The Women's Electronic
Communications and Action Network
Legislative Priorities
Colorado Women's Legislative Scorecard
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 Additional Resources
- Nearly 1 million working women are in Colorado's labor
force -- in full or part-time jobs, as the state celebrates Labor Day, 1998, according to
estimates by the Center for Policy Alternatives and the Institute for Women's Policy
Research. The 957,000 Colorado women in the workforce account for 67% of all women over
the age of 16, placing Colorado well above the national average of 59% of women at work.
In fact, Colorado ranks 4th among all states for women's workforce participation.
- Women in Colorado are now 46% of the labor force, and are
a powerful force in the economy. Nearly one-third (32%) of Colorado's working women hold
executive, managerial or professional jobs. But more than half (54%) are in generally
lower-paying service, administrative/clerical support and sales jobs.
- In Colorado and across the country, women are contributing
more to their families economic security than ever before. More than half of American
women are the major breadwinners for their families; at the same time, they provide the
vast majority of caregiving for children and the elderly and do most of the household
chores.
- While Colorado women are moving up and competing
successfully in all occupations and as business owners, in most cases their rewards don't
match their contributions. Colorado women share the concerns of women across the country:
retirement security, pay equity and adequate health insurance emerge as top issues for
Colorado women of every age.
- Women still earn less than men -- about 74 cents on the dollar -- and are less likely
than men to have health or retirement benefits.
- Only one-quarter of women over 65 receive a pension, and women's average pension is less
than half that of men's. Without Social Security, more than half of women over 65 would
live in poverty.
- One in nine Colorado women is without health insurance.
- Colorado women say the biggest problems facing them at
work are combining work and family and equal pay.
- Education is key to women's economic security. In
Colorado, a woman with a college education can expect to earn 2-1/2 times more than a
woman who hasn't competed high school.
- Colorado women are among the nation's leaders in their
entrepreneurial spirit. Nearly half of Colorado women (49%) say they would like to own
their own business, including the 12% who already do. The National Foundation for Women
Business Owners has projected that in 1996, the more than half (54%) of the state's
businesses are women-owned, up from 38% in 1992.
INSTITUTIONAL RESOURCES
AFL - CIO Working
Women Department
Women-Friendly
Workplace Campaign - NOW (National Organization for Women)
U.S. Dept. of Labor
Women's Bureau
Work &
Families - National Partnership for Women & Families
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