Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

60+ Women in the Workplace Statistics in 2024

Transform your workplace into an inclusive and empowering environment for women with these eye-opening statistics. Unlock the potential of gender diversity and drive positive change in your organization.
In This Post:

The question of gender equality has been at the forefront for the past couple of decades; nevertheless, women in the workplace still face a unique set of challenges and difficulties in the office. Hence, we collected the most impactful women in the workplace statistics to show you the landscape as it stands in 2022:  

  • In April 2020, the number of women in the labor force was at the lowest rate in the past 30 years. (FRED, 2022) 
  • The number of women in the workplace was highest in 2019. There were 79,457,808 women in the workforce, or a share of 47.4%. Only 32.2% of women were employed in the top 10 occupations. (DOL, 2020) 
  • According to the Women’s Bureau of U.S. Department of Labor, in 2019, teaching was reported a top occupation for women, employing the largest number of women – 4,364,262. (DOL, 2020) 
  • A study by the IZA Institute of Labor Economics suggests that women are 24% more likely to permanently lose their jobs in comparison to men because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Also, women expect a decrease in their labor income by 50% more than their male colleagues. (IZA, 2020) 
  • Even though 50% of the population is female, women generate just 37% of global GDP. (McKinsey & Company, 2017) 
  • According to PwC research, 85% of female millennials prefer working for companies with strong employer policies on diversity and workforce inclusion. However, 71% of them report that even though companies talk about diversity, the opportunities in the workplace aren’t really equal. (PWC, 2015) 
  • One research showed that companies with more women and stronger human capital policies have higher employee productivity rates. (MSCI, 2018) 
  • In the U.S., due to the COVID-19 recession, 11.5 women lost their jobs between February and May 2020 compared to 9 million men. (Pew Research Center, 2020)
  • Three sectors accounted for 59% of the total loss – leisure and hospitality, education and health services, and retail trade. In these sectors, 47% of the jobs were held by women, and just 28% by men. (Pew Research Center, 2020) 
  • Among women, Hispanic women have experienced a greater decline in employment (-21%) in comparison to other women and men. (Pew Research Center, 2020) 
  • Black women are almost four times as likely as white women to face microaggressions. Asian women and Latinas are two to three times as likely to experience microaggressions in the workplace. (McKinsey & Comany, 2022) 
  • A study on flexible work hours showed that men are perceived more favorably than women when seeking work-life balance. (ScienceDaily, 2014) 
  • Once the pandemic is over, up to 69% of women with children want to work from home at least one day a week compared to 56% of men with children. (CMI, 2020) 
  • One in three women and 60% of mothers with young children spend five or more hours a day on caregiving and housework. Moreover, 42% of women in the workplace said they felt burned out. (McKinsey & Company, 2022) 
  • Even though 48% of women reported COVID-19’s negative impact on their careers, almost 2 in 3 women who left the workforce plan to return to work. Moreover, 8 in 10 are considering jobs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). (MetLife, 2021) 
  • For every 100 men promoted to managers, only 85 women were promoted. This gap is greater for black women (58) and Latinas (71). Thus, at the beginning of 2020, women held just 38% of manager-level positions versus 62% of men. (McKinsey & Company, 2020) 
  • A study by the Center for Creative Leadership shows that companies and organizations with more female employees have more meaningful work and job satisfaction, better organization and dedication, and lower rates of burnout. (CCL, 2017) 
  • By age 31, women are more likely than men to have earned a bachelor’s degree. This refers to white, black women, as well as Latinas. (BLS, 2018)  
  • Gender-diverse businesses report higher average revenue rates and better employee engagement. (Gallup, 2014) 
  • Various studies show that when women are hired only to fill quotas, it harms the relationships between co-workers. (Gallup, 2014) 
  • Due to high burnout rates, one in three women considers leaving the labor force or downshifting their careers. (CNBC, 2021) 
  • Globally, 606 million women (21.7%) perform full-time unpaid care work, versus only 41 (1.5) million men. (ILO, 2019) 
  • In 2020, women held 20.6% of corporate board seats globally. (MSCI, 2020) 
  • Women feel more stressed at the workplace because of the pandemic (72%) in comparison to their male colleagues (61%). (MetLife, 2020) 
  • One in fifteen Asian women works in an entry-level position, but only one in fifty Asian women is in the C-suite. (McKinsey & Company, 2021) 
  • More than 60% of Black women have experienced racial trauma in the workplace in the past year. (McKinsey & Company, 2021) 
  • U.S. Census Bureau data shows that females have higher rates of college enrollment in comparison to males, especially among blacks and Hispanics. (Pew Research Center, 2014)  
  • Two of every three caregivers in the U.S. are women providing daily or regular support to children, the elderly, or people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. Thus, their risk for poor mental health is bigger, with the pandemic aggravating the stressful nature of their job. (CDC, 2021) 
