Surprising Statistics About Women in the Workplace数据中的职场女性

里奇·亨森

“We are becoming the men we wanted to marry，” Gloria Steinem declared in the 1970s. A journalist and social activist， Steinem was a leading voice in the feminist movement that took off in the 1960s.

So， have women really become the men they admired？ Well， women have dramatically joined the workforce. And they are increasingly doctors， lawyers， politicians and scientists.

But for her quote to be true today， all those men would have to take a 22.5% pay cut. For a better understanding， here are 9 fascinating and very true stats about woman at work：

1） Women are taking higher education by storm.

One of the great shifts in gender equality is taking place in education. More women graduate from high school， attend and graduate from college， and earn post-graduate degrees than men. In 1994， 63% of female high school graduates and 61% of male high school graduates were enrolled in college the following fall， according to the Pew Research Center. By 2012， that same number for women jumped to 71%， but remained unchanged for males， at 61%.

Some say the reason for this is because workplace barriers to women are easing， and so the benefits of a college education are more attractive to women. But it is also a possibility that more men are foregoing college due to other reasons， including disciplinary and behavioral problems in high school.

2） Higher they climb， the greater the wage gap.

Even as women are flooding onto college campus， heres a disappointing trend： The higher women climb in the work world， the harder it is for them to earn what men are paid. Women in professional specialty occupations earn 72.7% of what men in the same position earn. Women in upper level executive， administrative and managerial occupations earn even less at 72.3%. The pay gap across all occupations is 77.5%.

3） Is there any place women earn the same as men？

No， unfortunately， there is no such place. But， it can be to a womans advantage to work in a labor union. Women who work in unionized professions make 82% of mens incomes. So， while theres still a gap， its much less than in professions without unions， where women make 72% of mens incomes.

4） The accumulative wage gap is more than the price of a house.

By age 65， the average working woman will have lost more than $430，000 over her working lifetime vs. men， because of the wage gap. She couldve bought a pretty nice house with that！

5） Women bring home more of the bacon.

More than ever before， women are the breadwinners in their household. Over 40% of moms are now the sole or primary source of income in U.S. households. Women are now the primary or co-money maker in nearly two thirds of American families and working married women bring home 44% of their familys income.

6） More women are owning their own businesses.

Though men still outnumber women in the business world， women continue to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit. Today， 30% of all businesses are owned and operated by women， though other research has put that number closer to 40%. Between 1997 and 2014， the total number of businesses in the United States increased by 47%， but the number of women-owned firms increased by 68%—a rate 1? times the national average.

7） Women-owned businesses have generally lower revenues.

Though there is clear growth in female-owned businesses， they tend to have lower revenue. American Express OPEN， the small-business payment card vendor， says women-owned businesses have average annual revenues of $155，000 vs. $400，000 for a typical privately held business. Thats 61% less revenue. Further， the more employees in a female-owned business， the greater the gap in revenue versus all similar-sized enterprises.

8） Women like their jobs more than men.

Looking for a loyal employee？ Hire a women. It seems women are more engaged in their work than men， which is a bit of surprise in light of the lower pay and glass-ceiling issues1 woman face. A  Gallup study showed women were 33% engaged at work， 50% not engaged， and 17% actively disengaged. Men were 28% engaged， 53% not engaged， and 19% actively disengaged. The folks who did this particular survey insist that 33% versus 28% is a statistically significant difference.

9） Women are more likely to have an unstable retirement.

Today， half of all women over age 75 live alone， and a variety of factors contribute to women having a much less stable retirement than men. They make less during their working years， are less likely to have a pensioned position， have smaller 401（k）s2 and will spend less time in the workforce than men. Women typically have taken more part-time jobs. Add smaller Social Security checks and longer life spans and that leaves many women unprepared to support themselves in their later years. Education on financial planning is one key way to help change this， but evening out the playing field in the workplace is also a critical step.

