Women falling further and further behind in the workforce

The stats paint a bleak picture for women in the workforce.  

Women accounted for nearly all job losses in December 2025, according to Holly Corbett’s Forbes analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ January jobs report. Approximately 91,000 women left the labor force, while 10,000 men joined it.  

Overall, in 2025, the men’s labor force grew by 572,000, while women’s labor force grew by just 184,000. And for the first time ever, the gender and racial wage gap has increased for two years in a row.

Women didn’t suddenly stop wanting to work; they were forced out, says Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Moms First. She says she believes this isn’t a personal problem, but rather a business problem and a policy failure. 

Barriers to women wishing to pursue a career

Childcare costs and availability are among the top barriers for women seeking to pursue a career.  The average national price of childcare for a single child was $13,128 per year in 2024. With immigrants making up 20% of childcare workers, mass deportations are also impacting the availability of childcare. 

Women make up nearly two-thirds making it more difficult to obtain jobs as the lowest-paid workers in the U.S., according to a 2023 report from the National Women’s Law Center.

Recently, the U.S. Department of Education reclassified fewer careers as professional degrees, making it more difficult to obtain student loans and earn equal pay. The majority of those degrees were obtained by women.

The 2025 Women in the Workplace annual report, the largest study of corporate women in America, finds that women are getting less support in the workplace and fewer opportunities for advancement.

Wisconsin solutions

Wisconsin Legislative Democrats introduced a six-bill child care package to address the multifaceted challenges of rising costs and limited access facing families and employers across the state. Currently, 94% of Wisconsin families spend more than 7% of their income on child care, which is considered the maximum for maintaining financial stability for many working-class families. Some are spending up to 18% of their income. 

The annual full-time childcare cost for two children can reach $32,000 in Wisconsin.

“As women are typically the ones who leave the workforce when childcare is not available, I think that the childcare package that we put out this month would be relevant. In the same vein, we also put out a bill back in May that would have renewed the Child Care Stabilization fund,”  said Senator Krisin Dassler-Alfheim (D-Appleton). “Additionally, I would argue that an unplanned pregnancy can also have negative impacts on a woman’s career goals, and as such the Reproductive Freedom Act that we introduced back in April would help to address that.”

A bill reintroduced by Wisconsin Democrats aims to establish a paid family and medical leave program. The proposal would use $250+ million from the state’s surplus to fund the program. Employees may claim up to 14 weeks of paid leave, with benefits calculated as a percentage of their average weekly earnings. The program would be funded through a new shared-contribution system between employers and employees. 

For nearly two years, Wisconsin lawmakers have been trying to pass legislation to extend Medicaid (Badger Care) coverage for postpartum mothers from 60 days to a full year. While the bill passed the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support in April 2025, Republican leadership in the Assembly has refused to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.

Wisconsin Democrats have long advocated that Wisconsin adopt the ACA Medicaid expansion, which could bring in billions in federal funds. It would require the state to expand Medicaid coverage to people at 138% of the Federal Poverty Level, up from the current cap of 100%.

“There is no question that the cost of childcare and the minimization of career paths like education and nursing have a direct correlation to the drop in women in the workforce,” Dassler-Alfheim said. “This is bad for women and bad for the economy.” 

Advocates for addressing the decline in women in the workplace argue it’s not just a fairness issue but also an economic one. According to the World Bank, with women making up roughly half the population, closing the gender gap could lift the GDP by 20% and would significantly increase tax revenues.