BARNSTABLE COUNTY DATA
Prior to launching The Women and Girls Fund, we used extensive quantitative data provided by The Cape Cod Commission to inform our strategic plan. We’ve included a snapshot of Barnstable County and a Summary below.

FOCUS GROUPS
We also conducted focus groups with a diverse group of women and girls to help give the data a face and voice.

FOUR KEY FINDINGS
We based the strategy for our initial grantmaking on the four key findings below and focused on funding training and educational programs that increased economic opportunity and self-sufficiency for women and new, expanded, or more accessible educational opportunities, out-of-school programs, and mentorship opportunities that broke down barriers for girls.

COMMUNITY FORUM
In 2022, we hosted an Online Community Forum, “Women and Girls Across Cape Cod,” to discuss our findings and introduce The Women and Girls Fund to a larger audience. You can watch the forum through the link below.

By The Numbers

BARNSTABLE COUNTY SNAPSHOT
2019 Data Provided by The Cape Cod Commission 

FOCUS GROUP
VIDEOS

Created by Cape Cod Media Center

JENNIFER ROSE
ANNA LARSSON
SELMA DACOSTA
MARYANA CRAWLEY

Women make up 52.2% of Barnstable County’s population; men 47.8%.

Women earn about 83% of what men earn. For women of color, the wage gap is even wider. The percentage of women and men with a bachelor’s degree or higher is about the same. Yet, although women outnumber men in top industries in the work force, men earn 28%-43% more. During the pandemic, weekly unemployment claims from women 

consistently outpaced men. At the height of the health crisis, claims from women exceeded those from men by 20%.

Eighteen percent of all households on the Cape are headed by women. Eighty-two percent of single-parent households with children are headed by women. They earn about 50% less than what single fathers do. Their median income is $29,372, and 27% of those households are living below the federal poverty level,