Economic Stability
According to the Chester County United Way,
29% of Chester County households make more than the Federal Poverty Level but still don’t earn enough to cover the basic cost of living in their area.
We envision a community where everyone has the opportunity to earn a living and equitable wage, including access to quality, affordable childcare, safe and reliable transportation and affordable housing.
Unfortunately, wage increases have not kept pace with the rising costs of food and housing, while the monthly cost of childcare is now exceeding the monthly mortgage payment for many families.
All of these costs and economic factors have significant implications, especially for women who are more likely to face financial instability due to inequity in wages and care giving responsibilities. As a result, women are more likely to stay in unhealthy or unsafe relationships out of financial necessity, less likely to seek costly medical care for themselves, and more likely to experience mental health stressors.
Just as the approach to domestic violence underwent a profound shift from being considered a private, family matter in the 1950s to being recognized as a serious, violent crime and a significant public health issue today, we must also begin to address other factors such as affordable childcare, healthcare and housing as community-wide issues. We can no longer push these community resources aside as an individual choice, or assume that everyone in our community has access to even the most basic of these resources.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Equitable Wages
AFFORDABLE CHILDCARE
EQUITABLE WAGES
The median earnings by women in Chester County in 2023 was $53,904. MIT’s Living Wage calculator estimates that one needs to earn an hourly wage of $46.62 or an annual salary of $96,970 to adequately sustain a household with one adult and one child in Chester County. What this means is that most employed women in Chester County do not earn a living wage for one adult and one child to subsist.
Several factors contribute to this financial instability for women in Chester County.
First, communities in the United States are facing a rapidly shrinking middle class. In 2024, CEOs were paid 281 times as much as a typical worker—in contrast to 1965, when they were paid 21 times as much as a typical worker.
In addition, wage increases have not kept pace with the rising costs of basic necessities such as food, transportation and housing. According to the Chester County United Way, 29% of Chester County households make more than the Federal Poverty Level but still don’t earn enough to cover the basic cost of living in their area.
Finally, the gender wage gap has widened, especially for women of color. As of the latest Blueprint Report, Hispanic women in Chester County earned just 44% compared to their white, male counterparts, while the ratio for African American women was 46%.
Currently, The Fund for Women and Girls is advocating for a financial safety net to protect those who need to take time off work for caregiving responsibilities, serious illness, or recovering from violence. The Family Care Act will establish a state program that will provide paid leave for the situations noted above. To read more about The Fund’s work towards Paid Family Leave or get involved, click here.
Additionally, there are practical steps businesses and companies can take that support wage equity such as posting the salary range with each position announcement and avoiding the question of salary history during the hiring process.
In 2024, CEOs were paid 281 times as much as a typical worker—in contrast to 1965, when they were paid 21 times as much as a typical worker.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING
The Domestic Violence Center of Chester County named housing as the biggest barrier for survivors, noting that domestic violence is the leading cause of homelessness among women and children in the United States.
In fact, the median home value for Chester County in 2025 was $548,900, while the median household income was $123,041 Based on the recommendation that one’s house price does not exceed 3 times one’s annual income, no median income households in Chester County can afford a median value home in Chester County.
For many single mothers, finding an affordable rental home, let alone a home to purchase, is an unattainable dream. A full-time job no longer ensures that one can afford housing.
Since housing policies are set at the local level in Pennsylvania, there is a lot you can do!
Strong Towns, an organization advocating for policies that build better communities, recommends six policies that can be implemented in your township:
1) Allow single home conversion to duplex or triplex, by right.
2) Permit backyard cottages in all residential zones.
3) Legalize starter homes in all residential zones.
4) Eliminate minimum lot sizes in existing neighborhoods.
5) Repeal parking mandates for housing.
6) Streamline the approval process.
You can read more HERE.
Housing as the biggest barrier for survivors, noting that domestic violence is the leading cause of homelessness among women and children in the United States.
AFFORDABLE CHILDCARE
In the United States, we view childcare as an individual household choice and expense. Unfortunately, childcare has become the number one expense for many families, even above their rent or mortgage payment, despite the low wages for childcare workers. This trend forces many parents, and especially women, into dropping out of the workforce.
A 2021 New York Times analysis found that more than 100 other countries provide on average $14,000 per year per child, while the United States only spends about $500, leaving families to shoulder that cost. However, this also undermines our communities and our economy.
Our economy loses $122 billion a year in earnings and productivity because of the lack of affordable, accessible childcare.
Meanwhile, our childcare workers are paid significantly less than public teachers despite facing similar educational requirements. In Pennsylvania, kindergarten teachers earn almost twice as much as a preschool teacher. These low wages have led to a shortage of childcare workers, leaving 84,767 eligible children without access to childcare.
Moms First is releasing a documentary in 2026 to shed light on why America was never built for mothers to thrive. Reshma Saujani, CEO and founder of Moms First focuses on the culture wars, the “us versus them” mentality, that put the focus on our differences rather than on fixing the systems that are making it hard to be a mother in America—from a lack of affordable childcare to no national paid leave policy to the widening wage gap. Her goal is to unify women in addressing these system-wide failings.
Our economy loses $122 billion a year in earnings and productivity because of the lack of affordable, accessible childcare.