Women Working Harder Than Men, Taking Up More Jobs to Tackle Economic Struggles: Study

In February, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that women are taking up jobs at a higher rate than ever before, with 77% of women aged 25 to 54 participating in the labor force. However, a new study from scheduling software company Deputy suggests women are also working harder than men as it found that 60% of people who work multiple jobs are women. Thus, women have played a major role in driving the country out of a looming Covid recession.

According to another research from Hive, women work 10% harder than men. The study found that women were assigned more work than men these days and they achieved the same completion rate as men, proving to be more industrious. But why are women working more? Here are some possible answers.

Overrepresentation in Certain Jobs

According to a CNBC Make It report that gathered expert opinions on the topic, women are overrepresented in certain low-paying jobs. According to CEO of Deputy, Silvija Martincevic, their study found that women constitute the majority of shift workers, in healthcare and hospitality.

According to ZipRecruiter, healthcare workers in the US make $19 per hour on average while hospitality workers make $17.24 per hour, according to Talent.com. However, the living wage is about $25 per hour, according to MIT’s Living Wage Calculator, indicating why these women may be working multiple jobs.

Young and Women of Colour are Taking Up More Jobs

Young women are likely to take lower-paying and entry-level jobs to supplement their income. Further, more single women are also taking up more jobs and it is the largest percentage group of people who are working multiple jobs, said Amy Hilliard, associate professor of strategy at the University of Chicago, in the CNBC report. This may be because, with soaring inflation, household costs are hard to keep up with.

For instance in Atlanta, single people spend $9,000 more per year on rent than couples, and the number goes up to $20,100 more per year in New York, according to real estate marketplace Zillow.

Furthermore, race may even play a role, as a large share of Black and Hispanic workers are employed in the service sector, according to BLS data. This section of workers has reported that they aren’t given a salary that is enough to sustain causing them to work multiple jobs, as per CNBC.

It is also a Matter of Flexibility

Taking a second job is also a matter of choice rather than necessity for some women. While some young women may work multiple jobs to gain new skills for married women with children, it could just be a matter of flexibility. Women with very young children are also participating in the labor force at higher rates. However, they piece together a 30-hour work week by working two different jobs at different timings, said Lauren Bauer, a fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution in the CNBC report.

The same was found in the deputy research as well. According to Martincevic, many women are working two jobs for flexibility as they belong to the “sandwich generation” that is taking care of both young children and aging parents at the same time.