Knowledge Center

Australia

The Labor Force Participation of Women Has Increased Over 27% Since 19781 

In 1978 women made up 36% of the labor force compared to 45.9% today.2 
 

Women's Growth in Management Positions Is Increasing at a Much Slower Rate3

Women make up 15.4% of CEO positions.4
 

Although 27.4% of key management personnel positions are held by women, one-quarter of organizations continue to have no women in those positions whatsoever.5

• Women hold 33% of senior management roles.6
   

• Women represent 23.6% of board directors.7

Canada

Overall the Participation of Women in the Labor Force Continues to Grow8

Women were 47.2% of the total  labor force in 20159 compared to 37.1% in 1976.10

More men are in the labor force.

• 61.2% of all women are in the labor force compared to 70.6% of all men (15 years and older). 11​
   

The number of working mothers continues to grow.12

• Since 1976, employment for mothers with children under six years old has more than doubled (from 31.5% to 68.1% in 2007).13

Women's Progress in Reaching Senior Management Positions Has Stalled14 

Men are two to three times more likely to be in a senior management position than are women.15

• Women hold 35.5% of all management positions and 33.3% of all senior management positions.16

Canada Has a National Goal of 30% Women on Boards by 201917

There is just one woman CEO on the Canadian TSX 60.18

• In 2014, Women held 20.8% of board seats at Canadian Stock Index Companies.19 

India

Women's Participation in the Labor Force Continues to Fall

• Women's labor force participation rate fell from 34.1% in 1999–2000 to just 27.2% in 2011–12.20

Japan

Women Leave the Labor Force When They Marry or Have Children24

Women make up just 42.9% of the total labor force.25

The labor force participation rate for women in 2014 was 49.2% compared to 70.4% for men.26
 

United States

Women's Growing Labor Force Participation Peaked in 1999 at 60.0%27 

Women share of the total labor force is 46.8%.28

• 56.7% of all women 16 years and over are in the labor force, compared to 69.1% of all men. 29
   

Women held 51.5% of management, professional and related positions.30
 

• Women currently hold 20 (or 4.0%) CEO positions at S&P 500 companies.31

61% of all mothers with children under the age of three are in the labor force.32
 

• The labor force participation rate of parents with children under the age of 18 was 70.1% for mothers and 92.8% for fathers33

Globally, Women’s Labor Force Participation Rate Decreased from 52.4% to 49.6% Between 1995 and 201534

• The odds that a woman will participate in the labour force remains almost 30% less than they are for a man.35

• Still, an additional quarter of a billion women have entered the labor force since 2006.36

Over 60% of the world's employed women work in the services sector.37

Women Face a Gender Wage Gap Globally, Earning 77% of What Men Earn38

• Today, women earn what men were earning ten years ago.39
   

• Global average annual earnings for women are11K, compared to men 's earnings of 21K.40

Women hold only 12% of the world’s board seats.41 
 

Catalyst Resources

Catalyst creates and maintains a line of statistical based product called Quick Takes and infographics, which will provide more information on specific countries as well as numerous topics. Browse all the Quick Take titles here. Selected titles:

Catalyst, Women in Australia (2015).

Catalyst, Women in Japan (2015).

Catalyst, Quick Take: Women in the Workforce: Canada (May 6, 2016).

Catalyst,Quick Take: Women in the Workforce: India (November 17, 2015).
 

Additional Resources
 

Deloitte, Women in the Boardroom: A Global Perspective (2015).


The World Bank, "Labor Force Participation Rate, Female (% of Female Population Ages 15+) (Modeled ILO Estimate)," The World Bank Databank (2016).
 

The World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Report 2015 (2015).

The terminology was changed from "corporate officer" to "senior officer" in 2010 in an attempt to standardize across company type and provide Catalyst with more robust data. Catalyst has not found a statistically discernable difference in the overall officer population using these two terms.

How to cite this product: Catalyst. Quick Take: Statistical Overview of Women in the Workplace. New York: Catalyst, 2016.

