Dive Brief:
- Women in recent years have expanded their participation in the global workforce beyond pre-pandemic levels but, based on the current rate of progress, will probably not reach gender parity with men for 134 years, JPMorgan Chase said in a study.
- While women are achieving homeownership at more than twice the rate of men, employed women in the U.S. last year earned only 83 cents for every dollar men earned, JPMorgan Chase said, citing Payscale data that does not account for such factors as job, experience or education.
- “The persistent gender pay gap is a stark reminder of the systemic inequalities that still exist and the need for ongoing efforts to achieve pay equity,” JPMorgan Chase said.
Dive Insight:
Women worldwide are far from attaining equal status in the C-suite, holding only about 10% of the most powerful roles such as CEO, CFO and COO, JPMorgan Chase said.
Although the share of women directors among Standard & Poor’s 500 companies rose last year to a record 34%, progress in U.S. board representation slowed in recent years, JPMorgan Chase said.
For example, within the Standard & Poor’s 100 companies, the percentage of women in the C-suite declined in 2023 to 11.8% from 12.2% in 2022, JPMorgan Chase said.
Among 146 countries, the global gender gap in 2024 persisted at 68.5%, measuring women’s political and economic participation, health and educational attainment compared with men, according to JPMorgan Chase.
Closing the gender gap globally by 2030 will require annual investment of $360 billion, JPMorgan Chase said, citing U.N. estimates.
Based on current trends, women worldwide will not attain global gender equality until next century, which means “a girl born today would have to wait until her 97th birthday — which is beyond the expected lifespan in every country — to experience a truly equal society,” JPMorgan Chase said.
Yet some trends are favorable, according to JPMorgan Chase. “Prime-age female labor force participation rates have risen to 65.7%, surpassing pre-pandemic levels, and the number of women in the U.S. job market has reached a historic high.”
Also, women are making “significant strides” in homeownership, JPMorgan Chase said. Single women are buying homes at more than double the pace of single men despite higher rates of rejection in mortgage applications, according to JPMorgan Chase.
Bank of America Securities suggests in a research report that women during the coming decade will gain the wherewithal for greater shareholder clout.
So-called Baby Boomer U.S. men born between 1946 and 1964 will pass on $30 trillion in wealth to their wives and children by 2035, according to Bank of America.
“This wealth is already being passed down, and it will soon mean that women control more money than ever before,” Bank of America said.
“But that’s not all: Women now outnumber men at university” and work and spend more than in previous years, Bank of America said. Also, “they have strong career aspirations and expect higher pay.”