There are approximately 75 million of them in the civilian labor force and that number is growing at a steady clip.
It is important for everyone to understand, in this tight labor market, statistics released by the United States Department of Labor show 47 percent of the U. S. work force are women. They own close to 10 million businesses accounting for more than $1.4 trillion dollars in receipts. Seventy percent of mothers with children under 18 participate in the labor force with 75% of them employed full-time. Mothers are the primary or sole earners for 40 percent of households with children under 18 today – compared with just 11 percent in 1960. They dominate certain professional occupations including speech-language pathologists, human resource managers, pharmacists, and education administrators.
Women’s participation in the workforce has climbed steadily from about 33% after World War II to the current 47% today. The proportion of women with college degrees has risen from 11% in 1970 to more than 40% today.
Despite these gains, there are still areas in which women are underrepresented. The most notable is STEM occupations with women experiencing a declining number of workers in computer related fields.
The Cape Chamber recognizes the importance of women in our work force through the Women’s Network. In order to have the workforce necessary for the 21st century, all participants need the opportunity to be educated, trained, and ready to contribute.
