Status of Women

Ohio enjoys a high rate of health care coverage, at 95%. Yet maternal health challenges continue to impact the health of women and their families. Women are more likely to be caregivers, and Ohio mothers work at rates higher than the national average. Even when working, Ohio women with children are more likely to live in poverty. Having children increases the likelihood of living in poverty by four-fold. Data released in 2023.

Download Fact Sheets
Filters
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Source Document

View the official sources and how they were applied in the fact sheets. Four pages, pdf download.

Datafile

160 data points from 13 official sources, with a mix of information from before and during the pandemic.

Methodology

Ohio enjoys a high rate of health care coverage, at 95%. Yet maternal health challenges continue to impact the health of women and their families. Ohio women are educated, engaged…and stretched. Women are more likely to be caregivers, and mothers work at rates higher than the national average. Even when working, Ohio women with children are more likely to live in poverty. Having children increases the likelihood of living in poverty by four-fold.  

We have compiled 88 county fact sheets examining the health, social, and economic lives of Ohio women in 2023. Each 4-page document includes more than 160 data points from 13 official sources, with a mix of information from before and during the pandemic. 

Ohio women lead in so many areas. Why do they continue to find themselves behind? 

  • Women and girls comprise half of Ohio’s population and hold most of the college degrees, yet they are more likely to be in poverty than their male counterparts. 
  • Women make up more than half the electorate but are not equally represented in elected office. 
  • Women tend to live longer, and in Ohio, remain in their homes and communities at older ages than men. Older women are close to twice as likely to live alone as their male counterparts, and women are much more likely to be caregivers of another adult. 
  • Many more female high school students are reporting problems with anxiety, depression, and thoughts of suicide, yet our public mental health service is treating more boys than girls. 

These fact sheets were compiled by Angela Maher and Suzanna Thiese. Design by Madison Van Epps.

This study includes data provided by the Ohio Department of Health, which should not be considered an endorsement of this study or its conclusions.

Explore Topics

Browse articles, research reports, and testimony.

Poverty & Safety Net
Research

Status of Ohio's women by county

Community Solutions Team
October 15, 2019
Maternal & Infant Health
Article

The status of Ohio’s women: Birth spacing

Community Solutions Team
July 6, 2020
Poverty & Safety Net
Article

What is the status of Ohio women in 2023?

Emily Campbell
December 11, 2023
Poverty & Safety Net
Article

Status of Women: Ohio women are educated, engaged, and stretched

Suzanna Thiese
December 11, 2023
Maternal & Infant Health
Article

The Status of Ohio’s Women: Maternal Mortality

Community Solutions Team
November 23, 2020
Poverty & Safety Net
Article

The status of Ohio’s women: Access to safety-net family planning service

Community Solutions Team
January 6, 2020
Behavioral Health
Research

Status of Girls

Suzanna Thiese
May 31, 2024

Subscribe to our newsletter

5 Things you need to know arrives on Mondays with the latest articles, events, and advocacy developments in Ohio

Explore more fact sheets

Fact Sheets

Cleveland Wards

City of Cleveland Ward fact sheets highlight pre-pandemic demographic, health, and social indicators in the City of Cleveland. The fact sheets include basic demographic information about each neighborhood and pre-pandemic data on employment and income, poverty, education, housing and health. Data released 2021 and 2022.

Fact Sheets

Cleveland Neighborhoods

City of Cleveland Neighborhoods fact sheets and data profiles highlight demographic, health, and social indicators in the City of Cleveland. The fact sheets summarize and the data profiles provide extensive information about each neighborhood on employment and income, poverty, education, housing and health. Data released in 2016, 2021, and 2024.

Fact Sheets

Ohio Legislative Districts

By matching Census block groups with the boundaries of Ohio’s new legislative districts, then to data points from the U.S. Census Bureau, we created fact sheets for each of the 132 legislative districts. Fact sheets include demographic information about each district, as well as district-level data on employment and income, poverty, education, housing, and health. Data released in 2023.