1. Economic Issues for Women in Texas also includes nine metro reports which will be released through 2014.
Today we can present the Fort Worth metro report, which encompasses Hood, Johnson, Parker, Somervell, Tarrant and Wise counties.
1.1 million women and girls live in the FW metro area.

2. Similar to Texas, in the FW metro area, 29% of households are female-headed, yet they represent 54% of households living in poverty.

3. The women of the FW metro area face a wage gap – at 78 cents for every dollar a man earns. In neighboring Dallas metro area, women earn 85 cents for every dollar a man makes.
74% of the jobs in the FW metro area pay less than $44,472 per year – which cannot sustain a single mom with one child.
And while education pays, women are leaving college with more debt than men; and only 24% of eighth graders completed a higher education credential 11 years later.
Women in FWalso face childcare obstacles, for a single mother, the year round cost of typical child care represents 24% of her income.

4. Health insurance is a financial shield that 20% of women & girls in FW lack. 19% of all uninsured females in the FW metro area are under the age of 18.

5. And 66% percent, or more than 40,000, single-mothers families in Dallas spend at least 30% of their income on housing costs. This squeezes their budgets, making it difficult to balance other basic needs like food, clothing, transportation and medical care. And while the cost of living in Texas is lower than elsewhere in the country, we are in the middle of another real estate boom and housing costs are rising.
The state report and the subsequent metro reports show us that women in Texas are facing the same barriers to being economically secure.

6. LEARN SHARE ACT INVEST in the RIPPLE EFFECT
What Can We Do?
The first thing we can do is learn the facts. Fortunately, Texas Women’s Foundation has made that just a little bit easier for all of us. The state-wide report, and the Dallas report, are available for download right now – at texaswomensfdn.org (WWW DOT TEXAS WOMEN’S F-D-N DOT ORG). The subsequent eight metro area reports will be posted there as they are released over the next few months.
Once we’ve educated ourselves, we need to share this information with our neighbors, friends and family. Once we’ve educated ourselves, we need to share this information with our neighbors, friends and family. On social media, you can share Dallas Women’s Foundation’s content by using the hashtag #securetxwomen.
We can also share the conversation beyond our homes and churches – and speak with leaders throughout the community about why it is important to improve economic security for women and girls.
And, finally, each of us can challenge ourselves to act. If you are in a position of leadership – whether that is in the nonprofit sector, government, foundations or business – think about what you can do to make a difference for women’s economic security. You can look at the policies and practices in your workplace, and help become more family friendly for working moms and dads. After all, it makes good business sense as family-friendly policies have been show to increase labor force participation, employee retention and productivity, all while reducing employee turnover.

7. LAST SLIDE TO SHOW DURING Q&A