Benchmarks

Benchmark II: A Study of Louisville Women and Girls 2012

In 2000, Women 4 Women commissioned a study on the status of women and girls in Louisville. This Benchmark 2000 research served as our guide on where we needed to focus our energies to improve the lives of women and girls in the Metro Louisville area. The two key areas of focus for Women 4 Women that came from this study were financial literacy andteen fitness with the creation of two signature programs, Finance 4 Her and Fit 4 Me.

In 2012, Women 4 Women commissioned a follow-up study on the state of women and girls in Louisville. The statistics remain staggering on the number of single mothers, percentage of women and children below the poverty line, obesity rates, academic achievement and the earning and leadership gap between men and women. The research and statistics from this study revealed root causes of inequalities and challenges women face spurring Women 4 Women’s Economic Self-Sufficiency Model focusing on not two, but four key areas: Health & Safety, Education & Leadership, Jobs & Earnings and Social Change & the Single-Parent Economy.