Report: Women’s Wages And Spending Power Growing Faster Than Men’s

According to the data, women’s employment growth has a lot to do with their strong spending power as women continue to outpace the national average.

A new report shows that consumer spending remained resilient throughout 2024, and the reason for this is women. According to data from the Bank of America Institute, women’s median annual income growth continues to outpace men. It’s a difference that has increased to the highest level in over three years. With more median discretionary income, women are keeping spending growth strong and steady.

“When we look at discretionary spending, we find that on average, women’s spending growth has outpaced men’s by 20bps for each of the past two years, and with the exception of 2022, has been stronger than men’s since 2019,” the report said.

What’s Driving Women’s Spending Power?

According to the data, women’s employment growth has a lot to do with their strong spending power as women continue to outpace the national average.

Numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveal that women’s average employment grew 1.63% year-over-year (YoY) in 2024, compared to 1.62% YoY for the overall population. Women-intensive sectors include social services, personal services, health services, educational services, and apparel stores.

“It’s perhaps unsurprising then that women’s labor force participation rate has seen relatively strong gains,” the report reads. “One reason for this strength has been the continued rise in education enrollment among women.”

Women between the ages of 25 and 34 remain more likely than men in the same age group to have a bachelor’s degree, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey. 47% of U.S. women between the ages of 25 and 34 have a bachelor’s degree, compared with 37% of men.

“So, women’s productivity has increased on two fronts – in education and in the workforce,” according to the Bank of America report.

Even with the gain for women, analysts say women’s economic power has yet to be realized.

“Women – through their increased participation in the workforce, importance to service-providing sectors, and amplified spending power – are playing an increasingly important role in US economic growth. Even so, there remains untapped potential, which would unequivocally benefit the economy,” the report says.