Issue Summary
While federal laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, gender disparities persist in education, employment and earnings, retirement, health, violence, and other areas covered by federal programs. Women are more likely to be concentrated in low-wage jobs, be responsible for caregiving, and experience sexual harassment and assault. Additionally, the United States has the highest rates of maternal death of developed countries, with U.S. maternal mortality rates increasing when rates have decreased globally. Other issues, such as certain kinds of school discipline and bullying, may affect boys and gender minorities disproportionately.
Federal agencies could more effectively design, implement, and evaluate programs and policies to help address such issues.
For instance:
- Women in management. Women continue to be underrepresented in management roles in the U.S. workforce, and female managers continue to earn less than male managers. In 2021, women working full-time earned an estimated 76 cents for every dollar that men earned across all industries and the pay gap was greater for managers than for non-managers. Among full-time managers, the pay gap also varied considerably across racial and ethnic groups.
Full-time Female Managers’ Estimated Average Pay for Every Dollar Earned by Full-time, White Male Managers, 2021
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- Financial security. Older women have a longer life expectancy, on average, than older men. And the challenges women face during their working years can affect their lifetime earnings and retirement income. For instance, women are overrepresented in low wage professions, paid less money than their male counterparts during their careers, and more likely to leave the workforce to care for family members. Taken together, these trends may significantly affect women's financial security in retirement.
- Women in STEM. Women are still largely underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professions. And female students in engineering and medical majors experience sexual harassment significantly more than female students in non-STEM fields. Relatedly, the financial services industry is increasingly dependent on technology. Because women continue to be underrepresented in management positions in the financial services industry and in STEM degree programs, some financial services firms are trying to increase women's interest in STEM by supporting nonprofits that introduce girls to STEM activities (like coding), and by increasing college-age women's awareness of careers in the industry.
- College athletics. In 1972, Title IX required equity for women in college athletics. Yet 50 years later, women still participate in college athletics at lower rates than men—despite enrolling in college at higher rates. The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights assesses compliance with Title IX. However, it didn’t always follow up with colleges in a timely way to make sure they were addressing concerns about women’s athletics. Additionally, high-profile cases at multiple colleges have raised concerns about sexual harassment and violence against athletes. But college sports culture may make it hard for college athletes to report incidents of sexual harassment or violence—which may also be Title IX violations.
- Teacher shortages. The U.S. is experiencing a shortage of teachers—a female-dominated profession (75% women)—especially in western states and high-poverty communities. The Department of Education introduced its vision in the summer of 2022 for "Supporting and Elevating the Teaching Profession." But the department's strategy doesn't have important elements—such as timeframes or performance measures—that would help ensure its efforts are working.
- Maternal health outcomes. Hundreds of women die of complications related to pregnancy and childbirth in the U.S. every year, and women of color are disproportionately affected. For example, Black women are more than 3 times as likely to die from childbirth as White women, and American Indian and Alaska Native women are more than twice as likely to die from childbirth. Additionally, maternal deaths increased during the pandemic—especially for Black women. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthy Start program works to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes. However, this program may be hindered by a lack of clear and reliable performance measures to assess progress.
Pregnancy-Related Deaths per 100,000 Live Births by Ethnic/Racial Group, 2007-2016
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- Sexual harassment at work. Sexual harassment in the workplace can cause harmful psychological, physical, occupational, and economic effects for harassed employees. A federal survey estimates that more than 1 in 5 employees (22%) at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) experienced workplace sexual harassment from 2014 to 2016. VA has policies to prevent and address harassment, but some are inconsistent. For example, the person who oversees personnel functions (e.g., hiring, promotions) is the same person who oversees the complaint process, which can create a conflict of interest.
- Women in the military. Unwanted sexual behavior that occurs during military service—including sexual harassment, sexual assault, and domestic sexual abuse—undermine core values. Female officers in the military had higher annual attrition rates than men, and cite family planning, sexual assault, and dependent care as reasons influencing separations. The Department of Defense (DOD) could improve its guidance to monitor recruitment and retention efforts of female active-duty servicemembers. Additionally, women and members of historically disadvantaged racial or ethnic groups make up lower percentages of the DOD civilian workforce relative to the federal workforce. To better track DOD's progress with eliminating barriers to workforce diversity, the agency should identify which office is responsible for oversight.
- Sexual assault forensic exams. Sexual assaults in the United States increased by an estimated 64% from 2021 to 2022. Survivors may seek an exam and related medical treatments from a health care provider, and such exams must be free of charge under federal law. Coverage for related medical treatments, however, varies in states, counties, and on tribal lands.
- Sexual violence data. Federal data on sexual violence is critical to preventing, addressing, and understanding the consequences of these types of crimes. However, this data is confusing and fragmented, which may obscure the scope of the problem and hinder the understanding of sexual violence. The Office of Management and Budget should establish a federal interagency forum on sexual violence data to help lessen confusion on sexual violence data. Additionally, federal data on domestic violence—a significant public health issue—is lacking, especially as it relates to brain injuries resulting from such violence.
- Violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women. Violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women is a crisis, and cases of missing or murdered Indigenous women persist nationwide. The Justice Department should develop a plan for analyzing data that could help identify relevant trends in cases of missing or murdered American Indian and Alaska Native women.
- Domestic violence and sexual assault survivors. The Department of Housing and Urban Development requires that its housing providers have emergency transfer plans to move survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault from their current housing unit to one in another location. While most housing providers had emergency transfer plans, they often didn't specify how transfers would take place. Additionally, sexual violence survivors in college may suffer academic and financial consequences. The Department of Education has loan postponement and repayment options that can help survivors manage their federal student loans.
- Human trafficking. Human trafficking victims are often held in slave-like conditions and forced to work in areas like the commercial sex trade, factories, and agriculture. Several federal agencies have programs to prevent trafficking, prosecute traffickers, and protect survivors. However, staffing gaps, unclear roles, and weaknesses in monitoring have impeded some efforts. Additionally, the internet has made it easier for sex traffickers to exploit victims and connect with buyers.
- International aid. The U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Bureau for Global Health supports health programs across the world. However, the agency has not assessed Bureau-level performance and lacks key information to evaluate its results—including child and maternal health data for 18 countries that have received more than $200 million from 2019 to 2021. Additionally, USAID is required to spend at least $265 million a year supporting very small businesses and must give some of this money to benefit the very poor and women. However, the agency hasn’t collected the data to monitor these activities and is unable to determine how much money reaches these groups.
