Women’s 

Employment 

During the 

Recovery

U.S. Department of Labor

May 3, 2011
Women’s Employment During the Recovery • PAGE 1

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE AT A GLANCE

In 2010, women represented 46.7 percent of the United States labor force, a slightly larger share than at the start of 

the recession in 2007. Overall 71.9 million women were employed or looking for work, representing 58.6 percent of 

all women aged 16 and over. 

As the overall workforce has become more 

diverse, so have working women. Among 

women in the labor force, 13.1 percent 

are black, 4.7 percent are Asian and 12.8 

percent are of Hispanic ethnicity. Along 

all racial groups, men are more likely to 

be employed than are women, however 

black women are almost as likely as black 

men to be employed—a fact that reflects 

the lower likelihood of black men working 

compared to other men. The gender gap 

is widest among Hispanics—as Hispanic 

men are more likely than other men to be 

employed, while Hispanic women are less 

likely than other women to be employed. 

Women are nearly twice as likely as men 

to work part time. In 2010, 26.6 percent 

of women worked part time compared to 

just 13.4 percent of men. More women 

are currently working part-time than were 

doing so prior to the recession, reflecting 

the increase in women working part-time 

because they can’t find full-time work. 

One in five women working part-time are 

doing so because they can’t find full-time 

work. Prior to the recession, less than one 

in ten women working part-time were doing so because they couldn’t find full-time 

work. 

Women are nearly 50 percent more likely 

to work in the public sector than are men 

with 18.2 percent of employed women 

working in public sector jobs. Despite this 

high concentration in a heavily unionized 

sector—36.2 percent of those working in 

the public sector are members of unions 

compared to 6.9 percent of those in the 

private sector—women are less likely to 

belong to a union than are men. In 2010, 

11.1 percent of women were union members, compared to 12.6 percent of men.1

 

1 Union membership refers to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union. However, some workers are represented by unions 

despite not belonging to a union themselves. In 2010, 12.4 percent of women and 13.8 percent of men were either union or employee association members or 

workers who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.

Table 1. Unemployment, employment, and earnings characteristics 

by race and Hispanic ethnicity, 2010 annual averages

Women Men

Characteristics of the employed 

% Employed (employment -population ratio among 

those 16 and older)

53.6 63.7

 White 54.0 65.1

 Black 51.7 53.1

 Asian 53.0 67.5

 Hispanic 49.6 68.0

% College graduates (age 25 and over) 37.1 34.9

% Usually working part time 26.6 13.4

% Working in the private sector (wage and salary 

workers)

76.2 79.3

% Working in the public sector 18.2 12.4

% Self-employed (unincorporated) 5.5 8.3

Weekly earnings

Total $669 $824 

 White $684 $850 

 Black $592 $633 

 Asian $773 $936 

 Hispanic $508 $560 

Characteristics of the unemployed 

Unemployment rate total 8.6 10.5

 White 7.7 9.6

 Black 13.8 18.4

 Asian 7.1 7.8

 Hispanic 12.3 12.7

Median duration of unemployment in weeks 20.3 22.2

% Long-term unemployed (27 weeks or more) 41.5 44.6

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey

Note: Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any 

race. Those identified as White, Black or Asian include those Hispanics who 

selected White, Black or Asian when queried about their race.
Women’s Employment During the Recovery • PAGE 2

Women are less likely to be self-employed, only 5.5 percent, compared to 8.3 percent of men.2 However, womenowned businesses are growing rapidly. According to the most recent Census Bureau Survey of Business Owners 

(2007), the number of women-owned businesses grew by 20.1 percent between 2002 and 2007, compared to 5.5 

percent for men-owned firms. In 2007, the Census Bureau counted 7.8 million women-owned business, representing 28.7 percent of all nonfarm businesses in the US. 

Women surpass men in educational attainment. Among the employed aged 25 and over, 37.1 percent of women 

have at least a bachelor’s degree compared to 34.9 percent of men. Because women are less likely than men to be in 

the workforce, female college graduates are still outnumbered by male college graduates in the labor force. However, 

women with a bachelor’s degree outnumber men by 1.6 million in the population as a whole and women are a growing share of college graduates. As such, women college graduates are likely to outnumber male college graduates in 

the labor force in the near future. 

