The Women's Fund

Portraits: Assessing the Needs and Assets of Women and Girls in the Greater Birmingham Area

This historic, benchmark study was released in 2000 and honored in 2001 as a Gold award winner for excellence in communications by the Council on Foundations. Serving as its foundation are the words of dozens of women who were interviewed over a period of one year, the personal experiences and insights of more than 150 focus group participants and documentation obtained from many sources. These sources include public records, census data and statistical research data made available by both government and nonprofit organizations throughout the state of Alabama and across the country.
The picture painted in this document is not always a pretty one. Women and girls make up almost 53% of the metropolitan Birmingham population, and in too many cases their lives are commonly more poverty-stricken, dangerous and precarious than men’s are. And because the quality of life of women is tied closely to the quality of life of other vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly, it becomes obvious that addressing the problems of women and girls will in the long run address other important issues in our society.
In funding this needs assessment and publishing this study, The Women’s Fund set the stage for future grantmaking, with the hope that the community would be able to see more clearly the life situations of many of the area’s women and girls, and will begin to develop community resources that support positive change. There is much to be proud of in this region and, undoubtedly, things have improved in many areas in the past several years. However, there is a great deal of work yet to be done and The Women’s Fund hopes to be a catalyst for meaningful change.

The Needs Assessment uses a life cycle approach that focuses first on girls and teens, then adult women and elderly women.

A Look at Girls and Teens
Women in Birmingham
Women of Wisdom
Conclusion

Growing Up in Birmingham: A Look at Girls and Teens

There are 64,714 girls ages 0-9 in Greater Birmingham (Jefferson, Shelby, Blount, St. Clair and Walker counties). Thirty-three percent of girls in the region are black, most of them living in Jefferson County.
In Jefferson County one out of every four girls lives below the poverty level. In Shelby County, which has the lowest child poverty rate in the state, a little more than one child in 10 lives below the poverty level. In the other three counties the child poverty rate is 20-24%. The child poverty rate is increasing in all five counties. While black children are disproportionately poor, the majority of poor children in Greater Birmingham are white.
Only half of black girls live with both parents. Overall, one of every three children lives with his/her mother only.
The majority of girls in the region have a mother who works outside the home. That is true even for pre-school-age children.
In 1997 almost one in four girls in Alabama reported that she had seriously considered attempting suicide. Almost one in five had made a suicide plan, and almost one in 10 had attempted suicide in the previous year.
The issue of self-esteem for women and girls was raised in every interview and every focus group. A girl’s image of what it means to be female is defined early, so making sure girls get a good start begins with parenting. The need for better parenting skills and more parental involvement in girls’ lives crosses every racial, socio-economic and educational line.
The number of children deemed “out of control” by the courts has dramatically increased, with 600 children receiving that designation in Jefferson County alone in 1998. Once families are in the court system, parenting education programs are available. However, there is no proactive, comprehensive approach to educate people about parenting before crises occur.
Girls are overwhelmed with stereotypical images of what it means to be female. The emphasis on physical appearance is deeply ingrained in our culture. Redefining what it means to be female is difficult. Good intentions lead many mothers to encourage girls’ obsession with weight, appearance and clothes. Effective parenting for girls must challenge limiting stereotypes and steer girls toward activities that make them strong, self-confident and independent.
On the positive side, some girls are getting what they need to develop confidence and a strong sense of themselves from such organizations as Girls, Inc. and the Girl Scouts. Religious youth groups, after-school and daycare programs, sports leagues and clubs also strive to support girls’ identity development. But the need is greater than what these programs can currently accommodate. And transportation, a major community need across the board, particularly affects girls’ access.

Teens and Sexuality

There are 63,172 girls age 10-19 in the five-county area. Two-thirds of them are white. Across the country 40% of teenage girls become pregnant once before age 20. National data indicates that girls are as likely as boys to have had sexual intercourse in high school. By 12th grade over 60% report having had sexual intercourse.

