Piast Institute Interns
Produce Groundbreaking
Demographic Study
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. – Three Hamtramck High School students, Ihsan Akhtar, Jaynab Akhtar, and Zubaeer Akhtar, who are triplets, produced an important study in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Piast Institute’s summer research internship. The study analyzed the relationship between sex ratios, poverty and marital status by race, ethnicity and age in the United States using the American Community Survey five-year sample, 2011-2015.
PHOTO: Interns Summer 2017 Triplets Ihsan Jaynab and Zubaeer Akhtar
Although there are 1.04 the males born for each female on average in the United States, by the age cohort 25-29 the number of women on average in the general population exceeds the number of men for the first time by a ratio of 1.03. However, the study by the interns showed that the average age at which women surpass men varies widely by ethnic group and poverty status. In the white, Hawaiian, and Hispanic groups below the poverty level, the number of females exceeds the number of males by the 18-24 age cohort. Among African Americans, the number of females exceeds males already by age 15 for those below the poverty level. For those in families above the poverty level, it is not until at least the 25-34 cohort that the number of females exceeds males. Among whites and the general population, that ratio is not reached until age 45.
However, and this is one of the most significant findings, in the African American population below the poverty line between the ages of 18 and 54 (the marriageable age cohorts), there is a very significant gap between the number of men and women. This gap is also found in the cohort of whites living below the poverty line. Thus, for the African American population living below the poverty line, the difference is the absence of 400,000 men. There are 46% more women than men within this age cohort. The discrepancy between males and females is most acute in the 25-34 year age category, where the shortage of males is over 700,000. In the white population below the poverty line, the difference is less but significant. There are more than 14,000,000 more females than males. On the other hand, in both white and African American cohorts living above the poverty line, there is virtually no discrepancy between males and females.
The Piast Institute will present the student intern researchers with a certificate acknowledging their work and contributions on May 24th at the Hamtramck High School.
