CB12-FF.05 

 Feb. 22, 2012 

 

Women’s History Month: March 2012

National Women’s History Month’s roots go back to March 8, 1857, when women from New 

York City factories staged a protest over working conditions. International Women’s Day was 

first observed in 1909, but it wasn’t until 1981 that Congress established National Women’s 

History Week to be commemorated the second week of March. In 1987, Congress expanded the 

week to a month. Every year since, Congress has passed a resolution for Women’s History 

Month, and the President has issued a proclamation. 

 

157.0 million 

The number of females in the United States according to the 2010 Census. The number of males 

was 151.8 million. 

Source: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 

<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1> 

At 85 and older, there were more than twice as many women as men. 

Source: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 

<http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/DPDP1> 

Motherhood 

85.4 million 

Estimated number of mothers in the United States in 2009.

Source: Unpublished data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, 2008 

2.3 

Average number of children that women 40 to 44 had given birth to as of 2008, down from 

3.4 children in 1976, the year the Census Bureau began collecting such data. 

Source: CPS numbers published in the White House report on women in America 

<http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/Women_in_America.pdf> 

The percentage of women in this age group who had given birth was 81 percent in 2010, down 

from 90 percent in 1976. 

Source: Fertility of American Women: 2010 table 1 and Historical table 2 

<http://www.census.gov/hhes/fertility/data/cps/> 
Earnings 

$36,931 

The median annual earnings of women 15 or older who worked year-round, full time, 

in 2010, unchanged from 2009. 

Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010 

 < http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p60-239.pdf>

Education 

30.7 million 

Number of women 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more in 2010, higher than the 

corresponding number for men (29.2 million). Women had a larger share of high school 

diplomas (including equivalents), as well as associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees. More 

men than women had a professional or doctoral degree. 

Source: Educational Attainment in the United States: 2010 

<http://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/education/data/cps/2010/tables.html> 

29.6% 

Percent of women 25 and older who had obtained a bachelor’s degree or more as of 2010. 

Source: Educational Attainment in the United States: 2010 

<http://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/education/data/cps/2010/tables.html> 

11.3 million 

Number of college students in fall 2010 who were women. 

Source: School Enrollment in the United States: 2010 

<http://www.census.gov/hhes/school/data/cps/2010/tables.html> 

Businesses

$1.2 trillion 

Revenue for women-owned businesses in 2007. 

Source: Survey of Business Owners: Women-Owned Businesses: 2007 

<http://www.census.gov/econ/sbo/> 

7.8 million 

The number of women-owned businesses in 2007. 

Source: Survey of Business Owners: Women-Owned Businesses: 2007 

<http://www.census.gov/econ/sbo/> 

7.5 million 

Number of people employed by women-owned businesses in 2007. 
Nearly half of all women-owned businesses (45.9 percent) operated in repair and maintenance; 

personal and laundry services; health care and social assistance; and professional, scientific and 

technical services. Women-owned businesses accounted for 52.0 percent of all businesses 

operating in the health care and social assistance sector. 

Source: Survey of Business Owners: Women-Owned Businesses: 2007 

<http://www.census.gov/econ/sbo/> 

4 

Number of states with at least 500,000 women-owned businesses in 2007 were California, Texas, 

New York and Florida. California had 1.0 million women-owned businesses, Texas had 609,947 

or 7.8 percent of all women-owned businesses in the United States, New York had 594,517 or 

7.6 percent, and Florida had 581,045, or 7.4 percent. 

Source: Survey of Business Owners: Women-Owned Businesses: 2007 

<http://www.census.gov/econ/sbo/>

Voting 

46.2% 

Percentage of female citizens 18 and older who reported voting in the 2010 congressional 

election. Forty-five percent of their male counterparts cast a ballot. Additionally, 66.6 percent of 

female citizens reported being registered to vote. 

Source: Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2010 

<http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/publications/p20/2010/tables.html> 

Jobs

58.6% 

Percentage of females 16 and older who participated in the labor force, representing about 

71.9 million women, in 2010. 

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey: Annual Average 2010 

<http://www.bls.gov/cps/demographics.htm#women> 

40.6% Percent of employed females 16 and older who worked in management, professional and related 

occupations, compared with 34.2 percent of employed males. 

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey: Annual Average 2010 

<http://www.bls.gov/cps/demographics.htm#women> 

Military 

205,500 

Total number of active duty women in the military, as of Sept. 30, 2010. Of that total, 

38,700 women were officers, and 166,800 were enlisted. 

Source: U.S. Department of Defense, Selected Manual Statistics, annual, and unpublished data. 
Marriage 

64.9 million 

Number of married women 18 and older (including those who were separated or had an absent 

spouse) in 2011. 

Source: Families and Living Arrangements: 2011 

<http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam/cps2011.html> 

5 million 

Number of stay-at-home mothers nationwide in 2010. 

Source: Families and Living Arrangements: 2010. 

<http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/families_households/cb10-174.html; Table 

SHP-1 <http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam.html> 

Following is a list of observances typically covered by the Census Bureau’s Facts for Features

series: 

African-American History Month (February) Labor Day 

Super Bowl Grandparents Day 

Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15) 

Women’s History Month (March) Unmarried and Single Americans Week 

Irish-American Heritage Month (March)/ Halloween (Oct. 31) 

 St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) American Indian/Alaska Native Heritage Month 

Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (May) (November) 

Older Americans Month (May) Veterans Day (Nov. 11) 

Cinco de Mayo (May 5) Thanksgiving Day 

Mother’s Day The Holiday Season (December) 

Hurricane Season Begins (June 1) 

Father’s Day 

The Fourth of July (July 4) 

Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act (July 26) 

Back to School (August) 

Editor’s note: The preceding data were collected from a variety of sources and may be subject to sampling 

variability and other sources of error. Facts for Features are customarily released about two months before an 

observance in order to accommodate magazine production timelines. For any information cited for the Statistical 

Abstract, users should check with the originating organization to see whether the data presented here have been 

superseded by more recent data. Questions or comments should be directed to the Census Bureau’s Public 

Information Office: telephone: 301-763-3030; fax: 301-763-3762; or e-mail: <pio@census.gov>.