  • Mothers of young children, especially when they are ‘gender only’ in the organization, face more challenges and difficulties at the workplace. (McKinsey & Company, 2021) 
  • Between February 2020 and February 2021, 2.4 million women have left the workforce compared to 1.8 million men. (Pew Research Center, 2021) 
  • Due to the pandemic and high burnout rates, four in ten women have considered switching jobs or leaving their company. (McKinsey & Company, 2021) 
  • In senior leadership positions, men outnumber women two to one even though employees are equally likely to say that women and men leaders have supported their career development. Moreover, 38% of senior-level women mentor or sponsor one woman of color. This percentage for senior-level men supporting women of color is 26. (McKinsey & Company, 2021) 
  • McKinsey’s 2018 Women in the Workplace report shows that 55% of women in senior leadership and 48% of lesbians faced sexual harassment in the workplace. Moreover, 45% of women in technical fields have been sexually harassed, followed by 30% of women of color. Generally, 30% of all women in the labor force experienced sexual harassment throughout their careers. (McKinsey & Company, 2018) 
  • According to McKinsey Global Institute Report, $12 trillion could be added to global GDP by 2025 by advancing women’s equality worldwide. (McKinsey & Company, 2015) 
  • Women in emerging economies have more challenges than their colleagues in developed countries. (McKinsey & Comapny, 2020) 
  • 69% of women of working age are in the labor force. (PWC, 2022) 
  • The share of female employees in full-time employment is 76% compared to 91% of male workers. (PWC, 2022)
  • As of July 2022, there are 579,000 fewer women in the workforce than before the pandemic. (NWLC, 2022) 
  • Employing more women could amount to a GDP increase of more than $6 trillion yearly for countries across the OECD. The US could gain $2.1 trillion. (PWC, 2022) 
  • 29% of women are thinking about switching jobs to less demanding ones or leaving the workforce together, compared to 22% of men. (McKinsey & Company, 2023) 
  • For every 100 men who get promoted to managers, only 87 get promoted. (McKinsey & Company, 2023) 
  • The percentage rate of women in executive positions is 26%, and only 5% are women of color. (McKinsey & Company, 2023) 
  • In 2022, the rate of women in leadership leaving their companies was at an all-time high in years. (McKinsey & Company, 2023) 
  • The most significant factors why women leaders are switching their jobs are lack of opportunity to advance (48%), unsupportive managers (22%), and unmanageable workload (17%). (McKinsey & Company, 2023) 
  • Women are 2.5 times less likely to have a technical role than men. (McKinsey & Company, 2023) 
  • 76% of young women prioritize flexibility in the workplace, and 68% believe that commitment to employee wellbeing is more important than other factors. (McKinsey & Company, 2023) 
  • 61% of women are interested in mainly working remotely compared to 50% of men. (McKinsey & Company, 2023) 
  • Women who work primarily remotely experience fewer microaggressions than those who work hybrid or on-site. The rates are 19%, 24%, and 29%, respectively. (McKinsey & Company, 2023) 
  • 53% of women report higher stress levels than a year ago, and almost half (46%) feel burnt out. (Deloitte, 2022) 
  • More than half of women (57%) don’t feel comfortable discussing their mental health in the workplace. (Deloitte, 2022) 
  • Almost half of the female employees rate their work-life balance as poor or extremely poor. Only 39% say they achieve good or perfect balance. (Deloitte, 2022) 
  • Women are more likely to be looking for a new job today than a year ago, especially those in middle management positions (64%). (Deloitte, 2022) 
  • The main reasons why female employees want to leave their company are feeling burned out (38%), low salary (27%), and lack of advancement opportunities (13%). (Deloitte, 2022) 
  • 94% of women believe that requesting or taking advantage of flexibility hinders their chances of promotion. (Deloitte, 2022) 
  • Almost 60% of women who work in hybrid workplaces report being excluded from meetings, discussions, and interactions. (Deloitte, 2022) 
  • In 2022, 59% of women experienced non-inclusive behavior at work compared to 52% in 2021. (Deloitte, 2022) 
  • Females reported only 31% of the behaviors. They were more likely to report harassment (66%) than microaggressions (23%). (Deloitte, 2022) 
  • Women who work for Gender Equality Leaders are more satisfied with their jobs (90%), more motivated at work (90%), and have better mental health (62%). (Deloitte, 2022) 
  • 59.1% of part-time employees are female. (NWLC, 2022) 
  • 27.9% of all working women are part-time workers, compared to 17.2% of men. (NWLC, 2022) 
  • More than two-thirds, or 67.7% of women, have low-paid part-time jobs. (NWLC, 2022) 
  • Out of 23.9% of parents with children under 19 who have part-time jobs, 80.4% are women. (NWLC, 2022) 
  • More than one in three women with disabilities, or 31.8%, work part-time, compared to 21.3 of men. (NWLC, 2022) 
  • Women’s hours in paid jobs are unchanged, whereas men work fewer hours. (Pew Research Center, 2022) 
  • Closing the gender pay gap could lead to an annual increase of $2.1 trillion per year for countries across the OECD. (PWC, 2022) 
  • According to PWC estimates, it would take 63 years to narrow the gender pay gap, 30 years to narrow the participation gap, and 67 years for female full-time employees’ share to be equal with the male share. (PWC, 2022) 
Written by shortlister editorial team

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