The number of women in the workforce varies significantly by country. In 2009, 62.6% of women in Canada had jobs, while only 38.2% of Italian women were employed. In the United States, 59.2% of women participated in the workforce, an increase of almost 16 percentage points since 1970.
More about women in the workforce:
In many Middle Eastern countries, women are more likely to graduate from universities than men, but they still lag behind men in holding jobs.
Despite increased numbers of women in the workforce, women are less likely than men to hold executive and upper-management jobs. The reasons for this so-called "glass ceiling" are varied. Some sociologists blame society's expectation that women will become the primary caregivers of children.
In 2010, the countries with the highest female employment rates were China, Sweden and Finland.
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