A Demographic Profile of Pennsylvania's Rural Women.

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7

Demography; Educational Attainment; Employed Women; Employment Patterns; Feminization of Poverty; Income; One Parent Family; Rural Urban Differences; Rural Women; Sex Differences

Pennsylvania has the largest rural population in the nation, and more than 50 percent of this population is female. Overall, Pennsylvania's rural women are doing well in education, family life stability, and health, relative to comparison groups of rural men and urban women and men. Educational attainment is greater among urban women and men, but less among rural men. Rural men are less likely to complete high school than rural women. About 65 percent of rural graduating seniors plan to continue their education, compared to about 74 percent of urban students. More rural females intend to obtain postsecondary education than rural males. Rural women are more likely to be married than any other comparison group, and there are fewer rural female-headed households than urban female-headed households. Birth, death, and breast cancer rates are lower for rural women than urban women. Specialized health care is limited in some counties. Women, particularly rural women, are much less likely to be arrested for a crime than men. Rural women are not faring as well economically as the comparison groups. Employment rates are slightly higher for urban men and women, and more urban workers are in executive, managerial, and professional specialty jobs than rural workers. Rural women are much more likely than any other group to live in a household with an income of less than twice the poverty threshold. In many rural counties, women's entrance into the labor force could be constrained by the lack of child care. (TD)

2001

ED450989