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Fast Facts

Economic Opportunity

Women at the Top

• Women held 14.4%, or 735 out of 5,110, of Fortune500 executive officer positions in 2010. [Catalyst]
• Women held 15.7% of Fortune 500 corporate board seats in 2010. [Catalyst]
• Women held 16.9% of Financial Post500 corporate officer positions in 2008. [Catalyst]
• Women held 14.0% of Financial Post500 corporate boards seats in 2009. [Catalyst]

The U.S. Labor Force

• In 2009, women made up 46.7% of the labor force and 51.4% of management, professional and related positions. [Catalyst]
• In 2009, 59.2% of all women 16 years and over were in the labor force, compared to 72.0% of all men.[Catalyst]
• 66 million women were employed in the U.S.—74 percent of employed women worked on full-time jobs, while 26 percent worked on a part-time basis. [Dept. of Labor]
• The largest percentage of employed women (40%) worked in management, professional, and related occupations; 32% worked in sales and office occupations; 21% in service occupations; 5% in production, transportation, and material moving occupations; and 1% in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations. [Dept. of Labor]
• The unemployment rate for all women was 8.1 percent and 10.3 percent for men in 2009. For Asian women it was 6.6 percent; white women, 7.3 percent; Hispanic women, 11.5 percent; and black women, 12.4 percent. [Dept. of Labor]
• The median weekly earnings of women who were full-time wage and salary workers was $657, or 80 percent of men’s $819. When comparing the median weekly earnings of persons aged 16 to 24, young women earned 93 percent of what young men earned ($424 and $458, respectively). [Dept. of Labor]
• For women age 25 and over with less than a high school diploma, 34 percent were labor force participants; high school diploma, no college, 53 percent; some college, but no degree, 62 percent; associate degree, 72 percent; and bachelor’s degree or higher, 73 percent. [Dept. of Labor]
• For women age 25 and over with less than a high school diploma, their unemployment rate was 14.2 percent; high school diploma, no college, 8.0 percent; some college, but no degree, 8.0 percent; associate degree, 5.9 percent; and bachelor’s degree or higher, 4.5 percent. [Dept. of Labor]
• There were 2,769,000 (5.3% of all people employed in management, professional, and related occupations) African-American women employed in management, professional, and related occupations. [Catalyst]
• There were 1,463,000 (2.8% of all people employed in management, professional, and related occupations) Asian-American women employed in management, professional, and related occupations. [Catalyst]
• There were 1,971,000 (3.8% of all people employed in management, professional, and related occupations Latinas employed in management, professional, and related occupations. [Catalyst]
• 56.4% of all mothers with children under 1 were in the labor force. [Catalyst]
• The labor force participation rate of parents with children under 18 in 2009 was 71.4% for mothers and 93.8% for fathers. [Catalyst]

20 Most Prevalent Jobs for Women in 2009

• Secretaries and administrative assistants, 3,074,000
• Registered nurses, 2,612,000
• Elementary and middle school teachers, 2,343,000
• Cashiers, 2,273,000
• Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides, 1,770,000
• Retail salespersons, 1,650,000
• First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers, 1,459,000
• Waiters and waitresses, 1,434,000
• Maids and housekeeping cleaners, 1,282,000
• Customer service representatives, 1,263,000
• Child care workers, 1,228,000
• Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks, 1,205,000
• Receptionists and information clerks, 1,168,000
• First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers, 1,163,000
• Managers, all other, 1,106,000
• Accountants and auditors, 1,084,000
• Teacher assistants, 921,000
• Cooks, 831,000
• Office clerks, general 821,000
• Personal and home care aides, 789,000 [Dept. of Labor]

Women in Law

• For the 2007-2008 academic year, women made up 46.9% of law school students, but in 2009 were 32.4% of all lawyers, and in 2010, 45.4% of all associates, and 19.4% of all partners. [Catalyst]

Women and MBAs

• Women in the U.S. earned 36.6% of MBAs in 2009-2010. [Catalyst]
• Women in Canada earned 36.9% of MBA in 2009-2010. [Catalyst]

