In April’s Jobs Report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, it was revealed that the job growth continued, although at a slower pace than in recent months, with 175,000 jobs added. This recovery has been faster than that of the Great Recession, and women have been leading the way in job gains. The household survey showed that women gained all the jobs added in April, while men lost jobs. However, the question remains as to how far a tight labor market can take women who have historically faced barriers to full economic integration.
The labor market has shown signs of tightness post-pandemic with a rise in labor market churning, or people changing jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported historically high job openings, hires, and quits rates in the past few years. In this dynamic labor market, wages at the top and bottom of the distribution have converged at a historic rate, with women and Black workers benefiting disproportionately. The gender wage gap decreased by 2 percentage points and the Black-white wage gap decreased by 5 percentage points in the last four years alone.
Despite the positive trends in the Jobs Reports and other economic data, gender and racial wage gaps persist. Women of color face particularly stark wage gaps compared to white men, with Hispanic women earning only 61.4% of what white men earn and Black women earning 67.4%. Asian American women are the closest to white men in terms of earnings, but they should be outearning them based on their jobs and locations. Overt discrimination, occupational segregation, and low-paid occupations are contributing factors to the gender wage gap.
Occupational segregation plays a significant role in maintaining the gender wage gap, as women are more likely to work in low-paid occupations. While researchers are still exploring how occupational segregation may have changed in recent years, previous research suggests that women are less likely to change careers in certain industries like healthcare due to corporate concentration and occupational licensing. Additionally, unpaid caregiving responsibilities limit women’s work hours and their ability to pursue high-demand occupations like management or construction, leading to higher rates of part-time work and a part-time pay penalty.
Despite years of job gains and a low unemployment rate, the tight labor market is not enough to address the structural inequalities facing women, especially women of color. While women have gained more jobs than men in recent months, employment growth alone cannot solve gender inequality. Men still have higher employment rates and earnings, and until the labor market becomes less segregated, women may continue to face barriers even as they lead the economic recovery. Efforts to address systemic barriers, such as occupational segregation and caregiving responsibilities, are essential to closing the gender wage gap and promoting full economic integration for women.
