NEWS

WIRES

OTHER

Women See Small Gains in Economic Recovery

According to IWPR's analysis of data from BLS, women lost 2.7 million jobs between December 2007 and September 2010 (the trough for women's employment). As of June 2011, only 11 percent (301,000) of the jobs women lost were regained-meaning that women actually gained back fewer jobs than BLS previously reported in April 2011 (371,000), when job gains for women were estimated at 14 percent. In their July 8 release, BLS revised the April and May employment figures downward.

Women's recession, as measured by their job loss, had a later starting point than men's and their job recovery also began later and has been more anemic. Men experienced 33 months of nearly consecutive job loss initiated before the start of the recession, while women experienced 23 months of nearly consecutive job loss initiated five months after the recession began. The number of months of nearly consecutive job loss and the size of the job loss for both men and women have not been seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

As of June 2011, men have had 12 months of consecutive job growth, while women had job growth in only eight of those months. Men have regained 25 percent of the jobs they lost since the recession began (1.5 of 6 million).

"Men and women still work largely in different places in the labor market," said Dr. Heidi Hartmann, President of IWPR and a labor economist. "The slower growth for women, in part, reflects the past year's job losses for women at the state and local government level. We can expect women to continue to experience jobs loss as state and local governments continue to face revenue shortfalls due to the slow recovery from the recession."

Men are gaining jobs relative to women in most sectors, even in industries like retail and business services, which are relatively integrated. "Women and men often hold different jobs even in integrated industries-men sell cars and building supplies and women sell clothing, cosmetics, and other lower cost items," said Hartmann. "Men may be getting some jobs in health care but they are not moving into female-dominated health occupations, such as nursing, in large numbers. Of course if employment opportunities were equal, we would likely see less sex segregation in the labor market than we do."

"Discrimination should not be ruled out as a reason for women's higher share of layoffs and slower hiring in nearly every industry," said Dr. Barbara Gault, Vice President and Executive Director of IWPR. "We know women earn less in the same jobs and tend to work in lower paying jobs while men get the better pay. It is possible that, since this recession was widely trumpeted by the media as a 'mancession,' employers are now favoring men in hiring."

Another explanatory factor could be technological change, which may be affecting women's jobs more than men's. Self-checkout systems seem to be growing and taking jobs from cashiers, who are disproportionately female. Demand for clerical workers such as receptionists, file clerks, and secretaries may also be experiencing slower growth as office automation continues. The low cost of borrowing has likely enabled businesses to make labor-saving investments.

The Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) conducts rigorous research and disseminates its findings to address the needs of women and their families, promote public dialogue, and strengthen communities and societies. IWPR is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that also works in affiliation with the women's studies and public policy programs at The George Washington University.

Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR)
Caroline Dobuzinskis, 202-785-5100
Communications Manager
dobuzinskis@iwpr.org