Half of all women working as full-time wage and salary workers earned $669 or more per week in 2010. This median 

weekly wage was 81.2 percent of that earned by men. Asian women earned the most among women in 2010—with 

half of all Asian women earning $778 or more. Hispanic women earned the least, with half of all Hispanic women 

earning $508 or more per week (and thus half earning less). 

The unemployment rate averaged 8.6 percent among women in 2010. Data for March 2011 shows that the economic 

situation is improving for women, who have seen their unemployment rate decline to 8.3 percent. However, while 

the private sector has added 1.7 million jobs over the past 12 months, the public sector has lost nearly 400,000. Since 

women are disproportionately likely to work in the public sector, their unemployment decline has been smaller than 

that experienced by men. The unemployment rate for men averaged 10.5 percent in 2010 and has declined to 9.3 

percent in March 2011. However women continue to have a lower unemployment rate than men, are less likely to 

be long-term unemployed, and have a median duration of unemployment that was 1.9 weeks shorter than men’s in 

2010.

Unemployment and Labor Force Participation

The overall unemployment rate peaked after the end of this most recent recession at 10.1 percent in October 2009, 

coinciding with the peak for men of 11.4 percent. At that point, women’s unemployment rate was 8.7 percent. While 

men’s unemployment declined through much of 2010, the unemployment rate among women fluctuated for several 

months before it reached a high of 8.9 

percent in November 2010 (see Chart 1). 

Since reaching a peak in November 2010, female unemployment has declined 0.6 percentage point as of March 2011. 

This decline is only half that experienced by men (1.2 percent) 

over the same time period. Part 

of the reason that women have 

not fared as well as men during 

the recovery period may be their 

disproportionate representation 

in industries that continue to 

experience job losses, such as 

state and local government. 

2 Self-employed refer to self-employed workers whose businesses are unincorporated.

Chart 1: Unemployment Rate for Men and Women

(Seasonally adjusted, monthly data, ages 16 and older, Jan 2007-Mar 2011)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey
Women’s Employment During the Recovery • PAGE 3

Young women’s (ages 16 to 19) 

unemployment reached a high 

of 24.8 percent in October 

2010 and had declined to 22.7 

percent as of March 2011 (see 

Chart 2). 

Not only has the unemployment 

rate remained high for female 

teens, but a large number are 

no longer in the labor force — 

either working or looking for 

work. In 2007, female teens 

participated in the labor force at 

a rate of 41.5 percent. By 2010, 

that rate had declined substantially to 35.0 percent. Some 

of this decline in labor force 

participation among teens reflects 

an increase in the percent of teens in school. Among 16-19 year old women, 85.8 percent were students in October 

2010 compared to 82.0 percent in October 2007, two months before the recession started. However, fewer female 

teens are working while in school (22.9 percent in October 2010, down from 30.9 percent in October 2007).3

 

Among young women—those ages 20 to 24—labor force participation has fallen since the recession started from 

70.1 percent in 2007 to 68.3 percent in 2010. As with younger women, there has been an increase in the percent in 

school, 40.8 percent of 20 to 24 year old women were students in October 2010 compared to 38.8 percent in October 

2007. However, the increase was smaller than that for similarly aged men: 36.7 percent were in school in October 

2010 compared to 33.0 percent in October 2007. Thus over the recessionary period the gap between the percent of 

20 to 24 year old women and men in school narrowed slightly. 

Adult women have had little change in their labor force participation during the recession, while adult male labor 

force participation has declined. Labor force participation from 2007 to 2010 for women aged 25 to 54 was essentially unchanged (75.4 percent in 2007 to 75.2 percent in 2010), while the rate rose (33.2 percent in 2007 to 35.1 percent 

in 2010) for those aged 55 and over. Male labor force participation edged down slightly since the start of the recession for those aged 25 to 54 (90.9 percent in 2007 compared with 89.3 percent in 2010) while the rate for those aged 

55 and over rose (45.2 percent in 2007 compared with 46.4 percent in 2010).

