What is women's labor force participation?

Nordic countries consistently record some of the highest rates of female employment. In 2022, the Faroe Islands had the highest female employment rate in Europe at 90.2%, followed by Iceland at 82.1%. The gap between male and female labor market participation across the Nordic region remains among the narrowest in Europe.¹,⁸

Participation is lower in parts of the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Southern Asia. The WEF's Global Gender Gap Report 2025 scores Southern Asia at 40.6% and the Middle East and Northern Africa at 42.4% in economic participation, the two lowest among all regions.¹

Participation also tracks closely with life stages. Rates are generally high in early working years, then fall when childcare responsibilities are heaviest.⁵ The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that care responsibilities keep 708 million women out of the labor force globally, with 63 percent of inactive women in Northern Africa and 59 percent in the Arab States citing care as the main reason.⁹

Goldin identified a U-shaped pattern as economies develop. In agricultural societies, participation is relatively high because household production and farm work are closely integrated. As economies industrialize, participation falls: factory work separates the workplace from the household, and social norms discourage female employment outside the home. As industrialization gives way to service economies, participation rises again. The expansion of white-collar work offered jobs that were seen as acceptable for women, and rising levels of education gave them the qualifications to fill those roles.¹⁰,¹¹

Goldin argues that education does more than raise earning potential. As more women completed higher education across the twentieth century, their expectations about work shifted, too. Women who were young in the 1950s, for example, saw mothers who were homemakers and planned their education accordingly, often choosing fields that did not prioritize long-term career prospects.¹⁰

By the 1970s, younger women had begun to expect long working lives and invested in their education with careers in mind. Rising attainment opened new occupations and strengthened women's long-term attachment to the workforce.¹⁰

Even as participation rose and education gaps closed, the earnings gap between men and women remained. Goldin's research suggests the explanation lies not in who enters the workforce, but in how the work itself is organized and rewarded.¹²

Many lucrative roles reward long and inflexible hours disproportionately, which Goldin calls greedy jobs. Her work shows that women, who still take on a larger share of caregiving, are more likely to move away from them. Closing the gap, she argues, depends not only on legal protections but on whether organizations change how they reward professional work.²,¹²

For many mothers, the decision to work comes down to whether they can afford care for their children. When childcare costs are high, returning to work can cost more than it pays, particularly for mothers in lower-wage jobs. Research from the US Department of Health and Human Services finds that higher childcare subsidy spending significantly increases labor force participation and employment rates among low-income mothers.¹³,¹⁴

The structure of parental leave also matters as much as its length. Systems that protect job security, replace enough income, and include leave specifically for fathers tend to support women's participation more effectively. When leave is only available to mothers, caregiving stays concentrated on women, which reinforces the participation gaps that appear around childbirth.¹⁵

Workplace flexibility plays a direct role in whether women stay in the workforce. Goldin's work shows that in occupations where long and inflexible hours are disproportionately rewarded, the penalties for stepping back fall hardest on those with caregiving responsibilities. When flexibility is built into how jobs are structured rather than treated as an individual accommodation, it can reduce the penalties that currently fall disproportionately on caregivers.²

For women returning after career breaks, structured programs can make a significant difference. Employer-run "returnships" provide skills training, mentorship, and a pathway back into roles that match their experience. Without these programs, many women either do not return or come back to roles below their skill level.¹⁶