20世纪70年代，格洛丽亚·斯泰纳姆曾說：“我们女性正在变成自己想嫁的男人。”记者和社会活动家斯泰纳姆引领了20世纪60年代兴起的女权运动。

那么，女人是否真的变成了她们倾慕的男人？现实是，女性工作者数量显著增多。女性医生、律师、政治家和科学家越来越多。

但是，倘使斯泰纳姆的预言现在成真，那么男性的工资应该统统削减22.5%。为便于理解，下面列出了关于职场女性的9项统计数据，这些数据非常有趣也非常真实：

1）接受高等教育的女性数量激增。

教育是性别平等状况变化巨大的领域之一。相比男性，更多女性获得高中文凭，考入大学并获得大学文凭，继而获得研究生学历。皮尤研究中心数据显示，1994年，分别有63%的女性和61%的男性从高中毕业并在同年秋季升入大学。截至2012年，女性的这一数据增长为71%，而男性仍然保持在61%。

有人说，这是因为女性的职业障碍在减少，因而接受高等教育的优势对女性而言更具吸引力。但也有可能是有更多男性由于其他原因（比如高中时的纪律和行为问题）而放弃读大学。

2）职位越高，薪酬差距越大。

尽管越来越多的女性涌入大学，但有一种趋势令人失望：女性在职场的位置越高，越难获得和男性相等的薪酬。专业技术岗位的女性获得的薪酬是同一岗位男性薪酬的72.7%。在更高的行政、管理和经理职位上，女性的薪酬只有相同岗位男性的72.3%。在所有岗位上女性的薪酬平均是男性的77.5%。

3）是否有男女同工同酬的岗位？

很不幸，没有。没有这样的职位。但是，女性在工会可能更具岗位优势。在有工会组织的工作岗位，女性薪酬是男性的82%。尽管同样有薪酬差距，没有工会组织的工作薪酬差距更大，女性收入只有男性的72%。

4）累积的薪酬差距比房价还高。

到65岁，由于薪酬差距，女性将比男性平均少拿43万美元。这笔钱足以让女性买一栋漂亮房子了！

5）女性为家庭带来更多收入。

相比以往，越来越多的女性在挣钱养家。美国现在有超过40%的母亲是家庭的唯一或主要经济来源。在近三分之二的美国家庭中，女性是主要或共同的财富创造者。已婚职业女性收入占其家庭收入的44%。

6）女性企业家数量增多。

尽管在商业世界中，男性数量仍然超过女性，但是女性的创业精神丝毫未减。如今，30%的企业由女性拥有或经营，但也有其他研究显示这一数字接近40%。1997至2014年之间，美国的企业总数增长了47%，但女性拥有的企业数量却增长了68%，是美国平均水平的1.5倍。

7）女性拥有的企业营收普遍较低。

尽管女性拥有的企业数量明显增多，营收却往往偏低。小型企业支付卡供应商美国运通称，女性拥有的企业年均营收为15.5万美元，而传统的私营企业年均营收为40万美元。前者比后者少了61%。此外，女性拥有的企业中员工越多，与所有类似规模的企业相比，收入差距就越大。

8）女性比男性更热爱自己的工作。

想招忠诚的员工？招女性。女性似乎比男性工作更投入，这一结果令人惊讶，因为女性收入较低，又面临玻璃天花板问题。盖洛普的一项研究显示，有33%的女性工作投入，50%工作不投入，17%不想工作。相比之下，有28%的男性工作投入，53%不投入，19%不想工作。从事这项调查的人认为，33%与28%在统计学上具有显著差异。

9）女性退休后的生活更可能不稳定。

如今，75岁以上的女性有半数处于独居状态，而导致女性比男性的退休生活更不稳定的因素众多。她们工作期间的收入相对较低，获得具有退休金岗位的可能性较低，更少享受401k计划，并且在工作上花费的时间少于男性。女性通常会从事更多的兼职工作。此外，更少的社会保险和更长的寿命令许多女性晚年无力自足。财务规划教育是改变这一状况的重要途径，但实现职场性别平等也很重要。              □

（译者单位：上海交通大学）