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Liz Watson's picture

This blog was cross-posted from Womenstake, the National Women's Law Center's blog.

In honor of Labor Day, here’s a snapshot of how working women are faring in today’s economy, by the numbers.

  • Percentage of college graduates earning bachelor’s degrees who are women: 57.
  • Percentage of students earning master’s degrees who are women: 60.
  • Years of college that a man must attend, on average, to earn approximately the same as a woman with a four-year degree: 2.
  • The typical number of cents paid to a full-time, year-round woman worker for every dollar paid to her male counterpart: 77.
  • The typical number of cents paid to an African-American full-time, year-round woman worker for every dollar paid to a white, non-Hispanic man: 62.
  • The typical number of cents paid to a Latina full-time, year-round woman worker for every dollar paid to a white, non-Hispanic man: 54.
  • The amount of money a typical woman loses over the course of a 40-year career due to the wage gap: $431,000.
  • Out of 22 industrialized countries, the number of countries with a smaller gender wage gap than the United States: 14.
  • Out of the 111 occupations for which wage gap data is available, the number of occupations in which men out-earn women: 107.
  • The total number of EEOC charges alleging sex or pay discrimination against women in Fiscal Year 2011: 29,453 (30% of all charges).
  • The percentage of seats held by women in the United States Congress: 17.
  • The number of women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies: 19 (3.8% of all Fortune 500 CEOs).
  • The percentage of women in the federal judiciary: 31.
  • The percentage decrease in coaching positions on women’s college teams held by women from 1972 to 2012: 53 percent.
  • The number of minimum wage workers that are women: 2 out of 3.
  • The number of women working in traditionally female occupations: 4 out of 10.
  • For every 1 man, the number of women working in occupations with typical earnings below the federal poverty threshold for a family of four: 2.4.
  • The rate at which low-wage jobs have grown in comparison to middle and high-wage jobs during the recovery: nearly 3 to 1.
  • The unemployment rate among adult women: 7.5%.
  • The poverty rate among women: 14.5 percent.
  • The average number of hours a woman spends per day caring for and helping household members, doing housework, fixing meals and managing the household: nearly 5.
  • The number of federal laws providing paid sick leave, paid family leave, or fair scheduling practices: 0.
  • The percentage of American families in which women are primary or co-breadwinners: 63.

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