Many women are also the sole family provider. In characterizing rural America, often false assumptions are made. The myth of a close-knit community and extended family structures should first be dispelled. As a transient society, not everyone in a typical rural community knows each other. Neighborly visits, once prevalent in rural areas, are no longer characteristic.
Job growth is slower in rural America with unemployment and underemployment chronic problems.
Increasingly, there's a call for economic development in rural areas. But don't assume economic development and rural development are the same. Economic development is concerned with overall business activity and jobs. Profits may be shown without the community sharing the income. Company profits may indicate economic growth for the area, but the community at large may not benefit or improve in quality of life.5 Compounded with the reality that economic expansion tends to occur in urban areas, resources to help people in getting out of poverty are unavailable in most rural areas.