Women at Work

1
Women at Work

• Research from the Education Foundation of AAUW
• released 2003

2
Women at Work

• Our path to the future is filled with
  possibilities for both progress and persistent
  inequality

3
The Job Market

• Jobs have decreased 40 in the production of
  industrial goods
• Jobs in the service industry have increased 20
• Knowledge based information field is the wave of
  the future employment

4
Financial Security

• Full time employment is most closely connected to
  financial security and employment benefits
  including insurance

5
The Work Force

• More women are in the work force than ever before
• 74 of US women age 25-54 with children under 18
  are in the work force
• The work force is increasing with youth ages
  16-24 and seniors 55 plus
• Ages 25-54 are the group that is declining

6
Two family incomes necessary

• Married couples without employed wife earnings
  averaged 35,670 while married couple with
  employed wife earned 63,370 annually (1998)

7
Workers in the Service or information fields had
the best chance of continued employment

• But
• Not always full time employment

8
Education is the Key

• 45.1 of women with less than a high school
  diploma participate in the paid labor force
• Full time jobs are critical to earning levels and
  benefits
• The more education a women has the more hours she
  works.

9
Educational Opportunities for women are generally
equal

• Men average 13.3 years of schooling
• Women average 11.9 years of schooling
• African American women 11.1 years
• Asian American women 11.7 years
• Latino women 9.8 years
• Native American women 11.7 years
• Caucasian women 12.1 years

10
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act

• Passed in 1997
• Placed a lifetime limit of 5 years of cash
  assistance for families with dependent children
• Parents are required to find employment
• We have not seen significant funding increases in
  job training or child care costs

11
Work Force Policies

• Advent of new types of jobs (Women often lacked
  confidence to apply for those positions)
• Flextime (The higher the salary the more likely
  the flex time option- men more likely to have
  this benefit)
• Availability of child and dependent care

12
Women

• Are not preparing for the fastest growing tech
  jobs
• Are still in the pink collar jobs

13
The earning gap is closing for women with
education and resources

• but the gap is wider for women without an
  education
• women are faring better than they did 20 years
  ago but if all women do not progress we will lag
  behind in the next 20 years

14
What Women Want

• On-the-job training for new jobs returning to
  school is not an option for many women
• Jobs that allow time to participate in the lives
  of their families
• Short courses rather than degrees to develop new
  skills (certificate type courses)

15
Actions

• Close the gap between women with resources and
  those without
• Train women and girls to become tech savy
• Educate women and girls about financial literacy
• Fight for benefits including flex time and
  affordable dependent care