Troubling Statistics about Oklahoma Women

OTHER STATES:

For information about the status of women in your home state, google your state's name+commission on the status of women. The results should lead you to reports, etc.

As Long As the Waters Flow, by Allan Houser

Oklahoma State Capitol

A few days ago, I promised to publish on Thanksgiving Day the first of four posts about a specific issue facing women in Oklahoma. Here is that post. It is a compilation of some of the more troubling statistics regarding women in our state.

After reading these, I hope you will consider joining the Oklahoma Women's Coalition, a non-partisan group that has newly formed to help promote legislation that will help improve the lives of girls and women in Oklahoma. Your membership and support can make a difference.

Oklahoma is 49th in the nation in female representation in the State Legislature.

Oklahoma has the highest female incarceration rate in not only the nation, but WORLD.

Two-thirds of the women in Oklahoma prisons are single mothers.

Oklahoma is among the leading states for reported incidents of child abuse rates.

Oklahoma women earn only 75 cents for every dollar men earn.

Oklahoma has the 8th highest rate of teen pregnancy in the nation.

Single women head nearly half of all poor families in Oklahoma.

Nearly 20 percent of Oklahoma girls never graduate high school.

Fewer than 15 percent of Oklahoma girls complete four or more years of college.

In Oklahoma, a husband cannot be prosecuted for raping his wife, because in Oklahoma it’s not against the law.

One in six women in Oklahoma are victims of domestic violence.

The most timely and comprehensive resource for information regarding issues impacting women in Oklahoma, is Dr. Jean Warner's blog, Oklahoma Women. Bookmark it, fave it, blog roll it and visit it often. I learn something new every time I do. After awhile, you'll wonder what you did before you discovered it; probably lived in the dark or under a rock or something. I sure did.