Economics
U.S. Worker Gender Divide: Inequality Widens For Moms and Dads
Report summary
Long-term, gender gaps in the U.S. workforce have narrowed, but recent progress has stalled.
A deeper look at divergent worker experiences between men and women helps to explain why: Men and women continue to perceive differences in treatment at work, corresponding with varying outcomes for employment and pay. Furthermore, when workers become parents—which most at some point do--the gender gap widens substantially. Dads in the workforce are thriving, while working moms’ careers face a flatter trajectory
Key Takeaways
- Men continue to report better labor outcomes than women, and workers of both genders are noticing the gap: Employed adults say men are more likely to be respected, given raises and promoted than women.
- The gender gap widens dramatically for workers who are parents: Dads, by many measures, are thriving in the workforce – though some of this success appears driven by this group’s high level of stress over childcare costs.
- While male parents are much more likely to receive larger pay raises and more promotions than men in general, working moms are not reaping these same benefits, reporting higher unemployment rates than male parents and smaller raises on average than the workforce overall.
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Methodology
This report draws from a combination of Morning Consult’s proprietary tracking data and in-depth topical surveys, paired with relevant data from government statistical agencies such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The main data sources underlying this report include:
- Daily, weekly and monthly data from Morning Consult’s U.S. Jobs & Labor Tracker.
- A survey of 4,428 U.S. adults that fielded from September 27-29th covering topics including labor market conditions, workforce inequality, remote work and more.
About the author
Kayla Bruun is the lead economist at decision intelligence company Morning Consult, where she works on descriptive and predictive analysis that leverages Morning Consult’s proprietary high-frequency economic data. Prior to joining Morning Consult, Kayla was a key member of the corporate strategy team at telecommunications company SES, where she produced market intelligence and industry analysis of mobility markets.
Kayla also served as an economist at IHS Markit, where she covered global services industries, provided price forecasts, produced written analyses and served as a subject-matter expert on client-facing consulting projects. Kayla earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Emory University and an MBA with a certificate in nonmarket strategy from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. For speaking opportunities and booking requests, please email [email protected]
