Equal opportunity is an on-going issue, one that we must all continue to campaign. And like all endeavors, it helps to know where we stand. Here are the latest numbers.

Know your successes, and where we can still improve.

Women accounted for 51% of all workers in the high-paying management, professional, and related occupations. They outnumbered men in such occupations as financial managers; human resource managers; education administrators; medical and health services managers; accountants and auditors; budget analysts; property, real estate, and social and community association managers; preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers; physical therapists; and registered nurses.

WOMEN REPRESENT A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE U.S. WORKFORCE

• Of the 120 million women age 16 years and over in the U.S., 71 million, or 59.3%, were labor force participants—working or looking for work.

• Women comprised 46% of the total U.S. labor force and are projected to account for 47% of the labor force in 2016.

• A record 68 million women were employed in the U.S.–75% of employed women worked on full-time jobs, while 25% worked on a part-time basis.

• The largest percentage of employed women (39%) worked in management, professional, and related occupations; 34% worked in sales and office occupations; 20% in service occupations; 6% in production, transportation, and material moving occupations; and 1% in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations.

The ten occupations with the highest median weekly earnings among women who were full-time wage and salary workers were:

• Pharmacists, $1,603
• Chief executives, $1,536
• Lawyers, $1,381
• Computer and information systems managers, $1,363
• Computer software engineers, $1,318
• Psychologists, $1,152
• Physical therapists, $1,096
• Management analysts, $1083
• Computer programmers, $1074
• Human resource managers, $1073

Great strides in equal opportunity have been made, but there is stil room for improvement! Do not let your own opportunities pass you by; take your right to work and use it.