Mothers in Northern New Hampshire age 25 to 44 are the least likely to have completed high school. Underemployment, rather than unemployment, is a greater cause of concern for women than it is for men in New Hampshire. Women s earnings begin to decline after the 30 to 34 age group. Men s earnings, however, peak and then begin to decline after the 45 to 54 age group. This lifetime earnings gaps diminishes women s prospects for financial security in retirement, especially significant as women live an average of four years longer than men.
Teenage mothers are more likely to smoke than their older counterparts.
Less than half of the female students who had had intercourse in the preceding three months had used a condom with their partners. In focus groups across the state, women identified isolation, self esteem, the tension inherent in balancing work and family life, parenting, and the negative perceptions of women s roles as being significant issues facing women in New Hampshire. The Women s Fund of New Hampshire is committed to undertaking future studies that assist in filling in the gaps and completing our understanding of the status of women in the Granite State.