Unemployment within families has increased in the years since the recession began.4

 In 2010, 12.4 percent of families had at least one unemployed member, nearly doubling the 6.3 percent rate experienced in 2007. In 2010, 58.1% 

of married couple families with children had both parents working, while only one parent was working in 37.6%. In 

2010, the wife was the sole employed member of the family in 19.6 percent of these cases, up from 13.9 percent in 

2007. 

Unemployment rates are lower for women with more education. In 2010, the unemployment rate of women with at 

least a bachelor’s degree was 4.7 percent, nearly the same as the male rate of 4.8 percent. Women with no high school 

diploma have the highest unemployment rate, 14.6 percent. While women’s unemployment rates are lower than 

men’s at all education levels, the largest difference is among those with just a high school diploma (see Chart 3).

3 October data are used here because that is the month when students are usually enrolled in school regardless of the type of school or school calendar.

4 A family is a group of two or more persons residing together who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption. The count of families is for “primary” families 

only, that is, the householder and all others persons related to and residing with the householder. Families are classified either as married-couple families or 

as families maintained by women or men without their spouses.

Chart 2: Unemployment Rate for Adult and Young Women

(Seasonally adjusted, monthly data, ages 16 and older, Jan 2007-Mar 2011)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey
Women’s Employment During the Recovery • PAGE 4

Unemployment varies across the 

US and the unemployment rate 

of women, like that of other 

groups in America, differs depending on the state in which 

they live. In 2010, women facing the highest unemployment 

rates lived in Nevada (12.7 

percent unemployment), California (11.3 percent), Rhode 

Island (10.5 percent), Michigan (9.9 percent), Florida (9.7 

percent), Indiana (9.7 percent), 

and Oregon (9.7 percent), 

while those facing the lowest 

rates lived in North Dakota 

(3.5 percent), South Dakota 

(4.2 percent), Nebraska (4.4 

percent), New Hampshire (5.1 percent), and Vermont (5.2 percent). The supplemental map at the end of this report 

shows both the unemployment rate for women by state and the overall numbers of unemployed women in each state. 

EMPLOYMENT DATA

The employment-population ratio shown on Chart 4 represents the proportion of the population 16 years and older 

that are employed. The percent employed has declined since the start of the recession, but the decline has been 

smaller among women. Between January 2007 and March 2011, the share of women who were employed declined 

3.3 percentage points while men’s declined 6.4 percentage points. In 2010, the percent of men employed stabilized 

while the percent of women employed continued to trend downward. As of March 2011, 53.5 percent of women 

aged 16 and over and 63.9 of men were employed. 

 

Participation of women in the labor force 

increased sharply during the 1970s and 

1980s but reached a plateau beginning in 2000, when labor force 

participation hovered between 59 

and 60 percent. In 2010, women 

were 46.7 percent of all workers in 

the labor force. This proportion 

is not expected to change by 2018, 

reflecting the small gains in female 

labor force participation in the last 

decade, as well as demographic 

trends. Women aged 55 and over 

have lower participation rates than 

similarly aged men and younger 

women. Another factor is that 

Hispanics will account for a higher 

share of the US population in 

2018, and Hispanic women have a lower 

labor force participation rate than other 

women. 

Chart 4: Employment-Population Ratio by sex for Men and Women 

(Seasonally adjusted, monthly data, ages 16 and older, Jan 2007-Mar 2011)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey

Chart 3: Unemployment Rate for Men and Women, by Education Attainment

2010 annual average, ages 25 and older

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey
Women’s Employment During the Recovery • PAGE 5

As you can see in chart 5, of the three major racial/ethnic groups, black women have the highest, and Hispanic 

women the lowest, labor force participation rate. In recent years the higher unemployment rates of black women 

have meant that they were actually less likely than white women to be employed, despite their higher labor force 

participation rate.

