As described in the October 2019 Committee for Economic Development of the Conference Board (CED) policy statement Growing the American Workforce: Bolstering Participation Is Critical for US Competitiveness and Economic Strength, the growth of women in the paid workforce was among the most significant labor market stories of post-WWII America. But, after leading much of the world in the trend towards fuller female participation, the US now routinely lags many of its advanced economy peers. With an aging population and slowing labor force growth posing long-run risks to the economic strength and fiscal health of the country, the US must make full use of our available talent, including from groups whose potential contributions the US has failed to fully support and cultivate in the past, in order to achieve growing and broadly shared prosperity and remain globally competitive in a rapidly changing 21st-century economy.
Manager of Economic Research at Schmidt Futures and former Research Director at Indeed.com’s Hiring Lab, Martha Gimbel joins us to discuss the trends, barriers, and policy choices shaping women’s labor force participation in the US.
