Women are the backbone of the U.S. economy, but their contributions both at work and at home have long been undervalued. The U.S. gender- and racial wage gaps are stark examples of this — a gap that despite some modest improvements has a severe impact on women’s economic security.
According to the latest data, in 2021, women working full-time, year-round earned just 84 cents for every dollar their male counterparts made, and all women working earned just 77 cents for every dollar men made.
These disparities were even greater for many women of color, who often face multiple and intersecting forms of biases. The once-in-a-generation economic investments President Joe Biden’s administration has made — the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act — can help diminish these gaps and bring forward more good-paying jobs for women in fields where they been underrepresented for far too long.
Moving forward, the Biden administration’s implementation of the major economic legislation that passed over the past two years has the potential to open up a variety of traditionally male-dominated occupations to women — from occupations that require higher education, like many science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) jobs, to jobs that require vocational or on-the-job training, like trucking, manufacturing, and construction.
“ Women account for about half of all U.S. workers but just 27% of STEM jobs.”
In doing so, these policy changes offer the opportunity to improve women’s economic security and reduce gender- and racial wage gaps that are partly driven by occupational segregation — a feature of the labor market where women, particularly women of color, are overrepresented in low-paid work and underrepresented in high-paid work.
The consequences of occupational segregation are immense, from limiting women’s economic security over the course of their life to increasing the likelihood that they face harassment.
Take, for example, lucrative STEM jobs. Women account for about half of all U.S. workers but just 27% of STEM jobs, with Black and Hispanic women further underrepresented. Women are less likely than their male counterparts to pursue STEM majors and postgraduate degrees in STEM fields, including because of societal biases around women’s roles. These biases follow women into the STEM workforce where women typically earn about 74% of their male counterparts’ earnings and many face harassment and barriers to promotion.
The CHIPS and Science Act that Biden signed in 2022 contains provisions to increase women’s representation in the STEM workforce and help create a safe workplace for all workers, starting with educational training. To bring more women into the field, the law directs the National Science Foundation to make awards to higher education institutions and nonprofit organizations to expand efforts to increase the participation of women and other underrepresented groups in STEM studies and careers.
It also takes strides toward improving retention of women in STEM by addressing the harassment women too often face in the workplace, including by creating a uniform reporting guide regarding responsible workplace conduct and directing the National Academies — following an agreement with the National Science Foundation — to study and issue a report on sexual harassment in the STEM workforce.
Moreover, as recently announced, the first round of CHIPS funding requires companies seeking CHIPS funding to submit a workforce development plan aligned with three Department of Commerce priorities: highly effective workforce development; Good Jobs Principles; and increasing the number of women in construction. One critical step in making these priorities a reality is the requirement that CHIPS grantees seeking at least $150 million in direct grants must have plans to provide child care for facility and construction workers.
“ These measures are important steps to creating a more equitable workforce and building economic security, and they are just the beginning. ”
Beyond STEM fields, implementation of the Biden administration’s economic package also yields opportunities for women to advance in occupations where they are underrepresented and that typically do not require postsecondary education, such as skilled construction and trucking.
For example, only around 1 in 10 workers in the construction industry are women — and Black and Asian women are even further underrepresented. Like STEM jobs, women in construction face similar barriers, including discrimination, challenges with child care accessibility and harassment.
Apprenticeships and other programs that train people to become skilled tradespeople are the main pathways for women to enter the construction industry and other nontraditional occupations. There are opportunities in implementation to diversify apprenticeship and training programs.
More generally, many discretionary funding opportunities from the Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, and other agencies prioritize applicants who make workforce commitments that may increase women’s representation in male dominated jobs.
Women are also underrepresented in the transportation industry. About 1 in 4 transportation and warehousing jobs are held by women, and women make up only 6.6% of truck drivers. While women’s participation in the trucking workforce has increased, women still face significant barriers, including sexual harassment and child care accessibility.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, another piece of Biden’s economic agenda, is helping bolster women in the industry by establishing a Women of Trucking Advisory Board to review and report on the policies that provide education, training, mentorship, or outreach to women in the trucking industry as well as recruit, retain, or advance women in the trucking industry. The Board will identify barriers that discourage women from pursuing and retaining careers in trucking and submit a report to the administrator with findings and recommendations.
These measures are important steps to creating a more equitable workforce and building economic security, and they are just the beginning. Over the next few years as these programs become a reality, federal and state governments should prioritize greater representation of women in these industries. These historic investments have the opportunity to transform not just industries but the lives of many women.
Rose Khattar is director of economic analysis at the Center for American Progress. Lauren Hoffman is the former associate director of women’s economic security at the Center for American Progress.
More: How women can achieve greater financial literacy and take control of their money
Plus: Women are overrepresented in lower-paying jobs. It’s costing them billions of dollars.
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