How many women participate in the labor force, exactly? And what challenges do they still face in the workplace? Learn more about women and the workplace.

What Percentage of Women Work?

In July 2022, the labor-force participation rate among women was 56.9%. A slow but steady rise has defined women’s workforce participation. In 1840, about 10% of women had jobs. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the proportion of all women 14 years old and older in the labor force increased from around 20% in 1900 to 26% in 1940. The proportion of married women 15 years old and older in the labor force almost tripled from approximately 5.6% in 1900 to 15.1% in 1940. Here are statistics of female participation in the civilian labor force from the last 70 or so years, rounded to the nearest percentage, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Women in Leadership

Women’s jobs have varied, but management didn’t appear on the top-10 women’s occupations list until 1950 when about 558,545 women were working as managers. These numbers have steadily increased; by 1980, the number of female managers and administrators had roughly doubled. The growing number of working women in leadership is great news for the labor market in general. Research by McKinsey and Company and LeanIn.org shows that when compared to men, female managers are more often:

Providing emotional supportChecking in on overall well-beingHelping ensure manageability of employee workloadsHelping team members with work-life balanceTaking actions to prevent or manage burnout

Women’s Pay: The Gender Gap

Despite the larger number of women in the workforce and the potential benefits to having women leadership, significant gaps can still exist between what a woman earns versus what a man earns. In 2022, a woman working full-time earned an average of 82 cents for each $1 earned by a full-time working man, based on a 2022 report from compensation platform Payscale—a large increase from 1973, when women earned 57 cents on the dollar. However, this is called the “uncontrolled gender pay gap” and indicates the overall jobs and earnings occupied by women. Women’s occupations have shifted dramatically in the past 100 years—but the top occupations employing the largest numbers of women primarily have included domestic workers, teachers, secretaries, sales clerks, and other lower-paid professions. The controlled gender pay gap is much closer, at 99 cents for each $1 men make, according to Payscale. The controlled gender pay gap controls for factors such as:

Job titleEducationExperienceIndustryJob levelHours worked

The gender gap is influenced by additional factors, the report noted, which are discussed below.

Parenting

Women may reduce working hours (and therefore income) to care for children or may otherwise face perceptions that they’re not as committed to their work, according to the Payscale survey. Women who take extended unemployment to care for children or family members also face a reduction in earnings. This is how parenting impacts women:

Uncontrolled pay gap: 74 cents for every $1 earned by a male parentControlled pay gap: 98 cents for every $1 earned by a male parent

“A large driver of the wage gap results from the pressure society places on women when it comes to child-rearing and care,” said Siran Cao, CEO and co-founder of Mirza, a fintech platform that supports working parents. “The U.S. simply does not have an infrastructure to support gender equity.”

Race

For every $1 that white men make, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, Black, American Indian, and Native Alaskan women earn less than 80 cents per hour in the uncontrolled gap. As Payscale noted, these populations are more likely to work in lower-paying jobs. In 2019, Black women (28%) and Hispanic women (31%) were more likely than Asian women and white women (both at about 20%) to work in lower-paying service occupations. With the controlled pay gap, the disparity decreases for some more than others, according to Payscale:

Black women: 98 cents Hispanic, American Indian, and Alaska Native women: 99 centsNative Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander women: $1

However, the survey found that these women of color may experience widening pay gaps as they move up the ladder into executive roles. For example, Asian women make 97 cents for every $1 white men make in the uncontrolled gap, and $1.03 for every $1 in the controlled gap, but don’t advance to leadership roles at the same pace as white women.

Age

According to a January 2022 U.S. Census study, the gender pay gap has narrowed for younger women due to more education and increased occupational options in higher-paying careers such as information or professional, scientific, and technical services. The gap begins to widen at ages 35-44, then widens again at 45-54, and continues to gap. Women ages 20-29 make $1 for every $1 men make, according to the Payscale study, but this falls to 98 cents for every $1 earned by age 45 or older. The uncontrolled pay gap is 86 cents for every $1 for ages 20-29 and 73 cents for ages 45 and older.

