Women Have Made Gains in Economic Integration

Under Secretary Paula J. Dobriansky's speech to APEC Meeting (28 September 2002)

Madame Chairwoman, honorable ministers, and distinguished guests, I am delighted to be here with you. I have been impressed by the many excellent presentations here this morning and welcome the opportunity to share with you the United States experience in promoting women's integration into our economy.

One of the lessons that history has taught us is that women's issues cannot be divorced from the general issues that confront our societies and economies as a whole. Indeed, if women are truly to enter the international mainstream, they must constitute an integral part of the debate about every important issue. At root, all issues are women's issues -- from the fight against terrorism that will make women and their families safer, to health to education to financial issues. This unity of women's interests with national and international interests and the need to involve women in all facets of policy has been at the heart of President Bush's entire vision. At the APEC Summit meeting in Shanghai last October, President Bush stated, "The greatest resource of any nation is the creative energies of its people. They must gain the skills demanded by a new economic world. Only when literacy and learning are widespread will the benefits of the global economy be widely shared." Our meeting today is about ensuring that the benefits of the global economy are shared by -- but especially by women.

Today I will focus specifically on the role of women in the U.S. economy. I am proud to report that women have made and are continuing to make considerable advances in their roles in the U.S. economy. These advances have come at all levels -- from college campuses where women now earn a majority of undergraduate and graduate degrees right up to the boardroom where women CEOs have become commonplace at corporations of all sizes.

The full economic integration of women, both at home and abroad, has been fully supported -- indeed has been championed -- by the U.S. Government. I think our record amply demonstrates this approach, in policy and personnel choices alike.

To take but one example, earlier this year, The Washington Post newspaper reported that "President Bush has appointed more women to influential staff positions than has any other President." My distinguished colleagues on the U.S. delegation to this meeting also represent this point. Throughout every government department, including our Departments of Labor and Commerce, the office of our Trade Representative, and at our Overseas Private Investment Corporation, women holding senior executive positions help determine the United States international economic policy agenda.

The U.S. Government also actively facilitates the emergence of women business leaders with programs and initiatives that are focused specifically on meeting their needs. Last March, thousands of businesswomen attended a White House Summit on Women's Entrepreneurship co-hosted by the Department of Labor and the Small Business Administration.

Considering some larger trends in the U.S. economy, a glance at some statistics is instructive. Today, women hold higher-level jobs than in the past. In the year 2000, women constituted almost half -- 45% -- of all executives and managers. This is a considerable improvement since 1983, when that proportion was still under one-third. Similarly, women accounted for 28% of all U.S. medical doctors in the year 2000, up substantially from 16% in 1983. Projecting forward, we anticipate that women will represent nearly 60% of the net growth in the labor force to the year 2010. In absolute numbers, almost 10 million women will enter the workforce. This will bring the female share even closer to the halfway mark than today's already noteworthy figure of 47%. There are currently over 9.1 million women business owners in the United States. These businesses employ more women than the entire list of Fortune 500 companies combined. Their sales total over $1 trillion each year with about 100,000 firms owned by women enjoying at least $1 million in annual revenue. Moreover, the trends in this sector are highly favorable. Over the past five years, the number of women-owned businesses rose by approximately 14% while their sales and employment grew even faster, at 40% and 30% respectively. This rate of job growth was more than 1.5 times higher than the comparable rate for firms owned by men.

Our overall goal, whatever tools we choose, is to unleash the productive power of all our people, including the half who are women. Secretary of State Powell put this best when he said, "We, as a world community, can not even begin to tackle the array of problems and challenges confronting us without the full and equal participation of women in all aspects of life." I believe that we in the United States have taken some satisfying strides along this path, but we are always in the market, for new ideas and inspiration.