Single parent
In the United States, 83% of single parents are mothers. Among this percentage of single mothers: 45% of single mothers are currently divorced or separated, 1.7% are widowed, 34% of single mothers never have been married. Although decades ago, having a child outside of marriage and/or being a single mother was not prominent. Census information from 1960 tells us that in that year, only nine percent of children lived in single parent families. Today four out of every ten children are born to an unwed mother.
Homeless women in the United States
Homeless families make up one third of the homeless population in America, with single-mother families being the highest sub category. Among homeless women, there is an overrepresentation of adults with sole responsibility of care of dependent children and inadequate financial resources. Women, especially single-parent family mothers, are more likely to live in poverty when they have children and have to balance earning money while raising and caring for their children. Children with a single mother are five times more likely to be in poverty than children with two parents and about three-fourths of children with a single mother are homeless. Single mothers are more likely to work part-time and to miss work in order to care for their children. Many homeless and low income women work in service industries, which offer few benefits and low wages, thus contributing greatly to their poverty. Job-based discrimination targets all women, but is present on a larger scale among minority women. On average, a larger percentage of minority women struggle to obtain and maintain jobs. The "last-hired, first-fired complex" refers to the higher level of unemployment among minorities. Thus, while all women are faced with some degree of inequity in terms of job offerings (largely as a result of being expected to care for the children), the struggles of minority women are greater. Paid employment for women also offers its own challenges because most low wage jobs don't offer affordable insurance options or child care. This leaves single mothers with the choice of accepting welfare in order to care for their children, or going to work at the risk of leaving their children on the streets.