American women are slowly breaking out of occupations traditionally known as “women’s work” and moving into better-paid professions, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Some of the occupations with the largest increases in women’s representation were dentists, veterinarians, physicians and surgeons, according to the Census Bureau's report “America’s Changing Labor Force.”
Despite this progress, the majority of women remain in lower paying, traditionally female occupations such as secretaries and administrative assistants, cashiers, and elementary and middle school teachers. On average, the female-to-male earnings ratio in 2011 was .77 — or 77 cents to a man’s dollar.
It’s all food for thought as American women — who now make up nearly 58 percent of the U.S. labor force — prepare to observe National Women’s History Month in March, which has roots that go back to March 8, 1857, when women from New York City factories staged a protest over working conditions.