Introduction by V. Nona Ogunsula
On March 1st, the White
House Council of Women and Girls, led by Valerie Jarrett-- Council Chair, Assistant
to the President & Senior Advisor, and Christina Tchen--Executive Director,
Assistant to the President & Chief of Staff to the First Lady, released a
report entitled, "Women In America, Indicators of Social and Economic
Well-Being". In 2009, President Obama
established The White House Council on Women and Girls 'to enhance, support and
coordinate the efforts of existing [federal] programs for women and girls'. The report gives a statistical picture of
women in America in five critical areas:
- Demographic and family changes
- Education
- Employment
- Health
- Crime and violence
To review the actual report, please visit:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/Women_in_America.pdf
Today, we will begin a series of
blogs written by Kelly Green of Insider
Branding Secrets of Atlanta, Georgia, who describes her dilemma as a single,
successful, mature woman who is not married and has no children. However, doesn't everybody want the "American Dream" of a spouse, dog, and 2.5 children? And oh yes, don't forget the house with the white picket fence!
After talking with some of her friends, Kelly found out that she is not alone. The Women
In America report also bears this out. Women
and men with more education are getting married about five years later than
they did in the idyllic times of Ozzie and Harriet of the 1950's. Now regarding the issue of children, the dilemma is more poignant. In 2008 about 18
percent of women age 40--44 (the latter part of peak childbearing years) have never
had a child, almost double that in 1976.[i] Kelly along with several other women share
with us the real impact of these statistics on their lives.
[i] WOMEN
IN AMERICA, Indicators of Social and Economic, Well-Being, U. S. Department of
Commerce
Economics and Statistics Administration and Executive
Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, March 2011
