Immigration, productivity, inflation: Why finding the pandemic’s ‘missing women’ could be the solution to almost every challenge facing the U.S. economy today

Key Facts

Given that we currently have a 2.4 million person gap between the number of jobs open and the number of people looking for jobs (approximately 1.4 jobs for every job seeker), we could close that gap by 16% if we had the same number of women in the labor force that we did at the start of the pandemic.
A $1.9 TRILLION OPPORTUNITY The departure of women represents a loss of potential economic output and exacerbates the labor shortages many industries face, contributing to inflationary pressures as businesses increase wages to attract scarce workers.
Integrating more women into the workforce could serve as a dual remedy, addressing the labor shortage and contributing to economic growth, which can help stabilize prices.
By addressing the unique challenges and gaps that women face in employment, equitable skilling programs aim to prepare them for in-demand roles, thereby facilitating their successful integration and progression within the workforce and bridging the labor market’s needs with a skilled and inclusive talent pool.