Employment for women declined most 

significantly in manufacturing, financial 

activities, and retail trade during 

the recession of 2007-2009. Together, these industries accounted 

for nearly 1.8 million jobs lost 

among female workers. Job losses 

continued for women through 

2010 in manufacturing and financial activities, while women gained 

jobs in retail trade. 

In 2010, women were underrepresented in some industries that are 

expected to grow in the near future. As table 2 shows, the Bureau 

of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects 

that professional, scientific and 

technical services will grow by 3.0 

percent annually or by a total of 2.6 million people by 2018 compared to 2008. In 2010, 43.2 percent of jobs in this industry were held by women, making 

them somewhat underrepresented in this high-growth industry. Women are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) occupations—accounting for 46.5 percent or less of jobs—such as life, 

physical, and social science occupations (46.5 percent), computer and mathematical occupations (25.8 percent), and 

architecture and engineering occupations (12.9 percent).

Women are well represented in other growth industries such as education services (which is expected to grow 2.4 

percent annually through 2018) as well as in health and education services (which is expected to grow 2.3 percent 

annually through 2018). 

Table 2: Industries with largest expected employment growth and the representation of women in these 

industries, BLS Employment Projections 2008-2018 and Current Population Survey 2010 annual averages

Industry Annual average rate of change 

2008-20181

 

Women as a percent of total 

employed by industry in 20102

Professional, scientific, and technical services 3.0% 43.2%

Education services 2.4% 68.6%

Health and social services 2.3% 79.0%

Construction 1.7% 8.9%

 *Construction and extraction occupations 1.2% 2.6%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Released December 11, 2009

1

Employment Projections presented here are based on Current Employment Statistics data. The projections are found at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/

archives/ecopro_12102009.pdf 

2

These data are from the Current Population Survey.

On average women earn less than men, but this effect grows over time for women. As men gain experience in the 

labor force their wage gains typically exceed those experienced by women. Taking the wage gaps by age in 2010, if 

these were the gaps that all cohorts of women faced at each age, then by age 25 a woman working full-time, full-year 

Chart 5: Labor Force Participation rate of Women, by race and ethnicity 

(Annual averages, 1975-2010, ages 16 and older)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey
Women’s Employment During the Recovery • PAGE 6

will have earned $6,000 less than a 

man working full-time full-year. By 

age 35, a woman who experiences 

the typical gap at each age in 2010 

has earned $28,000 less than a man 

earning median earnings at every 

age. By age 65 the earnings gap has 

ballooned to $379,000.5

EMPLOYMENT AND 

UNEMPLOYMENT OF 

WORKING MOTHERS

In 2010, there were 23.2 million 

working moms, down from 25.2 million in 2007.6

 The number of working moms had been rising from 2004 to 2007, but then declined during the recession and the year that followed it. In 2004, 66.5 percent of moms worked and 67.8 percent did in 2007, but only 64.4 

percent were employed in 2010.

Mothers with young children are less likely to work than those with older children. In 2010, 57.0 percent of moms 

with a child under 6 years old worked; 71 percent of these moms held a full-time job. Among moms with kids aged 6 

to 17 in the home (but none younger than 6), 70.5 percent worked, about three quarters of whom were employed full 

time. 

While the unemployment rate among women is lower than that among men, that is not the case among parents. In 

2007, the unemployment rate for moms was 4.6 percent compared to only 2.8 percent for dads. Unemployment rose 

among both moms and dads in the ensuing years and in 2010, 9.0 percent of moms and 7.5 percent of dads were 

unemployed. Women without children under 18 had a 4.4 percent unemployment rate in 2007 (compared to 5.7 

percent for men) and in 2010 the unemployment rate was 8.4 percent (compared to 12.0 percent for men). 

Moms with children under 6 years old continue to face higher unemployment rates (10.8 percent in 2010) than do 

moms with children aged 6 to 17 years old (7.8 percent in 2010). 

