Women hold majority in the workforce
photo by sky stockton
Since World War II, women have slowly ingrained themselves in the workforce. And in the 2010’s, they briefly became the majority during an economical crisis. However, men quickly took back the majority after the crisis. In January, women once again became the majority in the workforce. This time, the number is expected to grow, with women in the lead. Currently, women make up 50.046% of the workforce, according to forbes.com. This means there are 109,000 more women in the workforce than men. This lead may seem small, but it’s predicted to just be the start of an upward trend of women in the workforceWomen started to become a normal presence in the workforce in the 70s and 80s; they were also becoming a normal presence in post high school education. According to Catalyst.org, by 1982, women were earning more Bachelor's Degrees than men. By 1987, they were earning more Master’s Degrees. By 2006, they were earning more Doctorate degrees.
Looking at education statistics, it seems odd that it took until 2010 for women to be the majority in the workforce, when they have been the majority in college. One reason for this, according to nypost.com, is the economy. The state of the economy plays a role in how many women are in the workforce—especially in the 70s and 80s. Women may have been increasing their numbers in going to college, but many didn’t go on to work afterwards. Becoming a stay at home mother after college was quite normal. However, when the economy would worsen, women would join their husbands in the workforce to help support the family. When the economy was doing well, women would stay home because there wasn’t a financial need in the household.
“I think a lot of it is generational. Stay at home momming is maybe not as common, and there are probably a lot of reasons for that, like cultural influencing. It could also be that life is more expensive too. In the 80s, I think it was much easier to live off one income because you didn’t have all these excess expenditures [like cell phones, video games, computers],” Mrs. Tracy Becker, English teacher at St. Joseph High School, said.
The direction the economy is going plays a large role in the reason why women are the majority. The United States is shifting from a goods based economy to a service based economy. This means that jobs in manufacturing and mining are needed less, which are male dominated job sectors. Jobs that are predominantly women, like jobs in healthcare and education, are need more. More men are being laid off and women are being hired.