Women In Cuyahoga County More Likely To Live In Poverty: Study

CLEVELAND, OH — A new study found women in Cuyahoga County make $0.80 for every dollar a man makes. About half of working women in the county earn even less than male counterparts, the Center for Community Solutions (CCS) found.

The CCS studied all 88 Ohio counties and compared how female residents were doing compared to male counterparts. The study looked at metrics like wages, economic status and educational attainment.

"While we definitely saw some bright points in the data, like across the state women tend to achieve higher levels of education than their male counterparts, there were many concerning data points about how women fare in other areas like economic stability,” said Melissa Federman, the Treuhaft chair for health planning.

In Cuyahoga County, the median wage for women is $41,086. CCS found that Cuyahoga County women earned $0.80 for every dollar a man earned. About 19.4 percent of women living in the county are living in poverty, the study found. Less than 18 percent of Cuyahoga County men are living in poverty.

In several key metrics, Cuyahoga County failed to meet Ohio averages. For instance, across the state, women about 16 percent of women live in poverty and 7.4 percent of those women live in deep poverty. In Cuyahoga County, 9.1 percent of women live in "deep poverty."

Cuyahoga County's preterm birth rate and teen birth rate were both higher than the state average as well.

Statewide

The results of CCS' study were not rosy for women across Ohio. Female-led households were more than twice as likely to live in poverty, the study found. In more than a third of Ohio's counties, women of childbearing age were the demographic most likely to live in poverty.

The gender wage ratio varied widely across the state. For instance, in Monroe County women make $0.59 for every dollar a man makes. For contrast, in Pike County women make $0.86 for every dollar man makes.

“Another thing we noticed was just how drastic disparities can be – in counties that are literally next to each other,” said Emily Campbell, Community Solutions associate director. “If we look at the differences in factors like late stage cervical cancer diagnosis, women in STEM careers and teen birth rates from county to county it shows that there is much more work to be done.”

Additionally, despite making up nearly half the electorate, less than one-third of the state's elected officials are women. No county's elected officials were more than 40 percent female, the study found.

To see the full results of the study, visit the Center for Community Solutions website.