NEWSBYSHELLEY A. DAVIS AND JUDY PATRICK

This past week Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress released a seminal report on the emergence of women as primary wage earners for millions of families. The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Changes Everything, marks a promising step forward in the evolution of a society that for too long has failed to adjust policies and practices to women's growing presence in the workplace.

Left in the shadows of this otherwise comprehensive report, however, were the unique obstacles faced by those struggling most to make ends meet-low-income single mothers trying to support their families on paltry wages in jobs that offer no prospects for a better future. Any serious national discussion on the obstacles confronting women in the workforce must include a special focus on the growing numbers of women toiling at the bottom of the economic ladder.