Module Two women in the workforce. American women have always been part of the paid workforce since the earliest days of our history. Since the 1940s, increasing numbers of women have been entering the paid workforce. And today the number of American women who are employed outside the home is the greatest it's ever been. Women are a key part of our economy in our organizations, yet they lag behind men in assuming leadership positions 50% of the population. Women make up 50% of the United States population and the US as many countries around the world.

Women are the primary house makers and caregivers as well, even when they have outside employment. Women are powerful consumers And make a large share of the decisions about household expenditures in spite of the fact that they make up half the population. However, women are underrepresented in many of the most vital areas of society, including government, finance, and business. While the number of women in these areas have been growing steadily over the last decades, women still do not occupy positions of power at a level that reflects their numbers 60% of college degree earners, women earn college degrees at a higher rate than men do men. As of 2013 60% of all bachelor's degrees in the United States are earned by women. Women enter college at higher rates than do men and are less likely to dry out than our men.

Studies shows that girls and later women tend to earn higher grades, didn't do their male peers, and also seem to understand better the impact that earning a degree may have on their later earnings. Recent studies show however, that women with college degrees and less and are promoted less often than their male counterparts who do not hold degrees. Those same studies also indicate that women may take on more college debt than their male peers, yet earn less upon graduation and may struggle to pay those loans back. It women are earning degrees at a higher rate than any time in American history, it is imperative that we ask why this does not translate into more women in leadership positions in business, finance, and government. 47% of the US workforce. One explanation that has been put forth for why women are underrepresented in leadership positions is that there simply aren't enough women in the workforce to fill these positions.

However, 47% of workers in the United States are women. And while women especially women of color, do tend to be concentrated in low wage or part time labor. Women outnumber men in the professional fields as well. With such representation in the workforce, it would seem to make sense that women should also occupy A similar proportion of leadership positions. However, this is not the case. Even in fields where women make up the majority of the workforce, the majority of leadership positions tend to be hailed by men 52% of professional jobs, women have entered the professions at higher and higher rates over the last three decades in the United States, women noun hold more than 52% of all professional jobs.

They earn professional degrees at about the same rate, and while women are also overrepresented compared to men in low wage and part time and service work. Clearly, women are represented in great numbers in the professional fields. Studies show however, that women in the professional fields tend to be concentrated in lower level at administrative positions rather than leadership or managerial positions. Even in professional fields where women far outnumber men, the leadership positions tend to be held by men. Case Study, Richard and Sarah were tasked with creating a program to increase women's leadership within their organization. I just don't think there are that many women in our industry, Richard said at their first meeting.

I think I've met one administrator who was a woman. I just don't think women are that interested in what we do. Sarah provided him with a report of all the employees in the organization. To his surprise over half the employees were women When he took a closer look, he noticed something else. While there were many women in the organization, they almost all occupied secretarial or administrative positions, with many of them in human resources. There were no female engineers and only a handful of managers.

None of the board was female. He and Sarah decided to look into this further and found it to be a larger trend across many businesses.