In fact, one might be more surprised to find no gap implying that workplace experience and skills have no market value. This example demonstrates that little is learned from simple comparisons. As early as 1971, never-married women in their thirties who had worked continuously earned slightly higher incomes than their male counterparts. As these numbers show, the story of women in the workforce is a positive one. Since the 1960s, women s labor force participation rates have increased dramatically especially for married women with children.
Women are more educated, earning over half of all bachelor s and master s degrees.
The share of doctorate degrees awarded to women has quadrupled since 1960. And because women today are choosing to remain in the labor force after marriage and childbirth, levels of experience and job tenure among women are also increasing. Finally, women have entered a broader range of jobs, including some traditionally male-dominated occupations, over the last 30 years. The share of women in executive and professional specialty occupations relatively high paying jobs has increased considerably. The share of women becoming computer systems analysts, doctors, and financial managers has more than doubled, and the share becoming lawyers has increased by fivefold since 1975.