Paycheck Fairness

• More than 10 percent of single mothers (over half a million) who worked full-time, year-round jobs lived in poverty in 2009. [EMILY's List]
• 17 percent of black and 19 percent of Latina single mothers who work full time lived in poverty. [EMILY's List]
• Due to the recession, more two-parent families are dependent on women as the sole wage earner. [EMILY's List]
• A woman who works year-round in a full-time job makes an average of 77 cents for every dollar earned by a male counterpart. [EMILY's List]
• Black women earn 62 cents for every dollar earned by white men. [EMILY's List]
•  Latina women earn 53 cents for every dollar earned by white men. [EMILY's List]
• Even after the passage of the landmark Equal Pay Act, women still earn $0.77 for $1 men make, translating into $10,000 in lost wages per worker per year. [America Votes]
• Furthermore, mothers are the primary or co-primary breadwinners of 2/3 of American families. [America Votes]

Women in Management

• Women made up nearly 47 percent of the total workforce in the United States in July 2010. [U.S. Government Accountability Office]
• Couples in which only the husband worked represented 18 percent of married couple families in 2007, compared with 36 percent in 1967. [U.S. Government Accountability Office]
• Among women aged 25 to 64 in the labor force, the proportion with a college degree roughly tripled from 1970 to 2008. [U.S. Government Accountability Office]
• The percentage of female officials and managers in the private sector increased from just over 29 percent in 1990 to 36.4 percent in 2002. [U.S. Government Accountability Office]
• In 2007 women comprised an estimated 40 percent of managers and 49 percent of nonmanagers on average for the industry sectors we analyzed—industries that comprised almost all of the nation’s workforce. [U.S. Government Accountability Office]
• Female managers in 2007 had less education, were younger on average, were more likely to work part-time, and were less likely to be married or have children, than male managers. [U.S. Government Accountability Office]
• While the average female married manager earned the majority of her own household's wages, her share of household wages was smaller than the share contributed by the average male married manager to his household's wages. [U.S. Government Accountability Office]
• Female managers earned 81 cents for every dollar earned by male managers in 2007. [U.S. Government Accountability Office]

Women Business Owners

• Women owned 7.8 million nonfarm U.S. businesses (28.8% of all nonfarm businesses) operating in the fifty states and the District of Columbia in 2007, an increase of 20.1 percent from 2002. These women-owned firms accounted for 28.7 percent of all nonfarm businesses in the United States. Women-owned firms employed 7.6 million persons (6.4 percent of total employment) and generated $1.2 trillion in receipts (3.9 percent of all receipts). [U.S. Census]
• In addition, 4.6 million nonfarm U.S. businesses (17.0% of all nonfarm businesses) were equally (50-percent/50-percent) owned by men and women. These firms employed 8.1 million persons (6.9 percent of total employment) and generated $1.3 trillion in receipts (4.2 percent of all receipts). [U.S. Census]

Political Participation

United States Women in Elective Office

• In 2011, women hold 88, or 16.4%, of the 535 seats in the 112^th Congress – 17, or 17%, of the 100 seats in the Senate and 71, or 16.4%, of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives. [CAWP, Rutgers]
• In 2011, 69 women hold statewide elective executive offices across the country; women hold 21.8% of the 317 available positions. [CAWP, Rutgers]
• In 2011, 1,1730, or 23.4%, of the 7,382 state legislators in the United States are women. Women hold 422, or 21.4%, of the 1,971 state senate seats and 1,308, or 24.2%, of the 5,411 state house seats. Since 1971, the number of women serving in state legislatures has more than quintupled. [CAWP, Rutgers]
• Colorado is the state with the highest percentage of women state legislators at 41.0%, followed by Vermont (37.8%), Arizona (34.4%), Hawaii (34.2%), and Minnesota (32.3%). [CAWP, Rutgers]
• As of January 2011, 8 of the 100 largest U.S. cities had women mayors. Of the 256 mayors of U.S. cities with populations over 10,000, 30, or 11.7%, were women. Of the 1163 mayors of U.S. cities with populations over 30,000, 194, or 16.7%, were women. [CAWP, Rutgers]
• In 2011, for the first time in history, the percentage of women in Congress went down. The number of women in statewide elective office and state legislatures also went down in 2011. [CAWP, Rutgers]
• Record numbers of women ran for elective office as major party nominees in 2010, with 15 women running for Senate seats, 138 women running for House seats, 65 running for statewide elected executive office, and 2536 running for state legislature. [CAWP, Rutgers]
• In 2011, there are six women serving in Cabinet or Cabinet-level positions. [CAWP, Rutgers]
• In 2011, there are three women serving as U.S. Supreme Court Justices. [CAWP, Rutgers]