Portraits of teenage girls all have sexuality as their backdrop. Teenage girls are living in an overly sexualized environment, and the consequences are overwhelming. Teen pregnancy is the adolescent watershed issue. Girls who avoid pregnancy in their teens have a fair chance at reaching their life potential; girls who don’t have very limited options. Teen pregnancy is as much a product of poverty and limited future opportunities as anything else. Research shows that giving girls realistic educational and career opportunities is successful in reducing teen pregnancies.
Although it is declining, Alabama’s current teen birth rate is still higher than the national rate. In 1997 alone there were over 2,000 births to teenage mothers in the five-county area. Birmingham ranks second in the nation among large cities for the percentage of total births to teen mothers.
Teens infer their chances of future success and the range of possible options for the future from the social and economic contexts in which they live. Poverty limits access to relationships with professional people, understanding of the educational process and knowledge about what is necessary to succeed in a particular field. That is why high poverty rates and high teen pregnancy rates go hand in hand.

Teens and Education

Studies across the country show that teachers spend more time with boys in the classroom, call on them more often and tend to attribute their failings to a lack of effort that is within the boys’ control. This is not true with girls; their difficulties are most frequently attributed to lack of skill or capacity. An AAUW report makes it clear that unless we understand how girls are treated differently from boys in the classroom and make changes, we are not doing the best we can to educate half of the population.
Although girls start their education with achievement in math and science equal to boys, by the time they reach the fifth or sixth grade, girls tend to significantly underestimate their academic abilities compared to boys. This results in a marked lack of confidence in these areas for some girls, leaving them locked out of the chance to take advantage of some of the fastest growing career paths.
The good news is that there are opportunities for girls to participate in math and science activities and learning sponsored by such organizations as the Cahaba Girl Scout Council and Girls, Inc. in Birmingham. But again, demand exceeds supply.

Sports and Teens

When Title IX was passed in1971 only one in 27 girls participated in high school sports. Today one in three girls is involved in athletics, an improvement, but still far behind boys’ participation rates.
Fortune Magazine reports that 95% of the top 200 female executives participated in school athletics.
Girls who participate in sports are 40% less likely to drop out of high school ad 33% less likely to become teen mothers.
More girls are participating in sports, but they still tend to drop out as they reach adolescence. Keeping girls involved in athletics throughout adolescence makes a big difference in their lives, but it requires helping them redefine femininity to include athletic competence.

All girls need:
-- Access to role models
-- People who listen and value their opinions and feelings
-- Enrichment programs that expand their horizons
-- Opportunities to explore a wide range of career possibilities
-- Support to succeed academically in all areas
-- The chance to be physically fit and active

We can improve the lives of girls in Birmingham by:

-- Helping parents to be better parents
-- Raising awareness about girls’ particular needs
-- Expanding high quality programming to make it accessible to all girls—both geographically and economically
-- Developing new programs that attract and engage a broader group of girls (and their mothers) in activities that promote girls’ identity development

Women in Birmingham

There are 277,500 women between 20-64 in Greater Birmingham. Two-thirds of them are white. There is a small but growing Hispanic population. Almost 92,000 women in Greater Birmingham never graduated from high school. One-third of them has less than a ninth-grade education. Women without a high school education can expect to earn only $10,421 annually, compared to $17,826 for a man with comparable education.

In Jefferson County two-thirds of women with children under six work outside the home. In all four other counties the majority of women with children under six work outside the home. By the year 2005, 70% of women will work outside the home.
The Institute for Women’s Policy Research ranked Alabama last in a study of the economic status of women in the U.S. Women in Alabama earn only 63 cents on the dollar compared to men. Alabama has the smallest percentage of women employed in professional and managerial occupations of any state.

Women and Work

Although the majority of women now work outside the home (including mothers of preschool-age children), the workplace is still dominated by men. In a survey of 250 corporate board directors, women comprise a mere 3%.
The number of businesses owned by women in Alabama is growing faster than the national average. Alabama, in fact, is helping set the pace, with 114,000 women-owned businesses (up 37,000 since 1992), employing 327,000 people.
Several area women who now head their own businesses were interviewed for the report and they expressed the belief that businesses are often run differently by women. The natural networking, relationship building and flexibility that women exhibit in other areas of their lives benefit both companies and their employees.

