Current Statistics Related to Women

• Women have the right to vote in every state.

• In the 1996 elections, 53.4% of the voters were women.

• In 2003, 6 of 50 U.S. governors were women.

• In 2003, 14 of 100 U.S. Senators and 62 of 435 House of Representatives members were women.

• There has never been a female president or vice president; only once has a major political party nominated a woman as a candidate for the vice presidency.

• Nancy Pelosi became the first woman Speaker of the House in 2007.

• Two of the nine Supreme Court justices are women.

• In 1972, 26% of Americans said they would not vote for a woman for president.

• In 1996, 6% of Americans said they would not vote for a woman for president.

• In 1999, women earned approximately 79 cents for every dollar men earned.

• The average lifetime earnings for a 50-year-old woman is $496,000, while the average lifetime earnings for a 50-year-old man is $1.1 million.

• In 1999, of the 500 largest businesses in America, 11.9% of the top officers were women, up from 8.7% in 1994.

• In 1983, 15% of lawyers were women. In 1995, 26% of lawyers were women.

• In 1983, 16% of doctors were women. In 1995, 24% of doctors were women.

• In 1995, the average annual salary for male computer operators was $26,000.

• In 1995, the average annual salary for female computer operators was $19,084.

• In 1995, the average annual salary of female elementary school teachers was $32,292. For male elementary school teachers, the average annual salary was $33,800.

• In 1998, 69.1% of the women graduating from high school went on to college, compared with 62.4% of the men.

• In 1994, the number of women taking math and science courses equaled or surpassed the number of men taking those courses.

• In 1970, 1 in 27 girls played high school sports. In 1995, 1 in 3 girls played high school sports.

• The number of single-parent families headed by women increased from 2,619,000 in 1960 to 7,874,000 in 1997.

• In 1995, 54% of single-parent families headed by women were living below the poverty line