The Shriver Report, released earlier this year, has helped draw national attention to the conversation around #WhatWomenNeed. The report has focused particularly on the gender wage gap and the significant economic burden that women bear. It found that closing the gender wage gap would cut the poverty rate in half for working women and their families, and that if women received pay equal to that of their male counterparts, the U.S. economy would produce $447.6 billion in additional income. These are huge benefits, not just for women, but for all Americans – and they start with closing the gender wage gap.
At The Women’s Foundation, we’ve noted that occupational segregation and the wage gap remain persistently connected, with women often relegated to “female occupations” that typically pay less and offer fewer benefits than male-dominated occupations. As you can see in the infographic below, there is a significant wage disparity in the types of jobs that are most frequently occupied by women and the jobs with the least female representation:
A recent case study on nontraditional jobs released by The Women’s Foundation found that women face a number of barriers to these occupations, and also offers solutions for overcoming those barriers. For more details on how support services, partnerships with community colleges, and a focus on basic skills can help break down those barriers, please check out the report here.
