Bachelor's degree for women with children

Abstract

PurposeIn spite of the War on Poverty programs of the 1960s and the economic boom of the 1990s, poverty remains consistently high among families with children in the USA. The main source of income for these families is employment, which is largely a function of educational attainment. The purpose of this paper is to turn to aggregate and individual level data and demonstrate the power of college education in economic well‐being of women with children.Design/methodology/approachA nationally representative sample of single and married mothers was retrieved and the role of education in economic well‐being of these women was examined using descriptive, bi‐variate, and multiple ordinal logistic regression.FindingsBoth married and single mothers benefit immensely from a bachelors degree.Practical implicationsIn recent years, policy makers in the USA have trimmed resources that promote education among poor women with children. This analysis, underscores the importance of postsecondary education in the economic well‐being of mothers with children and therefore the need for social policy promoting college education.Originality/valueThis article shows the power of education on economic well‐being of both married and single women with children.