• 1. Australian Bureau of Statistics, “Table 3: Labour Force Status by Sex,”]6202.0 - Labour Force Australia 2015 (March 2015).
• 2. Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Australia’s Gender Equality Scorecard: Key Findings from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s 2014-15 Reporting Data (2015).
• 3. Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Australia’s Gender Equality Scorecard: Key Findings from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s 2014-15 Reporting Data (2015).
• 4. Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Australia’s Gender Equality Scorecard: Key Findings from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s 2014-15 Reporting Data (2015).
• 5. Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Australia’s Gender Equality Scorecard: Key Findings from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s 2014-15 Reporting Data (2015).
• 6. Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Australia’s Gender Equality Scorecard: Key Findings from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s 2014-15 Reporting Data (2015).
• 7. Vincent Ferrao, “Paid Work,” Women in Canada: A Gender-Based, Statistical Report, 89-503-X (December 2010).
• 8. Statistics Canada, "Paid Work" Women in Canada: A Gender-based Statistical Report (2013).
• 9. Statistics Canada, “Labour Force Characteristics by Sex and Age Group”(2016).
• 10. Statistics Canada, “Table 1 Employment Trends of Women and Men Aged 15 and Over, 1976 to 2009, ”Paid Work (2013).
• 11. Statistics Canada, “Labour Force Characteristics by Sex and Age Group” (2016).
• 12. Statistics Canada, “Employment Rates of Mothers, by Age of Youngest Child,” The Canadian Labour Market at a Glance 71-222-X (November 30,2015).
• 13. Statistics Canada, “Employment Rates of Mothers, by Age of Youngest Child,” The Canadian Labour Market at a Glance 71-222-X (November 30,2015).
• 14. “ Women Still Missing In Action From Senior Management Positions In Canadian Organizations ” Conference Board of Canada press release, August 31, 2011.
• 15. “ Women Still Missing In Action From Senior Management Positions In Canadian Organizations ” Conference Board of Canada press release, August 31, 2011.
• 16. Statistics Canada, “Table 282-0009: Labour Force Survey Estimates (LFS), by National Occupational Classification for Statistics (NOC-S) and Sex, Unadjusted for Seasonality Terminated”Data Table; (January 2016).
• 17. Government of Canada's Advisory Council for Promoting Women on Boards,Good for Business: A Plan to Promote the Participation of More Women on Canadian Boards(June 2014).
• 18. Catalyst Women Heads of TSX60 (2015.)
• 19. Catalyst, 2014 Catalyst Census: Women Board Directors (2015).
• 20. Sher Verick, “Women’s Labour Force Participation in India: Why Is it So Low?”International Labour Organization (2014).
• 21. Aparna Banerji, Shalini Mahtani, Dr Ruth Sealy, and Professor Susan Vinnicombe, Standard Chartered Bank: Women on Corporate Boards in India 2010 (2010): p. 6, 22.
• 22. Aparna Banerji, Shalini Mahtani, Dr Ruth Sealy, and Professor Susan Vinnicombe, Standard Chartered Bank: Women on Corporate Boards in India (2010).
• 23. Deloitte, Women in the Boardroom: A Global Perspective (2015).
• 24. Statistics Bureau, “Chapter 12: Labor,” Statistical Handbook of Japan 2015 (2015).
• 25. Statistics Bureau, “Chapter 12: Labor,” Statistical Handbook of Japan 2015 (2015).
• 26. Statistics Bureau, “Chapter 12: Labor,” Statistical Handbook of Japan 2015 (2015).
• 27. BLS Reports, Women in the Labor Force: A Databook (2014).
• 28. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, “Table 3: Employment Status of the Civilian Noninstitutional Population by Age, Sex, and Race,” Household Data Annual Averages 2015 (2016).
• 29. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, “Table 3: Employment Status of the Civilian Noninstitutional Population by Age, Sex, and Race,” Household Data Annual Averages 2015 (2016).
• 30. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, "Table 11: Employed Persons by Detailed Occupation, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity," Household Data Annual Averages 2015 (2016).
• 31. Catalyst, Women CEOS of the S&P 500 (2015).
• 32. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, “Table 6: Employment Status of Mothers with Own Children under 3 Years Old by Single Year of Age of Youngest Child and Marital Status],” 2013-2014 Annual Averages Economic News Release (2015).
• 33. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, “Table 6: Employment Status of Mothers with Own Children under 3 Years Old by Single Year of Age of Youngest Child and Marital Status],” 2013-2014 Annual Averages Economic News Release (2015).
• 34. International Labour Office, Women at Work: Trends 2016 (2016).
• 35. International Labour Office, Women at Work: Trends 2016 (2016).
• 36. World Economic Forum, “Ten Years of the Global Gender Gap ” Report Highlights (2015).
• 37. International Labour Office, Women at Work: Trends 2016 (2016).
• 38. International Labour Office, Women at Work: Trends 2016 (2016).
• 39. World Economic Forum, "Ten Years of the Global Gender Gap"Report Highlights (2015).
• 40. World Economic Forum, "Ten Years of the Global Gender Gap"Report Highlights (2015).
• 41. “Women Joining but not Leading Boardrooms Globally” Deloitte press release, June 10, 2015.