Women's History Month: Takeaways from gender gaps and gains in US
It's Women's History Month, and Pew Research Center just updated its comprehensive outlook of U.S. gender gains and gaps.
Here are the key takeaways:
Women in US labor force
In 2023, women made up 47% of the U.S. civilian labor force, up from 30% in 1950, according to historical data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In New Jersey, women made up 47.6% of employed residents in 2022, according to the state's Office of Research and Information.
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US women in college-educated workforce
Since about four decades ago, there have been more women than men earning a bachelor's degree each year, Pew Research Center reported.
And, since 2019, women have been outnumbering men in the college-educated labor force, according to a data analysis by Pew Research Center.
Women now make up 51% of the U.S. college-educated workforce ages 25 and older.
Women in the country's 10 highest-paying jobs
Despite there being more women in universities and college-educated labor force, U.S. women are still a minority in the ten highest-paying jobs.
Women make up 35% of workers in the country's 10 top-paying occupations, up from 13% in 1980, according to a 2023 analysis by Pew Research Center.
Women only make up 38% of physicians; 29% of chief executives and public administrators; 7% of sales engineers; and 40% of lawyers.
Pharmacists are the exception, with 61% of them being women.
When it comes to executive business leadership, as of Sept. 2023, only 11% of Fortune 500 company CEOs were women.
Who earns more, husbands or wives?
Today there are roughly three times more women making as much or more than their husbands than there were some 50 years ago.
According to a Pew Research Center analysis, in 2022, 29% of women would earn as much as their husbands. Women were the sole or primary breadwinner in 16% of these marriages, compared to 5% in 1972.
The gender pay gap hasn't changed much
In 2002, women earned 80 cents for every dollar men earned. Twenty years later, the rate barely went up with women earning 82 cents to the dollar, according to an analysis by Pew Research Center.
In New Jersey
Among full-time workers 15 and older, women earn 83 cents for each dollar earned by men, according to 2022 data analyzed by Neilsberg, a research and insight company. This translates to a median annual income of $78,423 for full-time male workers, compared to $64,922 for full-time female workers.
Top government positions are still dominated by men
In the US
Federal and state legislators: 28% of the U.S. Congress and about a third of state legislators are women.
Governors: 12 U.S. governors are women – eight Democratic and four Republican.
Presidential Cabinet: Unlike previous presidential cabinets, President Joe Biden’s team includes 13 women constituting half of the 26 cabinet-level positions.
In New Jersey
Legislature: In the Garden State, the rate of female legislators is similar to the national average. Currently, out of the 120-seat legislature, 41 women are serving as state legislators – 33 Democratic and eight Republican.
Governor's Cabinet: Gov. Murphy's 25-seat Cabinet includes 12 women making up 48% of the high-leadership team.
Despite women lagging in top government positions, in a Pew 2023 survey, 37% of U.S. adults said there are "about the right number of women" in high political offices, and 8% said there are "too many women" in such positions.
Only a slim majority or 53% of U.S. adults said there are "too few women" in high political offices, down from 59% in 2018, when the same survey was last conducted.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Women's History Month 2024: Wage gap between men and women