Unemployment among parents is lower among both married moms and dads and rose less through the recent downturn, compared to their unmarried counterparts. In 2010, unmarried custodial mothers had an unemployment rate 

of 14.6 percent, up from 8.0 percent in 2007. Unmarried custodial fathers had an unemployment rate of 15.7 percent 

in 2010, up from 6.2 percent in 2007. Married mothers faced a 6.3 percent unemployment rate in 2010, up from 3.0 

percent in 2007; while the rate for married fathers was 6.8% in 2010, up from 2.5 percent in 2007. 

Working moms (37.2 percent) and women without children (37.0 percent) are almost equally likely to have bachelor’s degrees and both have higher educational attainment than men. Among employed men, dads are more likely 

to have at least a bachelor’s degree (36.7 percent) than men without children under 18 in the home (33.9 percent). 

As table 3 shows, moms in 2010 accounted for 19.4 percent of those who worked in management, professional, and 

related occupations (compared to dads, who accounted for 18.3 percent). This broad occupation includes teachers 

and health care practitioners. Approximately 20.5 percent of workers in sales and office occupations were moms 

5 This chart uses the usual weekly earnings of a wage and salary workers as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The cumulative lost earnings compares the difference in earnings for the median earner working fifty-two weeks out of the year over the five- or ten-year age range shown.

6 “Moms” and “dads” refer to women and men with their own children under 18 years old. Own children include sons, daughters, step-children, and adopted 

children. Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Chart 6: Cumulative Lost Earnings by Full-Time Working Women 

in Fourth Quarter of 2010

Source: Department of Labor, Office of the Chief Economist analysis of BLS’ Current Population Survey.
Women’s Employment During the Recovery • PAGE 7

(compared to 11.0 percent who were dads). Moms made up 19.8 percent of service occupations (compared to 11.3 

percent of dads).

Table 3: Employed persons by occupation, sex and presence of children under 18 years old, 2010 annual averages

Moms (Women with own 

children under 18 years old) 

Dads (Men with own 

children under 18 years old)

Among total employed, 16 and older 16.7% 17.7%

Sales and office occupations 20.5% 11.0%

Service occupations 19.8% 11.3%

Management, professional and related occupations 19.4% 18.3%

Production, transportation and material moving 

occupations

7.5% 25.6%

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations1.7% 35.3%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

In terms of pay, full-time working moms earned $667 per week compared to $920 for dads in 2010. This earnings 

gap of 72.5 percent in 2010 has narrowed from 69.2 percent in 2007 at the start of the recession. In contrast, the 

gender earnings gap among non-parents was 87 percent in 2010. 

In 2010, the earnings gap at 84 percent was smallest among black moms and black dads, and was 83 percent between 

Hispanic parents. The earnings gap was the largest at 73 percent between white moms and dads and also 73 percent 

between Asian moms and dads.

In 2010, Asian moms had the highest median weekly earnings with half bringing home $824 or more, compared to 

white moms ($684), black moms ($582), and Hispanic moms ($495).

Table 4: Usual weekly earnings of full time wage and salary workers by sex and presence of own children under 

18 years old

Characteristic Total Own children under 18 

years old

No own children under 

18 years old

Women $669 $667 $670 

Men $824 $920 $770 

Ratio of women’s to men’s earnings 81.2% 72.5% 87.0%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, 2010 annual averages

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH

In 2009, a total of 335 women died on the job, compared with a total of 4,216 men. Transportation incidents—

including motor vehicle, air, rail, and water transportation—caused the highest percentage of fatal work injuries to 

women (43 percent). The second highest percentage of fatal occupational injuries to women (29 percent) resulted 

from assaults and violent acts—including violence by other persons, self-inflicted injuries, and attacks by animals. 

Compared with men, a lower percentage of fatal work injuries to women resulted from contact with objects and 

equipment, falls, and exposure to harmful substances and environments.

 As with death on the job, women experience fewer occupational injuries and illnesses requiring days away from 

work than men. However, the gender gap in days-away-from-work occupational injuries and illnesses (61% men 
Women’s Employment During the Recovery • PAGE 8

and 39% women) is much smaller than the gap in deaths (93% men and 7% women). In 2009 there were 102 injuries 

to women on the job per 10,000 full-time female workers and 129 injuries to men per 10,000 male full-time workers. 

