Did you know that 50.5% of residents in Garrett County are women or girls? The Garrett County Commission For Women released their latest report utilizing the most current figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Among their findings the Commission reports that 55.6% of those living below the poverty level are female. Additionally, 36.7% of new births were to women also living in poverty.
Of women with graduate or professional degrees working in the county, they earn roughly 20% less than their male counterparts. Income disparity has become of national concern since many women are heads of households and responsible for children.
The link below shares the full eye-opening report.
As Chair of the Garrett County Commission for Women, the statistics that shocked me were on wages Nationally, women make about 82 cents for every dollar a man makes. Now, I know someone reading this is saying to themselves, "well, it's because of x" or y or z, but to be honest the reasons for the wage gap are more complicated than one many think and probably for another post. The ramifications for earning power of women, especially single women and women heads of households, are enormous and bad for all of us! But in Garrett County, it is even worse! On average, women make only about 69 cents on every dollar men in Garrett County make. Is it no wonder, then, that at nearly 51% of the population, women make up 56% of those who live in poverty? And they do so by making up 52% of the workforce. So my questions: 1. How widely is this known by our county government and by the business community?, 2. What is Economic Development doing to include the fact of wage inequity in planning strategies?, and 3. What workkforce development strategies are being developed by the county, College and BOE to tackle this disparity??