Alicia Mitchell of Dallas noticed a difference after enrolling her 8-year-old in an after-school program.
A mother of two said her frequent phone calls from the school had stopped. She is now a proponent of programs like the one that sends her own children to ensure that her day care is free and accessible.
“When I leave them, I feel like they are in safe hands,” Mitchell said.
It’s a story like Mitchell’s that the Texas Women’s Foundation, supported through a grant, highlights research into the economic well-being of Texas’ 14.6 million women and girls. Nearly six of her 10 women in the state are of color.
The Foundation focuses its research on the four pillars of women’s financial security: childcare, health care and insurance, housing and education. In the last three years, nearly 60% of Texas women were in a household with financial difficulties, according to a survey.
Studies have shown that Texas women with a median income of $41,687 spend up to 21% of their earnings year-round on full-time childcare. Most women working in Texas rely on free or affordable childcare, with 70% having children under the age of 16 at home.
Dena Jackson, the foundation’s chief strategy officer, led a discussion about the study Thursday at the T. Boone Pickens Institute for Health Sciences at Texas Women’s University in Dallas. It is something that women are often expected to do without being paid in societies where they are not paid.”
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Between July and October 2021, when survey data were collected, approximately 3% of Texas women with children under the age of 5 died due to pandemic-related daycare closures or subsequent staffing issues. 1 of were affected.
Women’s financial security can also lead to access to health insurance. More than 2.5 million women were uninsured before the pandemic, according to the report. There are also over 406,000 uninsured women in Texas who are below the poverty line but are not eligible for Medicaid.
The Foundation also monitors the economic impact of the Roe v. Wade overthrow. Fewer than half of Texas women of childbearing age receive contraception or family planning services, according to the report.
The foundation hopes to raise $1.25 million by next June to create a Reproductive Freedom Fund and address needs in underserved communities. The introduction of long-acting, reversible contraceptives is important to support .
“If a woman finds transportation, finds childcare, and drives two hours to get to where she needs care, she doesn’t get asked to come back in two weeks,” Jackson said.
The study also concluded that housing affordability disproportionately affects women of color. In Texas, 1 in 5 black women and 1 in 12 Latino women have been evicted at least once as an adult. One of her 15 white women in Texas was deported.
According to the report, between July and October 2021, A female tenant in Texas wasn’t confident she could pay the next month’s rent.
For women, education also comes at a price. Women in Texas have a 13% higher debt-to-income ratio than men, according to a foundation that supports loan forgiveness. Jackson said he believes the $20,000 forgiveness program is the start of President Biden’s $10,000.
“Education as a path to financial security is not guaranteed, but it is an area where policies can make a big difference,” Jackson said.
Miki Woodard, president and CEO of the Texas Women’s Foundation, said the group will share its findings with policymakers, community leaders and businesses across the state.
“We need voices and advocates to influence the numbers we hear and see in this report,” said Woodard.
The full report is available on the Texas Women’s Foundation website.
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