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October 04, 2011 at 09:42 AM
The Great Recession may be over and a recovery under way, but many Americans, and women and single mothers in particular, are hurting, according to research from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research released Monday.
The report of findings from an IWPR/Rockefeller Survey of Economic Security showed that Americans are resorting to negative measures to make ends meet: not taking themselves or their children to a doctor, not filling medical prescriptions, sharing housing with others, withdrawing money from retirement accounts, resorting to food stamps or, in many instances, simply going hungry.
In the year before the survey, some 16 million Americans (9% of women and 6% of men) went hungry because they could not afford to buy food, and 19.5 million received food stamps. Only one-third of those who went hungry reported using food stamps.
In the recovery, women are having a tougher time than men, though both reported severe financial difficulties. Eighty-four percent of women and 71% of men had trouble paying bills on time, and 75% of women and 49% of men had problems paying rent or making mortgage payments.
