United States women

United States women is about women in the United States today. For the history of women in the United States, please see History of women in the United States.

Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

The United States has never ratified the U.N.'s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, although it played an important role in drafting the treaty. As of 2014, the United States is thus one of only seven nations which have not ratified it – also including Iran, Palau, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Tonga.

Education

As of 2014, women in the United States earn more post-secondary (college and graduate school) degrees than men do.

Equal Rights Amendment

The United States has never ratified the Equal Rights Amendment.

Gender equality ranking

As of 2014, the United States is ranked 20th in gender equality on the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index.

Marriage

As of 2013, the most recent year for which statistics are available, average age at first marriage in the United States is 27 for women and 29 for men.

African Americans

African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans or Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group of Americans (citizens or residents of the United States) with total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. The term may also be used to include only those individuals who are descended from enslaved Africans. As a compound adjective the term is usually hyphenated as African-American.

African Americans constitute the third largest racial and ethnic group in the United States (after White Americans and Hispanic and Latino Americans). Most African Americans are of West and Central African descent and are descendants of enslaved blacks within the boundaries of the present United States. On average, African Americans are of 78 percent West African, 19 percent European and 3 percent Native American heritage, with very large variation between individuals. Immigrants from some African, Caribbean, Central American, and South American nations and their descendants may or may not also self-identify with the term.