Gender Gap in the United States

Floor Speech

Mr. DELANEY. Mr. Speaker, last year almost 58 percent of college graduates were women, and women now account for over half of the college-educated population. In corporate America, women were 53 percent of new hires last year, and women account for 50 percent of jobs held by college-educated individuals. This is all very good news.

Yet, when you look at advancement, we see another story emerging. It is estimated that when people are promoted to managers in corporations, only 37 percent of them are women. When promotions to vice presidents are made, only 26 percent are women.

This is a talent drain. This is not only a big problem for women, but it's a big problem for our economy. It limits diversity of ideas, which limits productivity.

The gender gap hurts U.S. competitiveness by creating management structures that don't reflect the views of 50 percent of the population. It hurts families because women are economic anchors in the majority of families.

Fifty-three percent of working women are primary breadwinners, and 15 million households are headed by women. We're creating an economic burden. The gender gap and wage gap is not reflective of the kind of society we want to live in. We need to reverse both institutional and individual mindsets that limit the progress of women.

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