A new report finds that even as women in Illinois outpace men when it comes to completing high school, they still lag on several major economic indicators. Women in the state have lower wages and less wealth than men. Women are also more likely to live in poverty.
The analysis, from the anti-poverty organization Heartland Alliance, focuses on the intersection of gender and poverty. While many of its findings may no longer be surprising, the report offers a tantalizing possibility to policymakers who wish to tackle poverty in Illinois: that improving pay, working conditions, and supportive measures for women could dramatically improve the lot of more than one million children.
