Women Experiencing Poverty

Lookbook Vol. 2

DEFINITION

Percent of women ages 18-54 below the poverty line ($12,760 for one person) for the year 2019. 42

16.4 percent

13.5 percent

OKLAHOMA

Data Highlight:

NATIONAL AVERAGE Oklahoma ranks 44 (of 51) in women living below the poverty line. The best performing state is New Hampshire, with 8 percent, and the worst-performing state being Mississippi at 21.6 percent of its women living under the poverty line.42

Why We Care:

Sixteen percent of women in Oklahoma live below the poverty level compared to 15.8 percent of citizens overall. While this is a trend throughout the country more Oklahoma women are living below the poverty level compared to their peers across the U.S. When the demographics of women living below the poverty level are disaggregated by race and ethnicity Black and Latinx women are more likely to live below the poverty level compared to their White peers.40 The high and disparate rates of women living below the poverty level means many Oklahoma women have limited or non-existent 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 as of 2017.43

What We Can Do:

- Raise Oklahoma’s minimum wage - Support federally proposed job guarantee program

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