Voting in the United States

• Women vote in higher numbers than men, and have done so in every presidential election since 1964. In the 2008 presidential election, 9.7 million more women voted than men did. [CAWP, Rutgers]
• In presidential elections, women have voted at higher rates than men since 1980. In 2008, 60.4% of voting-age women went to the polls, compared to 55.7% of voting-age men. [CAWP, Rutgers]
• In non-presidential elections, women have voted at higher rates than men since 1986. In 2006, 48.6% of voting-age women went to the polls, compared to 46.2% of voting-age men. [CAWP, Rutgers]
• More women register to vote than men. Some 78.1 million women were registered to vote in 2008 compared to 68.2 million men. [CAWP, Rutgers]
• Women are late deciders, and make up a higher number of undecided and swing voters than men. Women are 60% of undecided registered voters according to the new poll conducted by the Pew Research Center for People and the Press. [CAWP, Rutgers]

Parliamentary Representation

• Worldwide, women make up 19.2% of their national parliamentary bodies, 19.3% of lower houses and 18.2% of upper houses. [IPU]
• The United States ranks 72^nd in the world for representation of women in Congress, with women making up only 16.8% of the House of Representatives and 17% of the Senate. [IPU]
• Rwanda has the highest percentage of women in its lower chamber of parliament. Women make up 56.3% of the lower chamber of parliament and 34.3% of the upper chamber. [IPU]
• Sweden has the second highest percentage of women in parliament, with women making up 45.0% of the legislative assembly. [IPU]
• In Nordic countries, women make up 41.6% of parliament. [IPU]
• In Arab countries, women make up 11.7% of both houses combined, 12.5% of the lower house and 8.7% of the upper house. [IPU]
• Women are not represented in the parliaments of Belize, Micronesia, Nauru, Oman, Palau, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Tonga, or Tuvalu. [IPU]
• Women cannot vote or be elected to office in Saudi Arabia. [IWDC]

Education

Higher Education in the United States

• Women now earn as many professional and doctoral degrees as men. Women also earn the majority of master’s degrees due to their predominance in popular fields such as education and nursing. Men continue to earn the majority of master’s degrees in engineering and business administration. [ACE]
• The distribution of enrollment and undergraduate degrees by gender has remained consistent since about 2000, with women representing 57 percent of enrollment and earning 57 percent of bachelor’s degrees. [ACE]
• Of persons aged 25 years and older, 29 percent of women and 30 percent of men had attained a bachelor’s degree or higher; 31 percent of women and men had completed only high school, no college. [Dept. of Labor]

International Education of Girls

• Worldwide, 774 million adults lack basic literacy skills, as measured by conventional methods. Some 64% of them are women, a share virtually unchanged since the early 1990s. [USAID]
• Of the 72 million primary school aged children who do not attend school worldwide, 57 percent are girls; in addition, girls are 4 percent less likely than boys to complete primary school. [USAID]
• In developing countries, 85 percent of girls are enrolled in primary school, while 75 percent are actually in attendance. [USAID]
• In developing countries, 51 percent of girls are enrolled in secondary school, while 43 percent are actually in attendance. [USAID]
• More than 115 million children are out of primary school worldwide; as 53 percent of these children are girls, for every 100 boys out of school, there are 115 girls out of school. 5. UNICEF (2006) The State of the World's Children 2007. New York: UNICEF. http://www.unicef.org/sowc07/report/report.php [USAID]
• In developing countries, nearly one out of every five girls who enrolls in primary school does not complete her primary education. [USAID]

Health

Eating Disorders in the U.S.

