Research

Quick Take: Women in the Workforce—United States

Jun 05, 2019

POPULATION

The Overall United States Population Is Aging

Between 2016 and 2060, the number of people 65 and older is expected to nearly double.1

People 65 and older are projected to become almost a quarter (23%) of the population by 2060, compared to 15% in 20172 and 9% in 1960.3

The Nation Is Becoming More Diverse

By 2045, the United States is projected to become a “majority-minority” nation4 in which non-Hispanic whites of all ages will constitute less than 50% of the total population.5

Diversity Is Especially Concentrated in Younger Age Groups

44% of Millennials—those born between 1981 and 1997—are people of color.6

In 2018, just under half (48%) of Post-Millennials/Generation Z—those born between 1997 and 2012—were people of color.7

  • By 2020, a majority of people under age 18 are predicted to be people of color for the first time.8

EDUCATION

Women Earn More Degrees Than Men

For the class of 2016–2017, women earned more than half of bachelor’s degrees (57.3%), master’s degrees (59.4%), and doctorate degrees (53.3%).9

  • Among all racial/ethnic groups, women outperformed men at all degree levels in 2015–2016. This was especially noteworthy for Black women, who attained the lion’s share of master’s (70%) and doctor’s (66%) degrees compared to Black men.10

In the same year, women earned just over half (50.7%) of all professional degrees, including:11

  • 49.6% of degrees in law (LLB or JD).
  • 47.4% of degrees in medicine (MD).
And They Have Earned More Degrees Than Men for Some Time

Women have earned more bachelor’s degrees than men since 1982, more master’s degrees than men since 1987, and more doctorate degrees than men since 2006.12

LABOR FORCE

Women Are Nearly Half the Labor Force

In 2018, there were 75,978,000 women aged 16 and over in the labor force, representing 46.9% of the total labor force.13

57.1% of women participate in the labor force, compared to 69.1% of men.14

However, Women’s Labor Force Participation Rate Continues to Decline15

Women’s labor force participation rate peaked in 1999 at 60.0%. It is projected to be 55.4% in 2024 and 51.9% in 2060.16

Men’s labor force participation rate has decreased since the 1940s. It is projected to be 66.1% in 2024 and 62.3% in 2060.17

Women’s Labor Force Participation Is Critical for the Future of Work

Some estimate that women are more likely than men to lose their jobs due to automation.18

  • Over half (58%) of the workers in the most at-risk occupations are women.19
  • Latinas are the most likely to suffer, with one in three working in a high-risk field.20

Others predict that automating routine tasks creates new, more complex jobs, which may present better opportunities for women.21

Adding more diverse women to the AI workforce is one way to reduce bias in the field.22

LEADERSHIP

More Than Half of Management Occupations Are Held by Women

In 2018, women held 51.5% of all management, professional, and related occupations.23

In S&P 500 Companies, Women Are Less Represented the Higher Up They Go24

CORPORATE BOARDS

The Overwhelming Majority of Boards Are Still Dominated by Men

In 2018, men held 76% of S&P 500 board seats, while women held 24%.25

  • In the top 200 companies in the S&P 500, only 6.2% of board seats were held by women of color.26

In 2018, men held 77.5% of Fortune 500 board seats, while women held 22.5%.27

  • Only 4.6% of these seats were held by women of color.28

THE PAY GAP

Women in the United States Earn Approximately 80% of What Men Earn29

Women of color have a large gender wage gap and experience significant cumulative lifetime wage loss as a result.30

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Full list of Catalyst Quick Takes.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Women in the Labor Force: A Databook (December 2018).

Catalyst, Quick Take: Women’s Earnings—The Wage Gap.

Catalyst, Quick Take: Women of Color in the United States.

Catalyst, Quick Take: Working Parents.

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, Bureau of Labor Statistics (July 2017).

US Census Bureau, “Women’s History Month: March 2019.”

 

How to cite this product: Catalyst, Quick Take: Women in the Workforce—United States (June 5, 2019).

