Indian women in dire straits, report states: Featured in bottom of statistics across the board

A new report shows that Native American women have lower social and economic status than white women throughout the U.S., with lower earnings, less education, more poverty, and worse health status. The Status of Women in the States, written by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, reports that the median annual earnings of Native American women who work full-time, full-year in the U.S. are $25,500, and they make only 58 cents for every dollar white men in the country make. The report says 25% - one in four - of American Indian women in the U.S. live in poverty. The number is even greater for Native American single mothers: more than a third (38%) of families headed by a Native American single mother live in poverty.  NCAI Executive Director Jacqueline Johnson said the report reflects a troubling degree of inequality for Native American and Alaska Native women in the areas of political participation, employment and earnings, social and economic autonomy, and health and well being. "Effective federal, state and local policies to lower American Indian women's poverty rates are greatly needed to address these disparities," Johnson said. "Ways to address these inequities include emphasis on educational attainment, enforcement of equal opportunity laws, payment of living wages, increased access to affordable child care, and providing adequate health and leave benefits."  The differences between Native women who live in urban and rural areas are even more pronounced. In non-metro areas, those working full-time, full-year make only $23,200, and women in metro areas make $27,600. [more]