ICYMI: Recording Available for Panel on Race & Gender Equity Data
Louisville Metro Government sent this bulletin at 11/22/2022 10:51 AM EST
The Office for Women
The Office for Women, located under the Office of Equity, is committed to advancing the status of women through education, advocacy and legislation. We focus on seven areas: gender based violence, human trafficking, social and economic well being, housing, education, civic engagement and autonomy.
Raising the Status of Women: Race and Gender Equity
Panelists present and respond to gender equity data on 11/16
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On November 16, the Office for Women and the Office of Equity co-hosted an event featuring a presentation of gender equity data on homeownership, income and education by the Greater Louisville Project, followed by a discussion by local and national experts.
Thanksto our moderator, Joi McAtee, Director of Equity with Louisville Metro Government and our panelists, Dr.Kish Cumi Price of the Louisville Urban League, Lopa Mehrotra & Harrison Kirby of the Greater Louisville Project, Gretchen Hunt of the Office for Women, Sarah Jane Glynn of the Women’s Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, and Clare Wallace of South Louisville Community Ministries.
This was the first of a quarterly series of events focusing on the economic status of women. The full recording of the event is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXy9qN9mPyc .
The Greater Louisville Project created a gender equity dashboard to highlight key data points by gender and race.
Notable findings include:
Louisville lags behind the majority of our peer citiesin terms of single owner female homeownership.
The median income for women in Louisville is $30,000, as compared to the median income of men of $45,000.
On average, women in single-income households make significantly less money than men from single-income households. As a result, almost half of Louisville women in single-income households are cost-burdened, putting them at increased risk of eviction or foreclosure.
Around 39% of women in single-income households earn a living wage that covers their basic expenses. Only around 1 in 4 single-income women with one child, 1 in 20 single-income women with two children, and 1 in 50 single-income women with three children earn a living wage
Homeownership for single-income women is much lower for women of color.
Housing Fair on 12/10
Data at the November 16 event showed that Black women who are head of households with children are much less likely to own homes as compared to white women who are heads of households with children.
As panelist and CEO of the Louisville Urban League, Dr. Kish-Cumi Price said during the panel: "If we are not talking about the intersection of race and gender equity, we are not talking about the issue."
To combat this inequality in housing, we want to highlight an event by our partners in the Office of Equity to increase homeownership by communities that have been subject to historic discrimination and redlining.
On Saturday, December 10th, the Office of Equity will host a Housing Fair, focused on helping West Louisville residents understand and participate in the home-buying process. Homeownership is a key tenet to building wealth. Unfortunately, barriers to wealth creation spurred by discriminatory policies like Redlining have narrowed that opportunity for so many.
The West End Housing Event will join community partners, Real Estate Agents, the Legal Aid Society and Loan Officers. This will include a presentation on the history of Redlining and current-day implications; breakout sessions on budget counseling and credit repair, homeownership do’s and don’ts, and estate planning.
Families or individuals who complete the Homeownership Counseling Program offered through the Louisville Urban League will be entered into a drawing to win brand new home appliances courtesy of G.E. Appliances, a Haier Company.
