UNITED STATES DEPT. OF COMMERCE
February 28, 1997 CB97-FS.02 MEMORANDUM FOR Reporters, Editors, News Directors From: LaVerne Vines Collins Chief, Public Information Office Subject: Facts for Women's History Month Each month, we plan to provide previously released facts pertaining to selected events or holidays occurring that month. Questions or comments should be directed to the Census Bureau's Public Information Office (Tel: 301-457-3030; fax: 301-457-3670; e-mail: pio@census.gov). CENSUS FACTS FOR WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH Education: In 1995, for women aged 25 and over, 82 percent had at least a high school diploma; about 46 percent had completed some college or more; and 20 percent had earned at least a bachelor's degree. The corresponding percentages for men 25 and over were 82 percent, 50 percent, and 26 percent. In terms of high school completion, there was no statistical difference between women and men. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-148.html Among 25- to 29-year-olds in 1995, gender differences disappeared when it came to having a bachelor's degree or more (25 percent for both sexes). Moreover, women were more likely than men to have completed at least some college. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-148.html Women accounted for 55 percent of all college students in 1994, continuing the majority role they have occupied since 1979. The concentration of women was even more pronounced among students 35 and over: at this age level, they comprised 65 percent in 1994, up from 53 percent 20 years earlier. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-179.html Among highest earned degrees held by men in 1993, 15 percent were in engineering; the corresponding proportion for women was 2 percent. But 19 percent of women's highest degrees versus 6 percent of men's were in education. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-23.html Earnings and jobs: The 1995 annual real median earnings of women working year- round, full time, was $22,497, while for men it was $31,496. The ratio of female-to-male earnings remained unchanged from 1994, at 71 percent. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-159a.html Women are becoming better represented in many professions. Among employed civilians, the proportion of women lawyers, for example, climbed from 15 percent in 1983 to 26 percent in 1995. Over the same period, the percentage of female physicians rose from 16 percent to 24 percent and from 38 percent to 50 percent among economists. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-192.html The numbers: On December 1, 1996, women outnumbered men, 136.0 million to 130.3 million. Projections indicate that by July 1, 2000, these totals will reach 140.5 million and 134.2 million, respectively. http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/nation/intfile2-1.txt http://www.census.gov/population/projections/nation/npas9600.asc On December 1, 1996, women had a median age of 35.9 years, while men's median age was 33.6. The median age is the age at which half the population is older and half is younger. http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/nation/intfile2-1.txt Women in business: The number of women-owned businesses in the United States reached 6.4 million in 1992, representing a third of all domestic firms and 40 percent of all retail and service firms. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-07.html Within retail, women were dominant in apparel and accessory stores, where they owned 54 percent of all firms in 1992, and miscellaneous retail stores, where they owned 53 percent. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-07.html Businesses owned by women generated $1.6 trillion in revenues and employed 13.2 million people in 1992. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-07.html In 1992, 39 percent of all women-owned firms had gross receipts under $10,000, while only 1 percent had receipts of $1 million or more. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-07.html The Los Angeles metro area had the most women-owned firms in 1992 (232,723), followed closely by New York (187,525), Chicago (163,883), Washington, D.C. (122,007) and Philadelphia (95,441). http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-29.html Marriage and family: In 1995, 59 percent of all women 18 years old and over were married. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-200.html The estimated median age at first marriage in 1994 was 26.7 years for men and 24.5 years for women--the highest levels since these data were first recorded in 1890. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-33.html The number of families maintained by women with no husband present rose from 5.6 million in 1970 to 12.2 million in 1995. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-195.html In 1995, 15 percent of women lived alone, while 2 percent shared a home with nonrelatives. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-200.html Motherhood: Of the 60 million women aged 15 to 44 in June 1994, nearly 4 million had a child during the previous year. More than half (53 percent) of the women who gave birth were in the labor force; of these 2.1 million women, 1.8 million were employed and 1.2 million worked full time. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb95-196.html Among mothers with newborn children in 1994, 70 percent of those with at least a bachelor's degree were in the labor force, compared with 48 percent who had completed only high school and 34 percent with less than a high school diploma. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb95-196.html In 1994, 42 percent of 15- to 44-year-old women were childless. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb95-196.html In 1994, about 7 percent of never-married teenagers had borne a child, while about four of every 10 women in their thirties had borne a child out-of-wedlock. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb95-196.html Older women: Elderly women (aged 65 or older) outnumbered men of the same age range in 1994 by a ratio of 3-to-2--20 million to 14 million. This difference grew with advancing age: at 65 to 69, it was 6-to-5; at age 85 and over, it widened to 5-to-2. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-80.html In 1993, noninstitutionalized elderly women were more than three times as likely as elderly men to be widowed (48 percent versus 14 percent) and slightly more than half as likely to be married and living with their spouse (41 percent versus 75 percent). http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-80.html Elderly women were much more likely than elderly men to live alone. So much so, in fact, that eight in 10 noninstitutionalized elderly who lived alone in 1993 were women. The likelihood of living alone rose with age for elderly women, from 32 percent for 65- to 74-year-olds to 57 percent for those aged 85 years or older. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-80.html Women make up a growing share of the older labor force (55 years and over), going from 23 percent in 1950 to 44 percent in 1993. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-80.html In 1995, the life expectancy for women stood at 79 years; for men, it was 73 years. Projections for 2010 show life expectancy will be 81 years and 74 years, respectively. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-192.html Child care: In the fall of 1993, nearly 10 million children under 5 required child care while their mothers were working. Of these, almost half (48 percent) were cared for primarily by relatives. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-61.html The majority of preschoolers cared for by relatives in 1993 received care from grandparents or fathers. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-61.html The proportion of preschoolers with working mothers cared for in organized facilities jumped from 23 percent in 1991 to a new high of 30 percent in 1993. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/cb96-61.html In fall 1993, there were 8.1 million families with preschoolers who required care while their mothers worked. Of these families, 56 percent paid an average of $74 per week for child care--8 percent of their monthly family income. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/child/contents.html
