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- Oklahoma ranks 43 in women living below the poverty threshold
- 17-percent of Oklahoma women live in poverty
- Black and Latinx women are disproportionately affected by poverty
- 77 cents paid to all Oklahoma women, for every dollar made by white, non-Latinx, Oklahoma
Published 10/15/2019 | Reading Time 1 min 15 sec
By BWSTimes Staff
TULSA, Okla. — According to Metriarch, a data haven for women, Oklahoma ranks 43 in the nation for women living below the poverty line. A single mother with two children or more, making less than $20,420 per year, is considered to live at the threshold of poverty in America.
17-percent of Oklahoma women live below the poverty level compared to just 14.5-percent of men in the state. Of that 17-percent, Oklahoma Black and Latinx women are disproportionately affected by poverty when compared to their White peers.
In their Look Book journal report, “The high disparate rates of women living below the poverty level means many Oklahoma women have limited or non-existence access to health care, safe housing, healthy food, and financially stable work. Of all women, Black transgender women are the most likely to live in poverty, with 34-percent living in extreme poverty nationwide.”
The gender wage gap undoubtedly drives women into poverty in the Oklahoma; that’s the amount of money that women make, per every dollar that white, non-Latinx, men. Oklahoma women earn 77 cents to every dollar that white, non-Latinx, men earn. The national average is 79 cents according to their report.
Metriarch’s recommendation for solving the Oklahoma women’s poverty issue was raising the state’s minimum wage and supporting federally proposed job guarantee programs for women. Furthermore, it recommends Oklahoma residents to support legislation that promotes pay transparency for all Oklahoma women and the expansion in the number of licensed childcare facilities.
“Equal pay for equal work would not only close the gender wage gap, but also allow Oklahoma’s women to bbetter afford health care, housing, food, and a life above the poverty level;” therefore “addressing pay equality and secrecy is a crucial part of closing the gender wage gap, and protection from retaliation would be a very positive step forward for women’s economic security,” within the state.
