At the close of 2022, 57.5% of females in the United States age 16 and older were employed outside the home, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That number represents about 47% of the whole work force when men are added to the statistics.

The statistics themselves don’t tell the whole story. What about their education, age, race, salary, geographic region?

There are many ways to slice and dice the numbers, yet the big takeaway is this: a significant number of American women work outside the home. (This certainly also holds true for those women working in the home or outside through volunteer work, not captured here).

Women contribute to a wide variety of fields including business, technology, government, health care, education, and hospitality roles to name a few.

Numbers and Nostalgia

With post-pandemic labor statistics emphasized monthly in the news, I began thinking about my own career journey and the fads and fashions of employed women over the years.

Recently retired from fulltime corporate work, I keep actively (and selectively) involved via freelancing. Today this option is available to women in many life circumstances given enabling technology and overall acceptance of remote work contributions.

As a fan of “lifelong learning,” early in my career, I looked to professional organizations for education, training, and peer interactions. I began as a  journalist, and later moved into corporate marketing communications largely in health care organizations, including national membership groups.

I witnessed – and participated in – the Dress for Success movement, wearing the feminine version of a man’s business suit, either with a skirt or pants and ribbon tie or neck scarf. The requisite and right brief case was a must have, along with the right athletic shoes denoting an interest in fitness. Don’t forget the power jewelry that went along with the power lunches.

These were my early days when working fulltime meant working long hours to prove your loyalty; besides the Selectric typewriters weren’t self-correcting so writing and typing took longer, and more paper.

Training and learning took the form of in-person classes at work or at school to keep up or get additional credit courses. Most managers were male, and few persons of color were working in the professional offices with me. Tokenism was real. I had a lot of professional women colleagues and friends who banded together during the 1980’s when big shoulders and big hair was in, along with Wang word processors.  

Few mentors materialized for me on the job, so professional organizations offered the connections and classes that gave more insights into how to navigate current work situations through the sharing of peer work experiences.
  

In time, “breaking the glass ceiling” for women in business and in politics became the buzz: Democrat Jayne Byrne was already mayor of Chicago and Democrat Geraldine Ferraro became an early vice presidential candidate running with Walter Mondale in 1984. (In modern times, many women ran for president including Shirley Chisholm, in 1972, first African American woman elected to Congress. For a history of women who have run for president, including all from the 2020 race, see: https://www.thoughtco.com/women-who-ran-for-president-3529994) Women were visibly on the move, and it was exciting to be in the professional work scene in Chicago.

In the 1990’s and 2000’s, business theories like reengineering brought new ideas to old organizational thinking and allowed for more women’s voices to be heard at higher levels. “If it’s not broken, break it,” led to progressive thinking and restructuring realizing that silos stopped collaboration and cooperation, vital to making progressive change. Six sigma used for continuous quality improvement (CQI), or total quality management (TQM) was the rage. New communication for faster response via fax transmissions started to speed up action before the advent of the internet and intranet.

As technology advanced, bringing video, audio and computers into our work and home lives, communication changed and offered more roles to women. Y2K was a nail biter as even the most knowledgeable couldn’t predict what would happen to computer systems now so crucial to global business. As we know, the Y2K scare was just that. Later Apple’s introduction of the cell phone in 2007 changed digital communications forever and changed communications hierarchy.

More recently, the pandemic brought real hardship to many working women who had to step away from full time work for family needs. In some cases, remote work was possible. As the labor statistics show, more women are returning to work now that life is adjusting to a new normal.

As life continues to rebalance, many companies are focused on DEI, or diversity, equity, and inclusion, which will hopefully lead to more advancements for women of color.

The options open to women today for education and employment are more expansive than ever before. Looking at my daughter’s career going from a CPS teacher to a management role at the University of Chicago, I see positive changes. Overall, more women are in management and at high levels of leadership; more real work-life balance opportunities exist; and more options are offered for financial planning through retirement.

Through all the changes during working fulltime, I relied on affiliated membership organizations, like our Professional Women’s Network, for insights, ideas, support, and friendships. The chance to build positive relationships with those who share your business – and sometimes non-business interests – contributed to my growth. I plan to continue my growth path with the PWN this year and beyond. 

About the Author
Linda Bosy
Bosy & Associates

Marketing Communications services:
planning, content, short videos, photos, graphic design, consulting,
and grant writing

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