 20% of majority women-owned businesses are owned by women of color. Women of color own 36% of all firms owned by persons of color.

*  Center for Women's Business Research. (2007). Top facts about women-owned business. Retrieved January 9, 2007 from http://www.cfwbr.org/facts/index.php

EarningsThe ratio of female-to-male earnings for full-time, year-round workers was 77 cents on the dollar in 2005, statistically unchanged from 2004.

*  U.S. Census Bureau. (2006, August). Income climbs, poverty stabilizes, uninsured rate increases. Retrieved January 23, 2007 from http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/007419.html

Multicultural women account for 24.3% of the aggregate income of American women:

  • African American     46%
  • Hispanic        31%
  • Asian American    18%
  • Other        5%.
*  Packaged Facts. (2004, July). MarketLooks: multicultural women.

MothersThere are an estimated 82.5 million mothers of all ages in the United States. Ten million single mothers live with children under 18 years old, up from 3 million in 1970.

*  U.S. Census Bureau. (2005, May). Mother's day, May 8, 2005. Retrieved January 31, 2007 from http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/mothers'sday05.pdf

Women and Higher Education

  • 32% of women ages 25 to 29 years had attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with 25% of men in the same age group.
  • 27% of women ages 25 or older had obtained a bachelor's degree. This rate increased 10.5% points from 20 years ago.
  • 26.1 million women ages 25 or older had a bachelor's degree or more education, more than double the number 20 years ago.
*  U.S. Census Bureau. (2005). Majority of undergrads and grad students are women, Census Bureau reports. Retrieved January 17, 2007 from http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/education/007909.html

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