A new report highlights disparities experienced by more than half of Central Indiana’s population — women.
They make, on average, 70 cents for every dollar earned by men. They live in a state that has the third highest maternal mortality rate in the nation, with Black mothers facing the highest risk. They shoulder more than 60% of evictions as single mothers spend more than half of their income on rent.
These are just some of the findings from the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana, a nonprofit that hopes to spark change in these areas. The data and stories come from women who live in Marion, Hamilton, Boone, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson and Morgan counties.
“If Central Indiana doesn’t work for women, it doesn’t work, period,” Women’s Fund President Tamara Winfrey-Harris said. “This report gives us tools to change that.”
The group wants nonprofits and lawmakers to use the results as a roadmap for new programs and policies — and to listen to the voices of constituents who often go unheard.
“We’re moving backwards with reproductive justice and health care,” said one woman, quoted anonymously in the report. “I don’t think systematically we are advancing women in the state.”
Challenges remain, but there are some positive findings: Unlike the men, the women elected to the state legislature reflect the racial diversity of the general population, and more women are earning college degrees than ever before.
To learn more, read the full report online.
Mirror Indy reporter Mary Claire Molloy covers health. Reach her at 317-721-7648 or email maryclaire.molloy@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @mcmolloy7.
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