  1. Jonathan Vespa, David M. Armstrong, and Lauren Medina, “Demographic Turning Points for the United States: Population Projections for 2020 to 2060,” Current Population Reports (U.S. Census Bureau, March 2018): p. 2.
  2. Jonathan Vespa, David M. Armstrong, and Lauren Medina, “Demographic Turning Points for the United States: Population Projections for 2020 to 2060,” Current Population Reports (U.S. Census Bureau, March 2018): 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. Jonathan Vespa, David M. Armstrong, and Lauren Medina, “Demographic Turning Points for the United States: Population Projections for 2020 to 2060,” Current Population Reports (U.S. Census Bureau, March 2018): p. 7.
  6. Sources vary on the definitions and birth years for generations. Brookings defines Millennials as those born 1981 and 1997. William H. Frey, The Millennial Generation: A Demographic Bridge to America’s Diverse Future, (Brookings Institution, January 2018).
  7. Richard Fry and Kim Parker, Early Benchmarks Show ‘Post-Millennials’ on Track to Be Most Diverse, Best-Educated Generation Yet: A Demographic Portrait of Today’s 6- to 21-Year-Olds (Pew Research Center, November 15, 2018).
  8. Jonathan Vespa, David M. Armstrong, and Lauren Medina, “Demographic Turning Points for the United States: Population Projections for 2020 to 2060,” Current Population Reports (U.S. Census Bureau, March 2018): p. 8.
  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: 2016-17,” 2018 Digest of Education Statistics (2018).
  10. Cristobal de Brey, Lauren Musu, Joel McFarland, Sidney Wilkinson-Flicker, Melissa Diliberti, Anlan Zhang, Claire Branstetter and Xiaolei Wang, Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups 2018 (National Center for Education Statistics, February 2019): p. 149.
  11. 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 2015-16,” 2018 Digest of Education Statistics (2018).
  12. National Center for Education Statistics, “Table 318.10: Degrees Conferred by Postsecondary Institutions, by Level of Degree and Sex of Student: Selected Years, 1869-70 through 2028-29,” 2018 Digest of Education Statistics (2018).
  13. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 3: Employment Status of the Civilian Noninstitutional Population by Age, Sex, and Race,” Current Population Survey (2019).
  14. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 3: Employment Status of the Civilian Noninstitutional Population by Age, Sex, and Race,” Current Population Survey (2019).
  15. Economists contribute several factors to women’s decline in labor force participation, including an increase in the years spent in education. Richard Fry and Renee Stepler, “Women May Never Make Up Half of the U.S. Workforce,” FactTank (Pew Research Center, January 31, 2017).
  16. Mitra Toossi, “A Look at the Future of the U.S. Labor Force to 2060,” Spotlight on Statistics (Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2016).
  17. Mitra Toossi, “A Look at the Future of the U.S. Labor Force to 2060,” Spotlight on Statistics (Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2016).
  18. Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Women, Automation, and the Future of Work (March 13, 2019).
  19. Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Women, Automation, and the Future of Work (March 13, 2019).
  20. Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Women, Automation, and the Future of Work (March 13, 2019).
  21. Sandra Sancier-Sultan and Julia Sperling, Women and the Future of Work: A Window of Opportunity in Western Europe? (McKinsey & Company, November 2018).
  22. Catalyst, Trend Brief: Gender Bias in AI (March 12, 2019).
  23. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Table 11: Employed Persons by Detailed Occupation, Sex, Race, and Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity,” Current Population Survey (2019).
  24. Catalyst, Pyramid: Women in S&P 500 Companies (May 1, 2019).
  25. Spencer Stuart, 2018 U.S. Spencer Stuart Board Index (2018): p. 8.
  26. Spencer Stuart’s analysis of race/ethnicity among board representation examined the top 200 organizations of the S&P 500. Spencer Stuart, 2018 U.S. Spencer Stuart Board Index, (unpublished data) (2018).
  27. Deloitte and Alliance for Board Diversity, Missing Pieces Report: The 2018 Board Diversity Census of Women and Minorities on Fortune 500 Boards (2019): p. 17.
  28. Deloitte and Alliance for Board Diversity, Missing Pieces Report: The 2018 Board Diversity Census of Women and Minorities on Fortune 500 Boards (2019): p. 17.
  29. National Women’s Law Center, “Fact Sheet: Frequently Asked Questions About the Wage Gap,” (September 2018).
  30. Jasmine Tucker, “Fact Sheet: Women and the Lifetime Wage Gap: How Many Woman Years Does It Take to Equal 40 Man Years?” (National Women’s Law Center, March 2019).