Nevertheless, women experience more injuries and illnesses than men in some high rate occupations. Among all 

workers, bus drivers (transit and intercity) had the highest incidence rate at 736 cases per 10,000 full-time workers; 

55 percent of the injuries and illnesses in this occupation category were incurred by women. Nursing aides, orderlies 

and attendants had an incidence rate of 456, nearly four times the rate for all workers. Over ninety percent of the 

injuries and illnesses in this occupation occurred to women in 2009. 

LOOKING FORWARD

➢ Working Together – White House National Equal Pay Enforcement Taskforce: By establishing a collaborative 

effort among the Labor Department, the Department of Justice, the Office of Personnel Management, and the 

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Administration will ensure strategic enforcement of pay 

discrimination cases and take steps to reduce the persistent pay gap between men and women. The taskforce is 

working to improve data collection and interagency coordination and enforcement efforts. The task force is also 

establishing a campaign to educate employers on their obligations and employees on their rights, and ensuring 

that the federal government is a model employer. In December 2010, the Women’s Bureau hosted an Equal Pay 

Research Summit, bringing together some of the foremost experts to discuss the best approaches to data collection so as to better understand the scope of the pay gap and improve enforcement efforts. 

➢ Enforcing Equal Opportunity and Pay: The Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs 

(OFCCP) enforces Executive Order 11246, which establishes a federal-wide requirement of equal opportunity in 

employment by federal contractors and subcontractors. OFCCP has hired nearly 200 new compliance officers to 

increase its ability to investigate and resolve cases and has also prioritized compensation cases for enforcement in 

Fiscal Year 2011. Through rulemaking, OFCCP will seek input on how to develop a compensation data collection tool which can be used to identify and root out wage-based discrimination. The Department’s Wage and 

Hour Division is also ensuring that workers receive the wages they are legally owed through targeted enforcement initiatives in industries where violations of federal labor laws most often occur, such as health care, restaurants, hotel/motel, agriculture, day care, garment manufacturing, guard services and temporary help; industries 

were many women are employed.

➢ Advancing Women in Non Traditional Occupations: In 2010, the Department’s Veterans’ Employment and 

Training Service and the Women’s Bureau partnered to award $1.8 million in grants to support training opportunities and career support for women veterans to succeed in non-traditional occupations in growing sectors of 

the economy. Over 26 grants were awarded in 14 states and the District of Columbia for job training, counseling, 

and placement services (including job readiness, and literacy and skills training) to expedite the reintegration of 

homeless female veterans and veterans with families into the labor force. The Employment and Training Administration’s Office of Apprenticeship and the Women’s Bureau jointly administer the Women in Apprenticeship 

and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO) grant program that promotes the recruitment, training, employment 

and retention of women in apprenticeship and nontraditional occupations. In June and July 2010, six grantees 

were awarded WANTO grants totaling nearly $2 million dollars. 

➢ Work-life Balance and Workplace Flexibility: The Department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is enforcing 

the new break time for nursing mothers’ law, ensuring women who choose to breastfeed their infants have the 

ability to continue to do so after they return to work. This new law took effect when the Patient Protection and 

Affordable Care Act was signed into law in March 2010. It requires employers to provide employees who are 

nursing mothers reasonable break time and a place—other than a bathroom—that is shielded from view and free 

from intrusion by coworkers and the public, to express breast milk while at work. WHD is working expeditiously 

to ensure both nursing moms and employers have the guidance they need to invoke their rights and comply with 

the law respectively. This new law will undoubtedly help nursing moms achieve balance between their jobs and 

caring for their children, and help employers retain good workers. 
Women’s Employment During the Recovery • PAGE 9

WHD has also taken steps to ensure more workers can take advantage of the Family and Medical Leave Act 

(FMLA) by issuing an Administrator Interpretation clarifying the definition of “in loco parentis,” so that employees who assume the role of caring for a child receives parental rights to family leave regardless of the legal or 

biological relationship. To better inform our interpretative guidance, enforcement policies, and ensure FMLA is 

better and more effectively utilized, the Department is also interested in learning how FMLA has worked from 

the perspectives of both employees and employers. Therefore, we soon will initiate a survey inviting employers 

and employees to provide input on their experiences with the FMLA. A new supplement to the BLS American 

Time Use Survey, sponsored by the Women’s Bureau, will also provide new data on a wide diversity of workers’ 

access to, and use of, leave.

