DWC - Main Feature

Main Feature

1 of 4 adult living alone

Women and Status

The fastest growing category of households today is single women followed by married couples with children and married couples without children.

In 1950's, married couples with children comprised nearly 80% of households but today only make up 50.7%.

The average age of women who get married for the first time is age 25 while for men it is 27. More and more unmarried couples are deciding to live together before getting married a 72% increase between the year 1990 and the year 2000. Women outlive their partners. (56% women, compared to 44% men).

Officially on Oct 17, 2006, US population hits 300 Million!

41% of women with ages 14 - 44 live with their partners of the opposite sex.

11% of unmarried partners are same sex couples.

50% of American African women with age 25 - 29 have never married, compared with 31% of White, Hispanic or Asian women.

35% of births are from unmarried women, compared to 11% in 1970.

41% of unmarried partners have children under 18.

Is Marriage declining?

70% of Americans are still married to their first spouse. The average duration of marriages that end in divorce is almost 8 years with approximately 6 years for the length of time between marriage and separation ending in divorce. Approximately 44 - 52% of married women under age 45 will divorce.

Definition of marriage changed drastically from 1600 to 2006.

In 1600s, Europeans who lived in America married for some reasons: future economic stability, and prosperity under serious family consideration to select potential spouse.

In 2006, the primary purpose of marriage was to provide emotional and psychological support between two persons.

In 2006, new statistics reflect 50.3% of Americans are unmarried.

64% of women who have separated from their spouses and 57% of women who have divorced live with children under the age of 18 while 12% of men who are separated an divorced, live with children under the age of 18.

The average duration for 50% of the women later remarried after divorcing from their first marriages is about three years.

5% of married couples have been married for 50 years or more in 1996.

The average age at widowhood for American African women is 50 years and 60 years for White women.

Almost half 46% of women are not married.

"Shotgun" cohabitation: The number of U.S. couples living together without a license shot up 1100 percent between 1960 and 2002, and more than half of first marriages begin with "trial marriages," according to the Rutgers National Marriage Project.

" Demographic Subplots", an article by Harvard Magazine

Is the unmarried single women underrepresented?

Who are single unmarried women? In 1965, 15% of unmarried women was compared to 24% now, almost half of 46% of unmarried women. Other half of 46% are 25% divorced, 23% widowed and 5% separated women.

Unmarried women are more diverse than married women. For married women, 80% of white, 7% of African American and 7% of Hispanic. For unmarried women, 68% of white, 18% African American and 9% of Hispanic.

Sterotypes of "never married" women are old maids, living with relatives as dependents, poor, and hired as companion, nanny or tutor.

The unmarried single women have greater challenges: economics and social. They participate less in the politics, and do not register to vote. Reasons why they don't participate in civic events are that they have fewer resources; lack of basic knowledge of the political process and unable to join in social networks; unions and churches.

Half of unmarried women earn less than $30,000 and are less likely to have economic support networks such as helping them out in times of need.

Unmarried women tend to be less connected to the communities because they are highly mobile, and have lived less than 5 years at their current address.

Single women in 20s and 30s have a dilemma: combining childbearing and independence. In 21st century, they find themselves when achieving their dream in career of being independent as professional and advancement opportunities that expand. At the same time, their responsibilities and demands have increased. The result is delayed childbearing, and lower birth and fertility rates overall.

"Along with the growing numbers of cohabitants and elderly unmarrieds, these wildly divergent types are the force behind a huge demographic shift taking place in this country: We're on the verge of becoming -- at least in the legal sense -- a nation of singletons."

"Unmarried America: Say good-bye to the traditional family....."
Article - BusinessWeek Online

Penalties For Singles

Fewer job benefits

Companies offer tax-free benefits for spouses and children.

Higher employment, lower pay

Unemployment rate for unmarried singles with children under 18 is 9.1%, compared to 3.8% married couples with children.

Higher taxes

Unmarried partners cannot file joint-returns.

Lower Social Security and unemployment benefits

Everyone pays taxes but surviving spouses can collect half of their decreased married workers” benefits. Unmarried partners cannot. Also, married couples can collect unemployment if they quit to move with relocated spouses.

No estate-tax breaks

Married couples can leave spouse everything, tax-free, while singles’ estates worth more than $650,000 are taxed at 25% to 60%.

Marital Status redlining

Insurance companies put married couples at low risk and unmarried partners at higher risk.

Transfer taxes

Transfer of property to spouse is non-taxable while transfer of property to unmarried partners are taxable.

Family discounts

Country clubs, health clubs and auto clubs offer free membership or discount to spouses. Unmarried partners have to pay two.

No Victims’ Rights Protection

For example, drunk driver killed married person. The surviving spouse can sue for wrongful death. Unmarried surviving partners cannot.

Credit and Housing Discrimination

Almost all states do not ban martial status discrimination in rental housing and allow landlords or property owners to refuse renting unmarried partners. Unmarried joint applicants have been offered on less favorable terms than married partners have.

Lack of Citizenship Rights For Same-Sex partners

About 15 countries recognize same-sex couples for immigration. US citizens in relationships with foreigners cannot sponsor their partners.

In Corporate America, approximately 40% of 500 large companies revised their marriage-centric policies such as health benefits and pensions. Unfortunately there are outdated definitions in the local, state and federal level.

Look at European countries as they are ahead of USA. They offer services and programs available to their populations with stronger social safety nets in the form of long, subsidized maternity leave policies; good part-time jobs for mothers; and tight-knit extended families, who help care for children born to single parents.