Women in the Workforce: An Update

There are several contemporary facts about women in the labor force that are significant to employers (and professionals working with employers on workforce issues): - women comprise 46.8% of the workforce in the U.S., which equates to 66 million women, - the trend is an increase in their percentage in the future, - 40% of employed women work in management, professional, and related occupations, and - other occupations for women are: 32% in sales and office positions; 21% in service occupations; 5% in production, transportation, and material moving; and 1% in natural resources, construction, and maintenance. The four most prevalent occupations for employed women are: - Secretaries and administrative assistants (3,074,000), - Registered nurses (2,612,000), - Elementary and middle school teachers (2,343,000), and - Cashiers (2,273,000). A website focused on women in the workforce, www.jobprofiles.org, reports: - women make only 77.5 cents for every dollar that men earn, - the more education a woman has, the greater the disparity in her wages, - women work longer to receive the promotions that provide access to higher pay, - female business owners employ 35% more people than all the Fortune 500 companies together, - women account for 46% of the labor force, but 59% of these workers make less than $8 an hour, - women earn less than men in 99% of all occupations, and - minority women fare the worst in terms of equal pay. Two additional items in terms of working women are: - single women out-earn single men in metropolitan areas (according to the U.S. Census Bureau data for 2008) in 39 of the 50 biggest cities and matched them in eight, and - Goldman Sachs and Wharton have teamed up to create a portal for female entrepreneurs in emerging economies. The program is called the 10,000 Women initiative. There have been many advances in women’s equality over the years, but it is evident that there is still room for improvement. What do you think can be done to further advance women’s rights in the workforce?