Women Could Be Poised to Outearn Men in the Coming Years—Here’s Why

For decades, women have struggled for equality in the workforce. While the gender pay gap still persists, some young women are increasingly out-earning their male peers.

This trend highlights a shift driven by factors such as higher educational attainment and evolving societal norms regarding family planning and career priorities.

An examination of these factors provides insight into changing workforce dynamics and what lies ahead for women’s earnings and financial security.

Several factors are contributing to women increasingly out-earning men in certain contexts. Overall, this trend is the result of a variety of structural and economic shifts that are reshaping earning potential for women.

“The most significant factors driving women’s increasing earnings relative to men can be grouped into two main categories: structural demographic shifts and economic opportunity expansion,” says Guyesha Blackshear, economist and host of “The Junior Economist” podcast.

“Together, these categories create a compound effect where years of systemic barriers are being dismantled and translated into real economic results.”

Women Are Waiting To Get Married and Have Children

In previous generations, women often married and had children at a much earlier age, which typically led to career interruptions during years that were critical for advancement and long-term earning potential. However, since 1950, the median age for a woman’s first marriage has steadily increased.

“With the median American woman now marrying at 29 and the average having her first child at 28, career interruptions are shifting later or disappearing entirely, which opens the door to sustained income growth,” Blackshear explained.

Living In Urban Centers Boosts Earnings

Geography is also increasingly shaping the trajectory of women’s earnings. That’s especially so for those living in major metropolitan areas that offer access to higher-paying jobs and provide more career opportunities.

And, in these urban hubs, women are leveraging both traditional career paths and entrepreneurial opportunities to boost their earning power. “These shifts are reinforced by geography, where location plays a fundamental role in young women’s earning potential,” Blackshear stated.

“When young women live in major metropolitan areas like Washington D.C., New York, and San Francisco, they tend to out-earn men by an average of up to 2%, and in some high-income regions that edge widens to 5–20%.”

When it comes to women taking on the role of small business owners, numbers have increased. This is particularly true for digital platforms like TikTok, Pinterest, Etsy, and Substack.

Women Outnumber Men In Receiving College Degrees

One of the clearest drivers of this shift is educational attainment. For decades, women between 25 and 34 have surpassed men in college enrollment and completion across all racial and ethnic groups. As a result, women are entering the workforce better credentialed and increasingly landing secure, high-paying positions in future-proof industries.

“On the education side, 47% of U.S. women ages 25-34 now hold a bachelor’s degree versus 37% of men, giving women a clear credential premium,” Blackshear explained.

Men don’t enroll in college or complete it at lower rates for several reasons, but affordability and familial obligations have been noted as major obstacles, with 39% of all men not completing college due to cost.

More than one-third of men also simply don’t have a desire to enroll, while 26% deem a degree unnecessary for the job or career they want.

More Women Are Participating In The Labor Market

Over the years, men’s labor market participation has steadily dropped, specifically among those aged 25 to 54. As of July 2025, participation was at 67.6%, an almost 20% decrease since 1950.

Researchers have pointed to a combination of factors: some men are being pushed out due to issues like the mismatch of their skills with today’s job market, while others are being pulled away by education or caregiving duties.

Disability and mental health struggles have also been identified as potential barriers to stable employment for men. Factors like underdiagnoses, social expectations around masculinity, and reduced use of healthcare can all contribute to unmet mental health needs that can impact job performance.

Additionally, women have entered the workforce in greater numbers, though they remain concentrated in different types of jobs than men. Plus, women are more likely to work in healthcare, education, and service-oriented roles, which are industries experiencing significant growth.

Men, however, work in construction, manufacturing, and technical trades, which aren’t growing as quickly.

Legal Changes Have Made It Easier For Women To Get Ahead

Public policy also plays an important role in supporting a woman’s ability to remain in the workforce and, therefore, earn more over their lifetime.

For example, paid family leave helps women stay in the workforce during key career years. When paid leave is not an option, that can decrease the mother’s employment participation, with some women having to reduce hours or completely drop out of the workforce.

Additionally, pay transparency laws and regulations have been adopted in states like California, Colorado, New Jersey, and New York. These laws can help women negotiate more effectively, as they enable women to compare their salaries to those paid for comparable positions.

“The overall pattern shows that when policies reduce the chance of career interruptions, women are able to hold onto momentum and keep rising. However, the durability of these gains depends heavily on maintaining favorable policy environments,” Blackshear explained. “The real shift, however, will be cultural: we’ll increasingly see family and workplace norms adapt around women’s economic centrality as an operating reality.”

However, it’s essential to recognize that this trend may not be immune to economic downturns.

Blackshear notes that this trend could be threatened by emerging risks like AI overtaking female-dominated jobs, rollbacks of supportive state and federal policies, sharp inflation in childcare costs, and macroeconomic shocks that could weaken demand for service labor.

“These could all moderate or reverse the trajectory in the next two to four years,” she said.

The Bottom Line

Future generations of women may out-earn men—not because the fight for gender equality has been won, but because they may be navigating a world that increasingly values the paths women are choosing.

As things gradually shift in their favor, women have been able to secure more stable, long-term earnings, financial growth, and success than ever before. The prospects for that continue to look bright.