Women Have Made Strides in the U.S. Workforce: Five Charts
Originally published by Janet Loehrke for USA Today
Women in the U.S. have come a long way since the 1950s.
Women now make up a larger percentage of the workforce, earn more money, and work in more well-paying positions. Still, part of the growth stopped recently, and there are some significant gender gaps in the highest levels of business and political leadership.
March is Women’s History Month. Here are some insights into trends and data points provided by the Pew Research Center, which are based on federal data, surveys and analysis, to show trends for women in the workforce.
Almost half of workers are women
According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women accounted for 47% of the civilian labor force in the U.S. in 2023, up from 30% in 1950. But growth has slowed. During the last century, the number of women working increased on average, although it has since tapered off.
According to the BLS projections, women will continue to dip to less than half of the labor force through 2032.
US women outnumber men among workers with college degrees
Statistics from the fourth quarter of 2023’s Current Population Survey show that women outnumber men in the college-educated workforce in the U.S., making up 51% of people aged 25 and older.