Women's Unpaid Work

Families, churches and social service agencies have long depended on the unpaid careers of women. Now that most women have added a paying job to their list of responsibilities, families and communities are realizing just how much work women were doing all along. That trend is only going to continue, and the adjustment for families, organizations and communities is far from over.
For women, the responsibilities of their lives have only grown. They still do most of the housework, child rearing and eldercare. At the same time that their time and energy is stretched to the limit, they are trying to figure out how to manage family and work in a very different world.
Also suffering in this equation are the many nonprofit agencies, churches and schools that depend on volunteers, mainly women, to augment services. Women today just don’t have the time. And this raises the question of whether organizations can raise more money to hire employees who will provide these services, or decide that they must cut back on them.
The number of women in the workforce represents a dramatic shift, perhaps the biggest societal change in our lifetime. The implications for families, workplaces and communities are tremendous. Change has occurred so rapidly that communities haven’t had a chance to consider families’ needs in a world where most women work outside the home.
Accommodating the needs of families has become a big issue for companies. And some forward thinking companies are realizing that making the workplace more family friendly is simply good business.

Childcare, Transportation and Housing

These three issues are critical for working women and their families.
--- Childcare must be accessible, affordable and of high quality to meet the needs of children and families. But childcare is expensive, and although there is some help, the state’s direct support of childcare has been flat for years. It is difficult to achieve accessibility, affordability and good quality without sacrificing one or the other when today’s childcare workers (who are mostly women) are paid less than parking lot attendants, usually without benefits.
-- Transportation was cited most often as the critical barrier in Birmingham separating people from jobs and community resources. The lack of transportation makes it almost impossible for families to manage work and family life. Lower-income women may live several miles away from areas of job growth, and therefore find it impossible to get to where the jobs are.
-- Women represent 38% of the homeless population in Birmingham. Children account for 21%. Adequate housing in Birmingham is a huge problem. An amazing 30% of Jefferson County’s private rental units are substandard — that possible because Alabama is one of only a few states lacking landlord/tenant laws. The need for affordable housing continues to grow. Birmingham’s vibrant economy drives up rents, making it more difficult for lower-income and working poor people to access affordable housing.

Single Mothers

One-third of all births in Alabama are to unmarried women. Across the state one-third of those births are to teens. Almost 40% of births in the City of Birmingham are to unmarried mothers. Since 1955 Alabama’s divorce rate has been consistently higher than the national divorce rate.
·There are nearly 25,000 single mothers in Greater Birmingham, and the number of white single mothers is increasing more rapidly than other groups.
mothers do not get child support, although they desperately need it. Alabama is making a concerted effort to establish paternity at birth and participate in national electronic data systems to increase child support enforcement. However, almost half of all single mothers are poor, and strapped for time, money and support to make ends meet.
Regardless of income, life as a single mother is a balancing act, an attempt to match limited time, resources and personal energy with the demands of work, household and family care.

Women’s Well-Being

Women’s stress is at an all time high. Trying to balance multiple roles and a wider range of choices, women have made this transition with heavy cultural expectations and few role models for the path ahead. The emotional toll is apparent.
Stress and low self esteem plague many women, but many of them never seek help. Women tend to be natural caregivers for everyone but themselves. This lack of self-care and level of stress are intimately connected to women’s struggle with self esteem, which affects women of all socio-economic levels. However, middle and upper class women are more likely to have access to networks of support. Lower-income women have fewer resources to take better care of themselves, and poverty itself is a constant stress. Good nutrition, exercise and emotional well being are far down the list for a single mother struggling to keep food on the table.
There are, however, at least two local organizations (Oasis and Gateway) that provide counseling services on a sliding scale.

Women and Health

TheHIV/AIDS rate for black women in the Greater Birmingham area is six times that for white women.
Alabama’s infant mortality rate increased 7% last year, tying it for the highest rate of infant deaths in the nation.
White women had a higher mortality rate from heart disease than any other group in Birmingham in 1996.
Almost one of every five women age 20-64 does not have health insurance coverage.
Almost half of women age 55-74 are overweight and 60% of women in Alabama lead a sedentary lifestyle, participating in no regular exercise. The percentage of overweight women is on the increase.
There have been dramatic increases in preventive measures and research into breast cancer, but heart disease and hypertension are much more common among women.
The high incidence of women who are overweight and sedentary takes a serious toll on the health of women in Alabama, and the numbers are increasing throughout the South. Obesity is second only to smoking as the major factor related to illness and death.
On the positive side, women in Alabama do appear to be taking care of themselves in terms of such health behaviors as clinical breast exams, pap smears and mammography, although black women as a group lag behind. Women are living longer but not necessarily more healthy lives. They need education, support and opportunities to shift to more active and healthy lifestyles.

