Gender in context, labour market overview

There were 20.7m women in the UK aged between 16 and 64 in 2021 - representing 50% of the population at that time.

Amongst women of this age group, 72% were in work, 25% were classed as ‘inactive’ and 3% were unemployed (compared with figures of 78%, 18% and 4% respectively for working age males).

Gender and economic activity of the working aged population (2021)

Source: Analysis of ONS Quarterly Labour Force Survey by BCS * includes a small number of individuals in work but not as employees / self-employed (i.e. <1% of the total)

Overall, the level of female representation within the workforce was slightly lower than would be expected (i.e. accounting for 48% of those in work compared with 50% of the population), and this was also the case when considering representation amongst the unemployed at that time – women in this case accounting for 46% of the total. By contrast in 2021, women were seen to account for a higher proportion of the inactive population (59%).