Join us for IWPR’s 2026 Power+ Summit, The Power Grid: Driving Gender Equity Forward, taking place September 28–29 in Detroit, MI.
Together, we will spark bold ideas, share breakthroughs, and shape the future of gender equity.
The Great Recession has been characterized by massive job loss for both women and men. It is as if a giant tsunami wave washed across the American economy and wiped millions of jobs away. As the wave recedes, people are attempting to rebuild their lives. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) updated graphic shows that the tsunami has been both larger and longer lasting for men than for women, but that the recovery for men has at least begun, while women’s job growth has so far failed to take hold. In fact, the job gap between women and men is growing. In July 2011, men gained 136,000 jobs and women lost 19,000.