Women are heavily reliant on Social Security benefits because of wage and employment discrimination and different patterns of labor force participation. Despite changes in women's workforce participation, these patterns have persisted. Most women do not receive private pensions. Only 38 percent of women receive employer-provided pension benefits compared to 57 percent of men. This is especially problematic for women of color, who are less likely to have employer-provided pension plans than either white men, white women, or nonwhite men.
Women are more likely to spend time out of the paid labor force.
Many of these women are mothers of young children. Women earn less than men. The average woman college graduate earns little more than the average male high school graduate. Women earn 74 cents for every dollar men earn. Women are less likely to work full-time.