Closing the Workforce Gap — A Milestone for Women
According to seasonally adjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the last decade of employment in the U.S. has seen an interesting development: Women have had more percentage growth in employment than men.
Since the beginning of 2007, the total share of women employed has increased 9%, double the 4.5% increase for men during the same time period. As of September 2017, women made up 49.5% of the workforce, putting them right on the precipice of a completely equal split with men.
Of course, there was a brief period in 2009 when there were more female workers than male in the US workforce. However, as far as long-term trends go, women have been just barely under the 50% mark for the last 8 years.
It’s true that there are still more men in the workforce than women — about 1.5 million more to be precise — but the significant employment recovery for women since the financial crisis means that women could surpass men as a majority of workers if that growth continues.
By the way, the U.S. adult population is about 51.4% female and 48.6% male according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, of women in the workforce from September 2007 to September 2017 was 0.75%, and for men it was 0.46%.
If growth rates for men and women were to continue at this pace, the number of women employed would be larger than the number of men in just 7 years.
However some, including those at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, have argued that women will never overtake men as the majority of the workforce, because their employment growth has slowed in recent years. It’s certainly true that year-over-year growth for women in September was just 1%, while men saw a 1.5% increase from 2016 to 2017.
However, jobs that are primarily done by women are projected to increase more than those traditionally done by men. This point bolsters the argument that, eventually, women may overtake men as the majority gender in our workforce.
There is another reason, though, why I believe women will continue to grow as a share of the workforce. The pay that comes from employment can provide financial independence, and with it other kinds of independence too (though women that stay home to raise children are massively under-appreciated contributors to our economy).
Culturally mandated gender assignments wind up playing a big role in the economic statistics that are analyzed for reports, such as workforce trends. But behind those statistics are humans; humans who have incentives that are not solely monetary.
What I’m trying to say, is that I believe we will see continued, not stagnant, growth in the numbers of women in the workforce to the point of eventually gaining a permanent 50%+ position because we have reached a point in the U.S., culturally, in which women are hungry for independence, equality, freedom, and yes, power.
All in all, the difference between 49.5% and 50% is a small chasm to cross, and may not bear much significance in the everyday dealings of the workplace.
Once the gap is totally closed though, I hope that we will envision women as often as we think of men when we think of who is powering this country.
