Women's Economic Progress Continues to Progress

"Women and the Economy 2010: 25 Years of Progress But Challenges Remain," a new report by the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), looks at how women's economic conditions have improved over the past 25 years, and the findings are encouraging. Women now comprise nearly half of the labor force, the reveals the report, which goes on to note that slightly more of them than men now graduate from four-year high schools.

Among the highlights of women's economic progress and advancement in the work world are the following:

• In 2009, 59.2 percent of women were in the labor force, up from 53.6 percent in 1984.
• In 2009, women made up 49.8 percent of the workforce, up from 44 percent in 1984
• In 2009, 87 percent of women had at least four years of high school education, compared to 73 percent in 1984. By contrast, in 2009, 86 percent of men had at least four years of high school education, compared to 74 percent in 1984.
• In 2008, women made up 45 percent of all union members, an increase from 34 percent in 1984.
• In 1983, wives’ incomes comprised just 29 percent of total family income. By 2008, wives’ incomes comprised 36 percent of family income.
• Between 1983 and 2008, married couples with a working wife experienced average annual income growth of 1.12 percent, while married couples with a stay-at-home wife saw their average annual incomes decline by 0.22 percent per year.