• 5-10 million women and girls, compared to one million men and boys, suffer from anorexia and/or bulimia, in the United States alone. [NOW Foundation]
• Eighty-six percent of people with eating disorders report the onset of the illness by the time they reach the age of 20 (by no means is an eating disorder "less severe" when the eating-disordered person is above the age of 20). [NOW Foundation]
• The death rate for eating disorders is approximately 20 percent. [NOW Foundation]
• An estimated 85-95% of people with anorexia nervosa and bulimia and 65% of people with binge eating disorders are female. [NOW Foundation]
• Approximately 80% of women want to lose weight. [NOW Foundation]

Domestic Violence

• In 2005, 1,181 women were murdered by an intimate partner.That's an average of three women every day. Of all the women murdered in the U.S., about one-third were killed by an intimate partner. [NOW]
• Domestic violence can be defined as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, women experience about 4.8 million intimate partner-related physical assaults and rapes every year. Less than 20 percent of battered women sought medical treatment following an injury. [NOW]
• According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, which includes crimes that were not reported to the police, 232,960 women in the U.S. were raped or sexually assaulted in 2006. That's more than 600 women every day. Other estimates, such as those generated by the FBI, are much lower because they rely on data from law enforcement agencies. A significant number of crimes are never even reported for reasons that include the victim's feeling that nothing can/will be done and the personal nature of the incident. [NOW]
• Young women, low-income women and some minorities are disproportionately victims of domestic violence and rape. [NOW]
• Women ages 20-24 are at greatest risk of nonfatal domestic violence, and women age 24 and under suffer from the highest rates of rape. [NOW]
• The Justice Department estimates that one in five women will experience rape or attempted rape during their college years, and that less than five percent of these rapes will be reported. [NOW]
• Income is also a factor: the poorer the household, the higher the rate of domestic violence -- with women in the lowest income category experiencing more than six times the rate of nonfatal intimate partner violence as compared to women in the highest income category. [NOW]
• When we consider race, we see that African-American women face higher rates of domestic violence than white women, and American-Indian women are victimized at a rate more than double that of women of other races. [NOW]

Death

• The leading causes of death for females in the United States are heart disease (25.8%), cancer (22.0%), and stroke (6.7%). [CDC]

Maternal Mortality Ratio

• Afghanistan has the highest maternal mortality ratio, with 1,575.1 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. [IHME]
• Italy has the lowest maternal mortality ratio, with 3.9 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. [IHME]
• The United States has the 39^th lowest maternal mortality ratio, with 16.6 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. [IHME]

Maternity Leave Benefits

• Sweden provides the longest period of paid maternity leave, which is nationally funded and lasts for 16 months. [UN]
• Norway, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Australia, Albania, and Serbia provide one year of nationally funded maternity leave. [UN]
• In the United States, the Family and Medical Leave Act provides for 12 weeks of job-protected maternity leave, but it only covers those who work for larger companies. [USA Today]

Life Expectancy

• Japan has the longest life expectancy for females, with women living to an average of 86. [World Bank]
• Afghanistan has the shortest life expectancy for females, with women living to an average of 44. [World Bank]
• The United States has the 37^th longest life expectancy for females, with women living to an average of 81. [World Bank]

International Women’s Health

• In developing countries, 1 in 61 women die during pregnancy and childbirth; in least developed countries, 1 in 17 die. [USAID]
• An estimated 529,000 women die a year - at least one woman every minute - from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth, leaving behind children who are more likely to die because they are motherless. [USAID]
• Over 300 million women in the developing world suffer from short-term or long-term illness brought about by pregnancy and childbirth. [USAID]
• According to U.S. Government-sponsored research completed in 2006, approximately 800,000 people are trafficked across national borders annually. In addition, millions of victims are trafficked within their own national borders. [USAID]
• Approximately 80 percent of transnational trafficking victims are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors. The majority of transnational victims are females trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation. [USAID]
•  Trafficking in women and girls for forced labor and sexual exploitation grew rapidly between 1995 and 2005, largely because of war, displacement, and economic and social inequities between and within countries. [USAID]
• International research consistently finds that women are more likely to be beaten, raped, or killed by a current or former partner than by any other person, with most studies estimating that 20 to 50 percent of women experience partner violence at some point in their lives. [USAID]
• Seventy-two percent of the world's 33 million refugees are women and children. [USAID]