Is the newest generation better off than their mothers? The women of the baby-boom generation saw significant progress in economic equality and health in comparison with their mothers. Studies show this trend has started to reverse slightly for young millennial women.
There is a higher incarceration rate for American women under 35, than there was in the previous generation. Today, more young women live in poverty, commit suicide or die from pregnancy-related causes. There is also a slight decrease in the likelihood of young women holding high-paying jobs.
Threats to women’s lives appear to be on the rise. The maternal mortality rate for Millennial women has more than doubled since the baby-boom generation. Sadly, the suicide rate for women has increased significantly since the previous generation. The current heroin epidemic has yielded a huge increase in drug overdoses in both men and women.
Fortunately, the news is not all bad: the teen birth rate dropped to an all time low this year. More and more young women ages 25 to 29 are graduating with at least a bachelor’s degree. This doesn’t remedy the equal pay for equal work struggle that has plagued the nation but hopefully we are closing the gap.
As a nation, we need to reverse this trend and continue the previous trend of each generation of young women exceeding the previous generation in every way.