Rural America is more than agriculture. People in rural areas live in a variety of situations. Aside from farming, other residents in small towns aren't directly involved in agriculture. Comprising our rural population are 14,000 small towns with one- fourth of the nation's people. This means many women have taken off-farm jobs to make up for loss of income or help repay loans.
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.