UCLA Center for the Study of Women

The recession is having a distressing affect on community, family, and individual security. Women across socioeconomic lines bear the burden of an unstable economy. Women are more likely than men to hold subprime mortgages. They are more likely to raise children as single heads of household, and are therefore more likely to experience food insecurity and to survive on the edge of poverty and economic stability. Despite recent growth in women’s employment, women are less than half of New York City’s workforce and more than half of its minimum wage earners. Vulnerable constituencies, including immigrant women and women of color, typically have fewer assets and lower savings rates, increasing their susceptibility to economic hardship during recessions. Finally, valuable life lines, such as Unemployment Insurance and COBRA, a medical insurance program for the unemployed, are difficult for many women to obtain as they may be employed in the shadow economy and comprise 2 out of every 3 members of the part-time workforce nationally.