Women and Violence

In 1998 domestic violence was the leading cause of homicide in Birmingham. There were 6,900 domestic violence-related crimes in Jefferson, Blount and St. Clair counties in 1997, up 6% from 1996. Studies indicate that only 10% of victims are likely to report abuse.
There is an organization that helps: the YWCA provides domestic-violence victims with court advocacy, a crisis line, shelters and support groups for women and children.
Teenage girls between 12 and 16 are the most likely rape victims in Greater Birmingham. A 15-year-old girl is seven times more likely to be raped than is her 40-year-old mother. Usually the girl knows her attacker.

We can improve the lives of women by:

-- Increasing access to transportation, high-quality childcare and affordable housing
-- Making workplaces family friendly
-- Helping women take care of themselves through access to preventive healthcare, counseling and activities that promote fitness.
-- Improving women’s economic status through education, training and access to higher wages, jobs and increasing child support collections.

Women of Wisdom

There are almost 79,000 women over age 65 in the Greater Birmingham area. Alabama’s over 65 population will increase by 84% by the year 2025.

Elderly women in poverty outnumber their male counterparts two to one. Almost half of all black elderly women live below the poverty threshold. One of every five persons over 65 in Greater Birmingham is poor and women make up the vast majority.
Every month there are 100 reported cases of abuse, neglect or exploitation of the elderly in Jefferson County. Seventy percent of these cases involve women.
Women are the majority of the elder population, long outliving their spouses. Eight out of 10 elderly people living alone are women. By age 85 there are only 27 men per 100 women. By age 70 most women are alone and facing many transitions as their needs change. Housing, transportation, assistance with daily living and financial decisions face everyone as they age, and limited resources narrow options for many women.
The “retirement gap” between men and women’s retirement income is 50 cents on the dollar, increasing their vulnerability. Women are half as likely as men to have a pension, and when they do, it averages half the amount of men’s. In addition, older women are much more likely to have chronic health conditions and need assistance with daily living than are older men. Women over 65 spend 22% of their income on medical expenses on average.
Seventy-five percent of caregivers for elderly family members are women. These caregivers are often stretched to the limit, with ever-increasing needs to fulfill. As people live longer, caregivers may be over 65 themselves, caring for the group over 85. Assisted living facilities are meeting needs for those who can afford them but are financially out of reach for many. In Alabama Medicaid doesn’t cover assisted living as it does in some states.
Loneliness is a huge issue among the elderly. An older woman’s sense of self worth suffers more critically as she is left alone. Depression and chronic health problems often reinforce each other, and some elders don’t know how to ask for help or say how they feel. Several area agencies are providing valuable services to the elderly, including the Shepherd’s Center, Retired Senior Volunteer Program and Positive Maturity.
Three factors in the lives of elderly people can adversely affect their lives if they get out of balance: nutrition, socialization and medication. Medication is really the keystone; when it gets out of balance, elderly people don’t feel well, eat well or socialize, and depression ensues.
Transportation problems again rank high on the list of critical needs. Birmingham's lack of transportation is a constant obstacle that prevents elderly women from socializing, accessing healthcare easily and participating in the good programs that exist.

We can improve the lives of elderly women in Birmingham by supporting programs that:

-- Promote social activity
-- Increase extended contact with elderly living alone
-- Train people who deliver meals on wheels
-- Collaborate to create “one-stop” resource centers for the elderly
-- Support family caregivers
-- Create innovative solutions to help fill gaps in the continuum of care
-- Help women access professional advice as they face major decisions

Conclusion

This Needs Assessment document has identified three major shifts in terms of the impact on our community:
1. Most women, including mothers with children under six, are employed outside the home.
2. People, especially women, are living much longer. The elderly population will explode over the next 25 years.
3. There are many more single mothers raising children alone than ever before.
These three major changes occurred quickly, and they have had an impact on women’s lives at every level. Every available avenue must be used to improve the lives of women and their families, because, as we hope this report has demonstrated, the quality of life of women is tied closely to the quality of life of other vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly. Addressing the problems of women and girls will in the long run address other important issues in our society.