Working Women: Barriers, Obstacles, and Solutions for Women in the Workforce 

You see it in your inbox once again. That email states that while you’re qualified, the company has hired someone else. Even when you are working, you may feel disregarded by your colleagues and in some cases, your bosses. These are only a few of the challenges that women face in today’s workforce and while we have come a long way, there’s still a lot to be done.  

Some of the problems facing women in work have been around for many years, if not the past decade. One of the big issues is the increasing cost of childcare. Especially during the Covid era, when the majority of women took time off work to take care of their children. The fact that daycare costs are still continuing to rise in many parts of the US and throughout the world is leaving new mothers and parents with few alternative options. There are also businesses out there that don’t allow parental leave for women or for men. Even though there’s been a rise in stay-at-home fathers during the same time, it seems most of the impact is directed at working mothers.  

I witnessed this at a previous job where some of my coworkers were working moms. Once in a while, they would have to call off to look after their sick kids. I could tell some of the coworkers and managers weren’t happy about it, even though some of them were also parents. 

Then there’s the wage gap. Today it’s back to pre-pandemic levels of wage inequality, compared to around 2017-2018, where the difference was 93 cents^[1]. According to  Forbes Advisor, in 2022 women earned 82 cents for every dollar a man makes.^[2] Some of the factors regarding the wage gap include industries such as nonprofits, finance,  healthcare, transportation,^[3] and STEM-based fields which are primarily dominated by men.  

Other factors include socio-economic factors, the states where industries are located, rural vs. urban areas, and race. The same Forbes article reveals that Latinas and women of color are affected the most by the pay gap. Some of the states with the largest gaps in pay include Utah, Louisiana, Alabama, Montana, Wyoming, and Oklahoma.^[4] Studies have shown that people who work in urban areas and communities are paid around twenty-four percent more than those who work in rural communities. For college students and graduates in rural areas, most of them stay in the city because there are more job opportunities than in their hometowns.^[5] While the option to work remotely has helped a little, there’s more work to be done to close the economic divide between urbanized and rural communities.

These are far from the only issues that women face in the workforce, but they are among the biggest ones. Some of the solutions to these issues include increasing equity in the workforce to close the pay gap, including childcare benefits to help struggling mothers, and better security for women who have work nights, which continues to be an ongoing issue. Another option is for companies to improve representation for women,^[6] whether they’re returning to work after a break, just out of college, or entering a new field altogether. Women do better when they have a system that supports them, the same holds true for the world of working women.  

References

[1] United States Government Accountability Office. Gender Pay Differences: The Pay  Gap for Federal Workers Has Continued to Narrow, but Better Quality Data on  Promotions are Needed. December 03, 2020. 

[2] Haan, Katherine. Kelly Riley. Forbes Advisor. Gender Pay Gap Statistics in 2024.  February 27, 2023.  

[3] [6] Smith, Morgan. CNBC. These 5 Industries Have the Biggest Gender Pay Gaps Here’s Why. March 30, 2022. 

[4] Haines, Julia. Christopher Wolf. States With the Biggest Gender Wage Gaps. March  14, 2023. 

[5] Tovall, Elizabeth. The Rural-Urban Income Divide Persists and It May Be Widening.  November 30, 2023.