How the Pandemic Affected Women in the Workforce

The COVID-19 pandemic-related drops of April 2020 led to women’s job-participation rates falling from 58% to 55%, closer to the participation rates of the 1980s, recovering to 57% as of 2022. From January 2020 to March 2020, Black women’s rates dropped from 64% to 59%, while white women’s rates dropped from 58% to 56%. As of July 2022, Black women’s participation rate is at 62%, while white women’s is at 57%. Women, lower-wage workers, workers without a college degree, and younger workers were more likely to lose their jobs than others during the pandemic, according to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Between February and April, the workforce lost 20 million employees, yet job losses were 4% higher among women than men. As schools and daycares closed during the COVID-19 lockdown, women working at home reported lower work productivity and job satisfaction than men. When comparing February through April 2020 work hours, mothers with young children reduced their work hours four to five times more than fathers. “The number of women in the workforce has drastically changed since COVID due to more women having to drop out of the workforce and stay home to care for their families and/or children over their male counterparts,” Cao said.

Challenges for Working Women

Women have been making strides in the workplace, but they face significant roadblocks to receiving the same pay and opportunities as their male peers, including unequal distribution of caregiving responsibilities and lingering discrimination. The following is a look at some of the specific challenges working women deal with and a few tips for coping.

The Second Shift

The 1989 book “The Second Shift” by Arlie Hochschild outlined the domestic activities before and after work in dual-parent households and found that women spent more hours per week on housework and child care than men, even in egalitarian homes. “Working a second shift means that women may get less rest than their male counterparts, and they may need to push even harder at work and home to perform as well,” said Katherine Kirkinis, CEO and co-founder of Wanderlust Careers. If you have a partner, Kirkinis suggested having a frank conversation about dividing household chores (and child care, if applicable) evenly. “Women may be socialized to take on these roles, but people of all genders can challenge it,” she said. “Make a list of everything for which you are responsible in the home, and work to delegate those tasks to others.”

The Broken Rung

Professional women tend to be promoted at a lower rate than male employees, which is referred to as the “broken rung” on the corporate ladder. A woman’s social network can help her move up the ranks, said Tracy Podell, partner and executive coach at Evolution. But that network can roadblock women if social opportunities within the company are targeted toward men. “I’ve seen women on the edge of being an executive, but their male peers have better relationships with their superiors because they are included in social activities, like lunch, drinking, golf,” Podell said. Develop a support network of confidantes and mentors in your life, inside and outside of your current job. “These should be people that are safe and that you can be real with, get support from, brainstorm with, that will be straight with you when you’re spiraling and champion you when it’s time to ask for that raise,” Podell said.

Burnout

Burnout results from “excessive and prolonged emotional, physical, and mental stress.” Women are increasingly feeling burned out, and the gap in burnout between women and men is nearly double. In 2021, 1 in 3 women considered leaving the workforce or downshifting their career—more so than during the first few months of the pandemic. Overwork and burnout are often exacerbated by imposter syndrome and trying to prove yourself. “This is a trap, because if you don’t believe you are enough, no amount of overwork will change that perception you have of yourself,” Podell said. “Your feelings of inadequacy can lead to a neglect of self-compassion and self-care.” Strong communication skills can benefit women, according to Podell. “Taking credit, expressing your opinions with gravitas and authority, having direct-feedback conversations, and making clear requests are all areas in which I see tremendous growth,” she said. In other words, don’t be afraid to speak up and emphasize what you contribute at work and home.

The Bottom Line

Over the last several decades, women have become a significant and invaluable part of the labor force. Progress has been made toward higher education, better jobs, higher pay, and more respect in the workplace. Change will likely require systemic shifts, recasting “women’s work,” increased graduation rates in well-paid fields, and support from employers and male peers to ensure equal pay and home responsibilities.