POPULATION
The Overall United States Population Is Aging
By 2060, the number of people 65 and older in the US is expected to more than double.1
People 65 and older are projected to become almost a quarter (24%) of the population by 2060.2
- Compared to 15% in 2014 and 9% in 1960.3
The Nation Is Becoming More Diverse
By 2044, the United States is projected to become a “majority-minority” nation in which non-Hispanic whites will constitute less than 50% of the total population.4
Diversity Is Especially Concentrated in Younger Age Groups
In 2014, almost half of the people under age 20 were members of a minority group.5
- 48% of the youngest group were minorities, compared to 23% of people 60 and older.6
44.2% of Millennials—those born between 1982 and 2000—are part of a minority race or ethnic group.7
2015 U.S. Census data found that 50.2% of babies under 1 year old were minorities.8
EDUCATION
Women Earn More Degrees Than Men
For the class of 2015-2016, women earned more than half of bachelor’s degrees (57.2%), master’s degrees (59.2%), and doctorate degrees (52.7%).9
For the class of 2014–2015, women earned almost half (49.8%) of all professional degrees, including:10
- 47.8% of degrees in medicine
- 61.9% of degrees in pharmacy
- 47.9% of degrees in dentistry
- 78.0% of degrees in veterinary medicine
- 48.0% of degrees in law
And They Have Earned More Degrees Than Men for Some Time
Women have earned more bachelor’s degrees than men since 1982,11 more master’s degrees than men since 1987,12 and more doctoral degrees than men since 2006.13
LABOR FORCE
Women Are Nearly Half the Labor Force
In 2017, there were 75,175,000 women aged 16 and over in the labor force, representing 46.9% of the total labor force.14
57.0% of women participate in the labor force, compared to 69.1% of men.15
The Overall Labor Force Participation Rate is Declining
Women’s labor force participation rate peaked in 1999 at 60.0% and is projected to be 55.8% in 2024.16
Men’s labor force participation rate peaked in the 1940s and has been declining since. It is projected to be 66.2% in 2024.17
LEADERSHIP
More Than Half of Management Occupations Are Held by Women
In 2017, women held 51.6% of all management, professional, and related occupations and 44.0% of the subcategory management, business, and financial operations occupations.18
In S&P 500 Companies, Women Are Less Represented the Higher Up They Go19
CORPORATE BOARDS
The Overwhelming Majority of New Directorships Continue to Go to Men20
In 2016, men held 78.8% of S&P 500 board seats, while women held 21.2%.21
Men held 74.3% of S&P 500 new directorships, while women held 25.7%.22
21.0% of S&P companies had one woman director, and only 16.9% of companies had 30% or more women on their boards.23
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Women in the Labor Force: A Databook (November 2017).
Catalyst, Quick Take: Women’s Earnings—The Wage Gap.
Catalyst, Quick Take: Women of Color in the United States.
Catalyst, Quick Take: Working Parents.
Gretchen Livingston, “Is U.S. Fertility at an All-Time Low? It Depends,” Pew Research Center Fact Tank, January 18, 2018.
Institute for Women’s Policy Research, “The Status of Women and Girls.”
Mitra Toossi and Teresa L. Morisi, “Women In The Workforce Before, During, And After The Great Recession,” Spotlight on Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (July 2017).
US Census Bureau, “Women’s History Month: March 2018.”
How to cite this product: Catalyst, Quick Take: Women in the Workforce—United States (March 28, 2018).
1. Mark Mather, Linda A. Jacobsen, and Kelvin M. Pollard, “Aging in the United States,” Population Bulletin, vol. 70, no. 2 (Population Reference Bureau, December 2015): p. 2-3.
2. Mark Mather, Linda A. Jacobsen, and Kelvin M. Pollard, “Aging in the United States,” Population Bulletin, vol. 70, no. 2 (Population Reference Bureau, December 2015): p. 2-3.
3. Mark Mather, Linda A. Jacobsen, and Kelvin M. Pollard, “Aging in the United States,” Population Bulletin, vol. 70, no. 2 (Population Reference Bureau, December 2015): p. 2-3.
4. Sandra L. Colby and Jennifer M. Ortman, “Projections of the Size and Composition of the U.S. Population: 2014 to 2060,” Current Population Reports (U.S. Census Bureau, March 2015): p. 9.
5. Mark Mather, Linda A. Jacobsen, and Kelvin M. Pollard, “Aging in the United States,” Population Bulletin, vol. 70, no. 2 (Population Reference Bureau, December 2015): p. 4.
6. Mark Mather, Linda A. Jacobsen, and Kelvin M. Pollard, “Aging in the United States,” Population Bulletin, vol. 70, no. 2 (Population Reference Bureau, December 2015): p. 4.
7. “Millennials Outnumber Baby Boomers and Are Far More Diverse, Census Bureau Reports,” U.S. Census Bureau press release, June 25, 2015.
8. D’Vera Cohn, “It’s Official: Minority Babies are the Majority Among the Nation’s Infants, but Only Just,” FactTank, Pew Research, June 23, 2016.
9. National Center for Education Statistics, “Table 318.30: Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctor’s Degrees Conferred by Postsecondary Institutions, by Sex of Student and Discipline Division: 2015-16,” 2017 Digest of Education Statistics (2017).
10. National Center for Education Statistics, “Table 324.50: Degrees Conferred by Postsecondary Institutions in Selected Professional Fields, by Sex of Student, Control of Institution, and Field of Study: Selected years, 1985-86 Through 2014-15,” 2016 Digest of Education Statistics (2016).
11. National Center for Education Statistics, “Table 310: Degrees Conferred by Degree-Granting Institutions, by Level of Degree and Sex of Student: Selected Years, 1869-70 Through 2021-22,” 2012 Digest of Education Statistics (2013).
12. National Center for Education Statistics, “Table 310: Degrees Conferred by Degree-Granting Institutions, by Level of Degree and Sex of Student: Selected Years, 1869-70 Through 2021-22,” 2012 Digest of Education Statistics (2013).
13. National Center for Education Statistics, “Table 310: Degrees Conferred by Degree-Granting Institutions, by Level of Degree and Sex of Student: Selected Years, 1869-70 Through 2021-22,” 2012 Digest of Education Statistics (2013).
14. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 3: Employment Status of the Civilian Noninstitutional Population by Age, Sex, and Race,” Current Population Survey (2017).
15. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 3: Employment Status of the Civilian Noninstitutional Population by Age, Sex, and Race,” Current Population Survey (2017).
16. Mitra Toossi, “Labor Force Projections to 2024: The Labor Force is Growing, but Slowly,” Monthly Labor Review, Bureau of Labor Statistics, December 2015.
17. Mitra Toossi, “Labor Force Projections to 2024: The Labor Force is Growing, but Slowly,” Monthly Labor Review, Bureau of Labor Statistics, December 2015.
18. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 11: Employed Persons by Detailed Occupation, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity,” Current Population Survey (2017).
19. Catalyst, Pyramid: Women in S&P 500 Companies (February 2, 2018).
20. Catalyst, 2016 Catalyst Census: Women and Men Board Directors (2017).
21. Catalyst, 2016 Catalyst Census: Women and Men Board Directors (2017).
22. Catalyst, 2016 Catalyst Census: Women and Men Board Directors (2017).
23. Catalyst, 2016 Catalyst Census: Women and Men Board Directors (2017).
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