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.