Over the last two and a half years, over 400,000 women have dropped out of the labor force.
The staggering number is worrying and indicative of a larger and more interesting trend: As employment opportunities remain dismal, especially for millennials, young women are choosing to go to school to get more qualifications instead of getting a job. In fact, there are more young women enrolled in school now than there are in the work force.
The shift in what young women are doing is interesting not only because it is telling about the current, gendered economic situation, but also because it predicts the changing role of women in our future economy.
This trend – particularly the gendered aspect of it, where women, not men, are choosing to return to school – reflects the differences in opportunities for young men and women in the workforce. Data shows that in the 2.5 years since the recovery began, men between the ages of 16 and 24 have gained 178,000 jobs, whereas women in the same category have lost 255,000 jobs.
The numbers say it all – it isn’t just harder for young women to gain employment compared to young men, these women are actually losing jobs while their male counterparts are gaining employment.
Further, the earnings gap – the fact that women earn disproportionately less than men – is an additional incentive to pursue more education that could lead to higher paying jobs, especially in today’s economy, where job options are few and far between.
It is easy to understand why young women are going back to school in the current, dire economic climate, and the effects of this trend are going to have an incredible impact on the role women play in tomorrow’s economy and workforce: They will be more employable, more qualified, and more likely to be the driving force behind economic booms.
Perhaps for the first time ever, women in our generation might be more qualified, maybe even more employable, than their male cohorts.
Some have predicted that this return to school could result in an economic boom since people are getting better qualifications and improving their skills, similar to when World War II veterans returned from war and went to school with the help of the G.I. Bill, instead of searching for jobs. If true, women could be the driving force behind an economic boom, drastically changing their role in the economy.
These broad economic predictions, of course, might not hold, but the overarching effects of women going back to school are significant and should not be ignored: By gaining more educational qualifications, young women might be able to go from being paid and employed less to being more qualified and getting better jobs than their male counterparts.
Photo Credit: Mays Business School
The Discussion
it seems unclear in this article (as well as in the NYT article linked above) what kind of school women are "returning" to. are they going to college after a failed attempt at joining the labor force out of high school, or are they going to grad school? in my opinion, the implications depend...
I could very well see this becoming beneficial to the economy, in more ways than one. In a healthy capitalistic society, competition will make society better off. Our generation is dealing with a massive influx of college-seeking students, which will produce a less-lazy, globally-ready population.
This is interesting in that a story this morning in USA Today highlighted how men have gotten 2/3rds of the jobs created since the start of recovery. They stressed that this was due to an increase of men hired to retail positions formerly held by women. Could this be because those women have gone back to school looking towards the future? I find the correlation interesting.
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Of course, the pessimistic interpretation of this is that even with higher levels of education, men will continue to beat women in obtainment of jobs. Or, once they reach those higher level positions, they will still be paid less than men in similar jobs.
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook has a great TED talk about why women are not in leadership positions. I highly recommend everyone watch it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18uDutylDa4
I think it's just a correction from what happened in 2008. Men were disproportionately laid off at the beginning of the recession because they were often paid more for doing the same work, and therefore the most logical targets for cost cutting.
Though it certainly seems likely that the female presence in the workforce will increase as a result of an increase in female education, it is probably unwise to assume that an increase in the number of women who seek education will translate directly to an economic boom that is driven mainly if not solely by women. The fact remains that many women, even those who pursue higher ed, will leave the workforce to have and consequently raise their children. This is not a trend which can be eliminated, or which should be eliminated. So, though it is likely that women will be in a better place to compete with men, their role in the workforce will likely remain secondary because of their role as mothers.
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An interesting interpretation, Masuma...I hope you are right about this. It will depend upon the education these women are getting, of course, and upon the creativity with which they subsequently use their new credentials. If they are taking certification as healthcare technicians and LPNs or RNs in large numbers - that's a good thing because we're going to need many more healthcare workers. The jobs are out there already.
If they are looking for law degrees or MBAs..I'm not so sure those will be anything but charming wall decorations.
The most successful women will be the ones who follow their dreams; whether or not they include advanced degrees, high-salaried positions, big bonuses or "EO" titles.
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