Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham: Equitable pay, healthcare, and childcare among top issues for Alabama women

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The Greater Women's Fund announced findings of the 2020 Status of Women in Alabama report, noting that equitable pay, affordable and quality childcare, and healthcare continue to be among critical issues faced by Alabama women. (Photo by Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham)

There’s no doubt that women have come a long way as far as equitable pay, healthcare, gender equality, and other issues that affect their quality of life.

However, as noted in the 2020 Status of Women in Alabama report by the Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham, there is still huge work to be done on behalf of women in the Yellowhammer State. Founded in 1996, the Women’s Fund accelerates economic opportunity for women and their families through philanthropy, research, and advocacy.

Melanie Bridgeforth, president and CEO of the Women’s Fund, pointed out that women are 52 percent of the population and are 100 percent necessary to Alabama’s economic success.

“We envision a society where power and possibility are not limited by gender,” said Bridgeforth, who has led the organization since February 2018. “As our state and region’s only public women’s foundation, our mission is and must be anchored in the power of targeted philanthropy. But we know that philanthropy, while necessary, is not sufficient, in adequately addressing and certainly not dismantling the barriers and redesigning systems that work for and not against women. … It’s our research and advocacy that truly gives our mission lift and rise.”

When women thrive, Alabama thrives

Women in Alabama have made considerable advances in recent years but still face inequities in pay, Bridgeforth said.

“There is a wage gap based on gender. The wage gap is real in Alabama,” she said.

Indeed, women in Alabama make 73 cents for every dollar earned by men. In the rest of the country, women are paid 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. Equitable pay is a critical need, considering that 52.3 percent of all Alabama households with children under 18 have a breadwinner mother, according to the Women’s Fund. Though Alabama women have made large gains in the past several years, about 18 percent of Alabama women live in poverty, as compared to 15 percent of females for the rest of the nation.

Elyse Shaw, study director of the Institute for Women’s Policy and Research (IWPR), discussed additional findings of their 2020 Status of Women in Alabama report. The IWPR is a national organization that performs targeted research to build evidence to shape policies and build women’s power and influence, close inequality gaps, and improve the economic well-being of families.

Relying heavily on data from large government surveys and data sets, Shaw is among researchers at the Washington, D.C.-based think tank who look at trends over time to see whether policies have the intended impact on populations. IWPR studies compare men and women in each state and how women in Alabama are doing compared to females in other states and the U.S. overall.

The study takes an in-depth look at factors that affect women’s socioeconomic status and opportunity:

  • Demographics,
  • Work, earnings and family,
  • Poverty and opportunity,
  • Health and well-being, and
  • Political representation and leadership.

Shaw said that taking action in the following areas will bring about real change:

  • Close the gender wage gap.
  • Close the health insurance gap.
  • Increase accessibility to affordable, quality childcare.
  • Pass paid leave legislation.
  • Invest in support for those who are most in need.
  • Strengthen the pipeline for women in elected office.

There is positive news on the economic front.

“There’s a great little silver lining in that women in Alabama are very entrepreneurial – 37 percent own their own business,” said Shaw, who has served the IWPR for eight years. “Women in Alabama are out there, starting businesses, stepping forward, and really supporting themselves and their families. One in every four women have a B.A. degree or higher.”

Childcare continues to be a major impasse for working women in Alabama.

“Increasing access to affordable, quality childcare is another vital thing that helps keep women working,” Shaw said. “If we, as women, have childcare, we can work and do what we need to do and really be able to contribute economically to our families.”

Shaw noted that pre-COVID, 86 percent of Alabama women had some form of health insurance. However, the pandemic has had an immense impact on health insurance coverage because people are losing their jobs. About 425,000 people in Alabama have lost employer-sponsored insurance because of job loss.

“That means that people are going to have to spend more money out of pocket – money they may not have – to make sure they are continuing to be healthy and well during global pandemic times,” Shaw said.

For that reason, expanding Medicaid is an important issue tied to women’s health and financial stability, said Kim Cochran, external vice president of the Women’s Fund.

“Medicaid expansion in our state would allow 152,000 women to get healthcare,” Cochran said.

Republished with the permission of Alabama NewsCenter.