Teen Birth Rate

Lookbook Vol. 2

DEFINITION

For the year 2019, the number of births per 1,000 females ages 15-19.36

OKLAHOMA 27.4 per 1,000 births36 Data Highlight: As of 2019, the Oklahoma teen birth rate has decreased 52.2

NATIONAL AVERAGE 16.6 per 1,000 births133 percent since 2009. In 2018, Oklahoma was ranked 46 in teen birth rate and was the fastest declining in the nation.36 In 2019, however, the Oklahoma teen birth rate rose 1 percent, while the national average dropped 4.6 percent according to preliminary data.133

Why We Care:

The teen birth rate is often used as a proxy for unintended pregnancy though nearly 18 percent of teen pregnancies are intentional.37 The majority are not, and teen pregnancy can often thwart or abate educational and career goals of young parents. Teen birth rate has decreased by 52.2 percent in Oklahoma since 2009, a trend that mirrors reductions across the country, largely attributed to intentional, evidence-based and medically accurate prevention programming.38 While this trend is promising, we find health inequities in the data, as Black and Latinx teens involved in the foster care system are twice as likely to experience a teen pregnancy.39

What We Can Do:

- Ensure individuals have adequate information and access to all forms of birth control in order to choose the best method for their lifestyle - Evaluate other data sources in addition to teen birth rates to acknowledge the reproductive autonomy of teens and women overall - Support inclusive, scientific, evidence-based, prevention programming addressing subsequent teen births - Advocate for comprehensive, inclusive, scientific, and evidence-based health education in all Oklahoma schools - Provide adequate support for expecting and parenting teens

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Economic Factors

Many women in Oklahoma are leading households, while being paid less, with inadequate access to sick days, and without affordable childcare. Access to economic opportunities for women in Oklahoma can be limited especially depending on one’s geographic location, educational attainment, justice involvement, and health. There are also significant disparities in pay and job type due to race (women of color are disproportionately represented at higher rates in lower-paying, hourly work).40

Consistent with the rest of the country, Oklahoma women still face discrimination in the workplace, part of the reason women make less than men on average. If equal pay were a reality in Oklahoma the overall poverty rate for working women in the state would be reduced by almost half and their total earnings would increase by about $5.4 billion a year collectively.46 Equal pay for equal work would not only close the gender wage gap but also allow Oklahoma’s women to better afford health care, housing, food, and a life above the poverty level.

Perhaps the most direct and potentially effective measure we can take to create further pay transparency is to change workplace policies that reinforce secretkeeping about wages. Keeping this information private is generally of benefit to the employer often working against pay inequality. Addressing pay inequality 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.

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