National Women’s History Month traces its roots to March 8, 1857, when women from various New York City factories staged a protest over poor working conditions. The first Women’s Day celebration in the United States was in 1909, also in New York City. More than seven decades later, Congress in 1981 established National Women’s History Week to be commemorated annually the second week of March. In 1987. Congress expanded the week to a month and every year since has passed a resolution (and the president has issued a proclamation) designating March Women’s History Month.
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, we reflect upon advances women have made with the following Census Bureau data
We appreciate the public’s cooperation in helping us measure America’s people, places, and economy.
Did You Know?
168 million
The number of females in the United States as of 2021. There were about 164 million males.
Source:
2021 American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates
3.8 million
There were about 1.6 million more females ages 85 and older (3.8 million) than males (2.2 million) in the United States as of 2021.
Source:
2021 American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates
36.1%
In 2021, the percentage of women 25 and older who had earned bachelor’s degrees or higher compared with 33.9% of men.
Source:
2021 American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates
79.1 million
The number of females ages 16 and older who participated in the civilian labor force in 2021. This comprises 58.2% of females ages 16 and older.
Source:
2021 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates
81.5%
The percentage of full-time, year-round female workers over 16 years’ median earnings compared to men in 2021.
Source: