Employment and Earnings
The equal participation of women in politics and government is integral to building strong communities and a vibrant democracy in which women and men can thrive. By voting, running for office, and engaging in civil society as leaders and activists, women shape laws, policies, and decision-making in ways that reflect their interests and needs, as well as those of their families and communities.
Today, women constitute a powerful force in the electorate and inform policymaking at all levels of government. Yet, women continue to be underrepresented in governments across the nation and face barriers that often make it difficult for them to exercise political power and assume leadership positions in the public sphere. This chapter presents data on several aspects of women’s involvement in the political process in the United States: voter registration and turnout, female state and federal elected and appointed representation, and state-based institutional resources for women. It examines how women fare on these indicators of women’s status, the progress women have made and where it has stalled, and how racial and ethnic disparities compound gender disparities in specific forms of political participation.
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Political Participation Rank and Score by State
The Gender Wage Gap by Occupation 2019
Women’s median earnings are lower than men’s in nearly all occupations, whether they work in occupations predominantly done by women, occupations predominantly done by men, or occupations with a more even mix of men and women. Data for both women’s and men’s median weekly earnings for full-time work are available for 125 occupations.
The Gender Wage Gap: 2019 Earnings Differences by Race and Ethnicity
The gender wage gap in weekly earnings for full-time workers in the United States narrowed marginally between 2018 and 2019. In 2019, the ratio of women’s to men’s median weekly full-time earnings was 81.5 percent, an increase of 0.4 percent since 2018, when the ratio was 81.1 percent, leaving a wage gap of 18.5 percent, compared with 18.9 percent in 2018.
Gender Political Parity in the U.S. Congress: Women Will Wait 88 Years before Achieving Equal Representation
DOWNLOAD REPORT Women are a vital and integral part of building strong communities, and equal participation of women in elective office is crucial to a fair and equitable democracy. By running for office, women shape laws, policies, and decision-making in ways that reflect [...]
Women-Owned Businesses Have Increased in Number, but Still Face Obstacles to Growth
Women have made considerable progress in increasing their representation among business owners in recent years. The number of women-owned businesses increased in almost every industry between 2002 and 2012, at rates higher than those of men-owned businesses.
Integrating Workforce Development Programs and Pregnancy Prevention Services
This briefing paper explores the availability of and need for pregnancy prevention services among individuals enrolled in job training in the United States.
Geographic Mobility, Gender, and the Future of Work
Geographically, economic opportunity is unequally distributed across the United States. A disproportionate share of all private-sector jobs—one in five—are located in just four metropolitan areas: New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and Seattle.