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United States Department of Labor
39 percent of managers in 2015 were women
August 01, 2016
Women made up 39.2 percent of the 17 million people employed in management occupations in 2015. The management occupation with the highest share of women was medical and health services managers at 73.7 percent. Other management occupations in which women’s share was greater than 65 percent were human resource managers (73.3 percent), social and community service managers (67.4 percent), and education administrators (65.7 percent).
| Occupation | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
|
Management occupations |
39.2% | 60.8% |
|
Medical and health services managers |
73.7 | 26.3 |
|
Human resources managers |
73.3 | 26.7 |
|
Social and community service managers |
67.4 | 32.6 |
|
Education administrators |
65.7 | 34.3 |
|
Public relations and fundraising managers |
59.2 | 40.8 |
|
Advertising and promotions managers |
53.6 | 46.4 |
|
Lodging managers |
53.5 | 46.5 |
|
Property, real estate, and community association managers |
50.9 | 49.1 |
|
Financial managers |
49.6 | 50.4 |
|
Administrative services managers |
47.7 | 52.3 |
|
Food service managers |
47.1 | 52.9 |
|
Purchasing managers |
44.8 | 55.2 |
|
Marketing and sales managers |
43.2 | 56.8 |
|
Managers, all other |
34.3 | 65.7 |
|
Chief executives |
27.9 | 72.1 |
|
General and operations managers |
27.6 | 72.4 |
|
Computer and information systems managers |
27.2 | 72.8 |
|
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers |
23.9 | 76.1 |
|
Transportation, storage, and distribution managers |
21.1 | 78.9 |
|
Industrial production managers |
18.3 | 81.7 |
|
Architectural and engineering managers |
7.4 | 92.6 |
|
Construction managers |
6.7 | 93.3 |
The shares of women and men were nearly equal among financial managers and property, real estate, and community association managers. Women made up less than 20 percent of construction managers (6.7 percent), architectural and engineering managers (7.4 percent), and industrial production managers (18.3 percent). Additionally, 27.9 percent of chief executives were women.
These data are from the Current Population Survey. The data shown in the chart do not reflect all managers, but only those whose primary responsibility is planning and directing. Managers and supervisors who perform work similar to the workers they supervise are not classified in management occupations but in the occupation of their staff. We also have more information on women’s employment shares in each occupation.
SUGGESTED CITATION
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, 39 percent of managers in 2015 were women on the Internet at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/39-percent-of-managers-in-2015-were-women.htm (visited October 28, 2020).
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