Research/Study

A Look at Gender Disparities in Union Membership and Wages

New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics offers data on women’s membership in labor unions. In 2020, there were 14,253,000 workers who were members of labor unions. This was 10.8 percent of all employed workers. Union membership reached its peak in the 1950s when 35 percent of all workers were members of labor unions.

In 2020, there were 6,672,000 women and 7,582,000 men who were union members. Some 10.5 percent of women workers and 11.0 percent of male workers were members of labor unions.

Women who were members of labor unions in 2020 had an average weekly wage of $1,067. For women who were not union members, the average weekly wage was $862. Thus, for women, on average, nonunion workers made only 81 percent of the wages of union members. For men, nonunion workers earned, on average, 88 percent of the wages of union members.

Women union members earned, on average, 87.8 percent of the average wages of male union members. This was down from 90 percent in 2013.

 

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