More women have moved into managerial positions in recent years, a trend that is expected to only accelerate in the decades ahead.
According to a just-released survey by the Pew Research Center, 64% of all workplace managers are now women, compared with only 29% in 1980.
This ascendancy has brought with it increased salaries, with the average manager as of the end of 2023 earning around $86,000 annually, compared with an average of $48,000 for workers in all professions.
Women have cemented their gains in the nursing, teaching, and social work professions where they have traditionally been strong. But, according to Pew analysis, “Women are now filling 38% of majority-male professional jobs, up from 23% in 1980.”
“Some examples of these kinds of occupations,” the analysis continues, “include computer scientists, physicians, lawyers, and judges.”
Women have also increasingly been making their marks in the fields of network administrator, software developer, and emergency medical technician.
One factor favoring the rise of women in managerial positions: education.
“A majority of managerial and professional workers have at least a bachelor’s degree,” notes the analysis. “Women have been outpacing men in college completion for decades, and they now make up the majority of college education workers, 53% in 2023, up from 39% in 1980.”
The Pew analysis also asserts that previous studies have shown that women “have an edge over men in jobs in which social skills are more important,” with such skills being in particular demand for managers.
But while women today make up a healthy 46% and 42% of the law and medical professions respectively, they make up only 29% and 16% of the computer scientist and network systems managerial positions.
July 29, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
