Log In


Reset Password
News Education Local News Nation & World New Mexico

Grades are in for status of women

DENVER – Colorado got its report card on the status of women in key areas, and compared with men, the grades aren’t good.

Two new reports, the last of a seven-part series published by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), show Colorado and the nation fall short on work and family policies for women.

In particular, Colorado received a C minus on voter registration, turnout and representation of women in elected office. Lauren Casteel with the Women’s Foundation of Colorado says, as a black woman, she’s seen very few black women at the highest level of the political process.

“In general, women in elected office who are fully engaged is quite low,” she says. “We ranked 18 on the IWPR scale, and if you were going to drill that down to women of color, it’s even less.”

The reports found that nationally, women of color make up roughly 18 percent of the voting-age population, but hold only 6 percent of the seats in Congress, 5 percent in state legislatures and less than 3 percent of state elected offices.

Colorado received a B minus for the level of poverty and opportunity for women, and only average grades in reproductive rights and work and family.



Reader Comments