By Sara K. Gould
 
Below are excerpts from a Sept. 18 statement of Sara K. Gould, president and CEO of the Ms. Foundation for Women, on the economic crisis' disproportionate impact on women and families.

Even at the beginning of the economic downturn, more women than men, and more African Americans and Latinos than whites, were caught in the sub-prime mortgage trap. Now that the crisis has escalated, we must expect that the negative repercussions for women -- especially women of color -- will escalate as well.

Women in the United States are playing with the economic deck stacked against them. Taking into account long-standing pay inequities, insidious barriers to employment, record levels of inflation and ever-increasing child-care expenses, women and their families are struggling to keep up and get by. For women who confront the additional barriers of race and class, the obstacles are much greater and the economic straits even worse. Women are too well-acquainted with poverty and economic insecurity.

The current instability roiling Wall Street's markets will lead to an increasingly dire economic situation for women. This is especially true for low-income women, women of color, single mothers and others who have long experienced the disproportionate impact of flawed economic policies.

Women faced challenges to their economic security long before the recent turmoil in the stock markets.

* The gender-wage ratio has not improved since 2001. Women are still paid only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. The disparity is even greater for women of color: African-American women make 62 cents and Latinas make only 53 cents for every dollar of male earnings.

* Women compose the majority of low-wage workers: Women accounted for 68.2 percent of minimum-wage and below-minimum-wage workers in 2007.

* Most poor Americans are women and children, with women composing 39 percent, children, 35 percent; and men, 26 percent.

* Accounting for 37 percent of families in poverty, the poverty rate for single female-headed households is higher than any other demographic group.

* The current economic downturn will impact low-income women and their families the hardest, and drive even more into poverty.

* The sub-prime mortgage crisis is taking a higher toll on women -- especially women of color. 32 percent of women hold sub-prime mortgages vs. 24 percent of men; and African American and Latino homeowners were 30 percent more likely to have received sub-prime loans.

* Poverty rates increase during economic downturns. With the increasing costs of even basic necessities of food, transportation and energy, the number of poor families is growing.

* Once a family has fallen into it, poverty is difficult to escape. An estimated 60 percent of families that are in the bottom fifth of income remain there a decade later.

Across the United States, women are too well-acquainted with poverty and economic insecurity. Because they know these challenges personally, however, they are often best positioned to develop the most effective strategies to address them.

[Source: Miami Herald opinion page. Full statement.]