Women Work More Than in the Past

May 11, 2004

Although working women still worked shorter weeks than men on average, women have increased their workweek by almost two hours over the past 27 years, while men increased their workweek by less than a quarter of an hour. This is according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), part of the Department of Labor.

As a result, women's workweeks are now 86.3 percent as long as men's-compared with 82.3 percent a quarter century ago.

Women's average hours at work in nonagricultural industries totaled 35.9 hours in 2003, while the workweek for men averaged 41.6 hours.

The data is from the Current Population Survey, which is a monthly survey of households conducted by the Bureau of Census for BLS. The survey takes information from both federal and private sector employees.

In response to issues facing working women, AFL-CIO is sponsoring the 2004 Ask a Working Woman survey.

Whether women's top concern is equal pay or flexible hours, child care or elder care, training for a new job or respect for the jobs they hold, one thing is certain, the AFL-CIO website says: Working women agree that it's more effective working together to make changes on the job than trying to go it alone.

The survey asks women about their benefits and concerns. To view or fill out the survey, visit www.aflcio.org/issuespolitics/women/report/wwsurvey2004.cfm