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Feature Article

This article is my final article for my Journalism class. I interviewed five women and used four of the interviews for the article. This article addresses something that is near and dear to my heart and quite frankly, is very personal. I left myself out of this article and just made it about the Displaced homemakers I interviewed.
This article is 1513 words long....

Many American women are living in poverty. They are the working poor, living from paycheck to paycheck. They are working, pursuing an education, and raising families.

When Jeanne, mother of one, found herself facing an unexpected divorce, she worried she was never going to find a job that would allow her to support her and her son. She felt she was one of the fortunate few, she not only qualified for many programs, but she had her own resources to fall back on. She had both the Veteran’s Administration and G.I. Bill to help her through school. This was one of the biggest reasons she decided to finish school. Taking classes had its own challenges, she couldn’t take classes at night due to child-care issues and she had to work two, sometimes three, jobs in order to support herself and her son. This left little time for parenting.

“There were many days when I thought about quitting my job and going on welfare long enough to finish school, but what I found out was that I would have had to lose my house in the meantime - not to mention any credit rating,” she said “so I persevered sometimes working two or three jobs in order to keep food on the table, clothes on his back and a roof over his head.” Approximately, more than a third of displaced homemakers have children living at home. Like Jeanne, many mothers find that they have either missed their children’s childhoods or that their children have had to grow up too fast.

What is the definition of a displaced homemaker? They are defined by “Women Work! The National Network for Women’s Employment” as: “Displaced homemakers are women whose sole or primary job has been homemaking but who have lost their main source of income through divorce, separation, or widowhood. Displaced homemakers have not been employed, or have worked only part time or part year. “

According to “Women Work! The National Network for Women’s Employment”, the increase of 39 percent in displaced homemakers and single mothers, has happened over the past 10 years. They are considered the working poor, with 48 percent employed and with only 58 percent of those that are employed are above poverty level. Approximately 58 percent of homemakers and nearly two thirds of single mothers do not have an education beyond a high school diploma or a GED. The average annual income of a woman with a high school diploma is $21,141. A woman with an associate’s degree earns on average $23,905, while a woman with a bachelor’s degree earns around $37,909.

Kathleen, mother of three, says, “As a child I was raised to marry and raise a family. I married a man who showed promise as a husband and a father. As children came into the picture he seemed unable to manage the added duties. He was unable to adapt to his new roles and we separated. I was left with the tasks of parenthood, bread winner, and homemaker.” Not all women have a family to help them when their marriages fail. Many women have to find a place to live on whatever incomes they are able to bring in. “My family frowned on my position, thus support was nil. I had only a high school diploma and no training in any field. Our resources were becoming depleted. I started talking to people, I signed up for food stamps and asked every community help agency I could find. All were willing to hand out food, clothes and medical help but, none would help me get out of poverty. I was encouraged to take minimum-wage jobs that would never pay the rent.”

In 2003, over 50 percent of all displaced homemakers made less than $10,000 and only 6 percent made $50,000 or more. Colorado had 105,788 displaced homemakers in 2003 with 7,318,640 nationally, and 163,478 single mothers in Colorado and 13,626, 459 nationally, according to the U.S. Bureau of Census.

Many women are going back to school. They take out loans because grants and scholarships aren’t available or don’t provide enough money for their education. Even with an education, women are finding that there aren’t many good paying jobs so they go back to school in order to get a better education.

One of the problems facing women attempting to get a better education is funding. The higher the education, the less funding there is. “I obtained two associates and discovered there was no good paying work so I transferred to a four year college hearing that there would be work in a field I was interested in. Three years later I am hearing the same message as before, no work, so I am considering a master’s, again with the promise of work at graduating. I continue to rack up a huge loan for repayment. I do not know how that will pan out in the future. The desire to be out of debt is a tremendous motivation to find good paying work,” Kathleen advises.

After retiring from the military, Jennifer’s husband deserted her and their children. “I had two children still in high school and one who had just left for college when he did this. Needless to say, I was very upset. I had not worked outside my home for more than 20 years. I had been a typist for almost 12 years. I had no luck in obtaining an office job in Colorado Springs. No one wanted to hire a typist. They only wanted someone with computer skills. I knew nothing about using a computer.” Jennifer had been out of the workplace for so long that the skills she had had were no longer relevant to the workplace she had to re-enter. This meant Jennifer had to work at fast food restaurants or learn new skills.

One of the problems Jennifer faced was that she had to survive and had to provide for her family. As the sole provider, she had to find a way to provide shelter, pay bills, buy food and provide transportation. “The next day after my husband abandoned my family, I got two fast food jobs. I opened at one and closed at the other. These jobs were on opposite sides of town. I had no car so, I had to use public transportation.” Jennifer went on to work at other low-paying, dead-end jobs until life-threatening surgery and her children’s persuasion encouraged her to go back to school.

Unlike Jeanne, Kathleen and Jennifer, Jacqueline wasn’t divorced or separated. Jacqueline was a widow at a young age. While divorce is the primary reason behind women becoming displaced homemakers, another reason is the death of the primary supporter. “I was 30 years old when my husband was killed in an accident at work at the age of 29. We had a 6 year old daughter that was in kindergarten and I was working as a special needs school bus driver at Fountain Fort Carson School District 8. In one day my world fell apart. Suddenly, I was part of a small section of society – being a widow/widower at a young age. No one knows how to comfort you because most people are old when this happens to them- Not this age- At this age – you really become both mom and dad especially when your children are little. You don’t have the luxury of hibernating because you have to make sure your children go to school, do their homework and all of the things that go with their little worlds.”

Jacqueline is now the Television Manager, for Distance Education, at Pikes Peak Community College. She holds three associate’s degrees, one bachelor’s degree and has started on her master’s. 17 years after the death of her husband she is still attempting to continue her education, work, be a mother and is now a grandmother. Her daughter in turn has to take on the weight of being a single parent, but has the help of her mother and the wealth of her mother’s experience. Jennifer has her Associate’s degree and is now going after her bachelor’s degree while working part time. Kathleen works, has two associates, is finishing up her bachelor’s and currently is applying to continue on for her master’s degree. Jeanne works a fulltime job and has a home business. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in December, got re-married in March and has the house that she worked so hard to keep, up for sale.

These women are all strong, intelligent women. They work and have pursued an education, all while raising families. While there are programs to assist women, women are still under-paid, under-represented. Many women fear that they will never be able to successfully take care of themselves and their families. Agencies that are meant to help women don’t encourage education and penalize women for going to school by either refusing them assistance or offering less assistance. Jeanne, Kathleen, Jennifer and Jacqueline’s stories aren’t unusual, they are a growing segment of society, and they are called displaced homemakers, single parents, widows and the working poor.