Underpaid and Overloaded: Women in Low-Wage Jobs

This report provides a comprehensive look at the women and men in the low-wage workforce, holding down jobs that typically pay $10.10 per hour or less, such as home health aides, child care workers, fast food workers, restaurant servers, maids and cashiers. The report reveals that, although women's educational credentials are better than ever, women are two-thirds of the 20 million workers in low-wage jobs. And, regardless of their education level, age, marital or parental status, race, ethnicity, or national origin, women's shares of the low-wage workforce are larger than those of their male counterparts. Especially striking is the finding that women need a bachelor's degree to avoid being overrepresented in low-wage jobs -- while men only need to finish high school