In addition, the Labor Department’s Women’s Bureau is hosting a National Dialogue on Workplace Flexibility 

in over ten cities across the country which is built on the message and momentum from the March 2010 White 

House Flexibility Forum. The dialogues include participants from the business community, advocates, researchers, union leaders, government agencies, and employees. The Dialogue will raise awareness and share information on the impact of workplace flexibility, expand the knowledge base and support of flexibility; and stimulate 

dialogue among employers and business owners on making flexibility work. 

➢ Employment and Training Services for Women: The workforce investment system provides important employment, educational and training services to help individuals, including women, find good jobs and move along a 

career pathway. The number of female participants receiving services through the various workforce programs 

has increased in the last few years by over 40 percent, to over 15.7 million 

Approximately 45 percent of participants who exited the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Adult and Dislocated 

Worker programs in the most recent program year, ending June 30, 2010, were women. Approximately 55 percent of the individuals exiting the WIA Youth program and 42% exiting the Job Corps program were women and 

girls. WIA female exiters show a broader spectrum of racial and ethnic diversity compared to men: more women than men are either Hispanic, Asian, Black or African American. More women receive WIA training services 

compared to men (122,266 women versus 113,017 men according to the most recent WIA data). WIA women 

exiters tend to enter training more often than men (14 percent of women compared to 8.9 percent of men), and 

also stay in training longer (19.5 percent of female trainees are enrolled longer than one year, while this is true 

for only 8.5 percent of male trainees). As far as outcomes, females in each of the WIA programs (adults, dislocated workers, and youth) do as well, if not slightly better in finding and keeping jobs (entered employment and 

employment retention). 

In addition, The Women’s Bureau will soon release the Trauma Informed Care for Women Veterans Experiencing Homelessness Guide. The guide was developed to ensure that trainers and service provides who serve 

women veterans with multiple traumas have a deeper understanding of the unique trauma experiences and 

needs of female veterans. 

➢ Training Women for Jobs in a Clean Energy Economy: Ensuring women are trained to succeed in a clean energy 

economy is critical to ensuring opportunities are available in industries that are growing and have good jobs. 

Training for women and other under-served job seekers is being funded by the Department’s “Pathways Out of 

Poverty” grants. These grants are providing $150 million to support programs that help disadvantaged populations find ways out of poverty and into economic self-sufficiency. A number of these grantees have succeeded in 

recruiting women participants (23 percent on average as of September 2010), while focusing on green industries, 

especially construction, energy, and transportation, which have historically employed fewer women. On Earth 

Day 2009, Secretary Solis held a roundtable with White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy 

Sutley to discuss the opportunities for women in the clean energy economy. The Women’s Bureau hosted a series 

of seven teleconferences for workforce practitioners, designed to offer information and an exchange of ideas to 

better connect women with green jobs training and funder nine projects to explore ways to increase women’s 

participation in green training programs. In 2011, the Women’s Bureau will publish an online guide, Why Green 

is Your Color: A Woman’s Guide to a Sustainable Career. 
Women’s Employment During the Recovery • PAGE 10

➢ Strengthening the Safety Net for the Unemployed: The Recovery Act provided incentives for states to update 

antiquated unemployment laws to make unemployment assistance available to more American workers. These 

updates encouraged states to provide unemployment insurance benefits to those seeking part-time work (who 

are disproportionately women), and to workers who leave their jobs to care for a sick or disabled loved one, or to 

escape a violent domestic relationship. Because of the modernization efforts in the Recovery Act, an estimated 

200,000 unemployed Americans received benefits they would not otherwise have received.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, preliminary 2010 annual average data.