Economics, Work & Gender

Women earned 84 cents for every $1 made by men in 2012, according to a Pew Research report. But in October, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that women earned 81 cents to the dollar. The difference is not large, but what gives?

A new cohort of young women—members of the so-called Millennial generation—has been entering the workforce for the past decade. At the starting line of their careers, they are better educated than their mothers and grandmothers had been—or than their young male counterparts are now. But when they look ahead, they see roadblocks to their success.

Are men losing interest in work? Male labor force participation rates in the United States have been in steady decline since at least 1950 while women’s labor market participation steadily rose before leveling off about a decade ago. Two recent analyses of U.S. Census data document this trend and offer some unexpected reasons why this […]

Our new report on "Breadwinner Moms" has attracted widespread press coverage and discussion. FactTank asks readers to weigh in with their reactions.

A record 40% of all households with children under the age of 18 include mothers who are either the sole or primary source of income for the family, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The share was just 11% in 1960.

The way mothers and fathers spend their time has changed dramatically in the past half century. Dads are doing more housework and child care; moms more paid work outside the home. Neither has overtaken the other in their “traditional” realms, but their roles are converging, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of long-term […]

The recent gang rape and killing of a young woman in New Delhi – and the subsequent protests – have focused worldwide attention on gender issues in India. A 2010 survey that examined attitudes about gender around the world sheds some light on how public opinion in India compares to the other 21 nations surveyed.

In a reversal of traditional gender roles, young women now surpass young men in the importance they place on having a high-paying career or profession.

Hispanics and Asians are gaining jobs at a faster rate in the economic recovery than are blacks and whites, immigrants are outpacing the native born, and men are faring better than women.