Research Outline

Women Unemployment and Technology

Goals

To provide a breakdown of the women unemployment by the different states and cities (Arizona - Phoenix ; California - Los Angeles/Long Beach , San Diego , San Francisco , San Jose ; Florida - Jacksonville , Miami , Orlando ; Georgia - Atlanta , Decatur ; Illinois - Chicago; Missouri - Kansas City ; New York - New York City ; North Carolina - Charlotte; Ohio - Cincinnati , Columbus ; Pennsylvania - Philadelphia ; Tennessee - Nashville ; Texas - Dallas/Irving, San Antonio ; Virginia / DC - Arlington , Washington, DC) and compare that to the demand for tech jobs in those regions, including the different benefits to pursuing a tech job for women.

Early Findings

While information about the unemployment of women in the US overall was readily available, we were not able to find a more granular breakdown of the data by state or city. Neither the BLS, the OECD or any of the reputable news organizations like the CNN and the New York Times have reported anything related to the unemployment of women in any of the noted states or cities.

Women Unemployment in the US

  • According to data from the National Women’s Law Center, over 5.4 million women have had to quit their job due to the pandemic.
  • This represents a staggering 56.6% of the total 9.8 million jobs lost in the country since February 2020.
  • In December alone, women lost 156,000 positions, while men were able to gain about 16,000 jobs, making it a 100% net loss for women.
  • The average unemployment rate for women was 6.3% at the end of December last year, but women of color and the visible minorities recorded much lower unemployment rates than white women.
  • Latin American women had an unemployment rate of 9.1%; Black women had an 8.4% unemployment rate; while Asian women registered a 6.6% unemployment rate compared to the 5.7% unemployment rate of White women.
  • Over 40% of adult women that have had to quit their job have been unemployed for over 6 months.
  • The IT sector was one of the few that did not experience big workforce loses, losing only about 300,000 people between January 2020 and January 2021.
  • The US has actually seen the demand for IT specialists and technology-oriented positions grow in 2020 despite the difficult year for the economy.
  • California and Texas were the leading states in terms of job opening in 2020, while Arizona and Idaho had one of the fastest growing technology sectors in the country.