It’s not surprising that women are behind the eight-ball. To some extent, women are doomed to more financial suffering than men: women live longer and earn less. The NWLC statistics, drawn from the census, show just how bad it is for women: 17.8 million women lived in poverty in 2012, 44% of whom lived in extreme poverty. Extreme poverty means “income at or below 50% of the federal poverty level”, which amounts to less than $5,500 a year.

When the economy is bad for women, it’s also bad for children. According to the NWLC, 16 million children lived in poverty in America last year, and 44% of them also lived in extreme poverty. “The poverty rate for female-headed families with children was 40.9%, compared to 22.6% for male- headed families with children,” the NWLC noted.

What is surprising is that the slide into deep poverty is happening so soon, and in such massive numbers, among the elderly. It’s not clear what could have changed between 2011 and 2012 to cause it.  Poverty Among Older Women