Are Industries Male-Dominated or Women-Dominated?
Key Takeaways:
- Women outnumber men in four of 18 industries, led by healthcare and care services (60%) and education (54%).
- Infrastructure (24%) and oil, gas, and mining (25%) have the lowest shares of women workers.
- Women account for 46% of entry-level workers but just 23% of C-suite executives.
Women have made significant gains in education and employment, but their representation in the workforce still varies widely by industry.
Data from the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2026 ranks 18 industries by their share of women workers, using unweighted industry averages from LinkedIn data covering 61 economies through June 2026.
Which Industries Have the Most Women?
The following table ranks industries by their share of women workers, according to the World Economic Forum.
| Industry | Share of Women (%) |
|---|---|
| Healthcare and Care Services | 60 |
| Education | 54 |
| Consumer Services | 52 |
| Government and Public Sector | 51 |
| Retail | 47 |
| Administrative and Support Services | 45 |
| Entertainment Providers | 44 |
| Financial Services | 44 |
| Real Estate | 43 |
| Professional Services | 42 |
| Accommodation and Food | 42 |
| Technology, Information and Media | 35 |
| Wholesale | 34 |
| Manufacturing | 33 |
| Utilities | 32 |
| Supply Chain and Transportation | 32 |
| Oil, Gas and Mining | 25 |
| Infrastructure | 24 |
| Cross-industry average | 42 |
Healthcare and care services has the highest share of women workers at 60%, followed by education (54%), consumer services (52%), and government and the public sector (51%).
At the other end of the ranking, infrastructure has the lowest share at 24%, a 36-percentage-point gap from healthcare and care services.
Why Do Healthcare and Education Lead?
Women’s stronger representation in these sectors partly reflects educational pathways and longstanding occupational patterns.
Women increasingly outnumber men in higher education around the world, particularly in certain fields. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, women have made significant gains in medical education and the physician workforce, although disparities in leadership and career advancement persist.
Historically, teaching and caregiving have also been associated with women, shaping recruitment, career expectations, and workforce demographics.
Why Are Blue-Collar Industries Dominated by Men?
Infrastructure, mining, manufacturing, and transportation remain heavily male-dominated. Traditional apprenticeship pathways, occupational stereotypes, and workplace culture all contribute to this divide.
A McKinsey study found that women in mining reported limited advancement opportunities and exclusionary workplace cultures, suggesting that hiring alone cannot close the gap.
Meanwhile, younger workers are showing renewed interest in skilled trades, attracted by job security and alternatives to expensive degrees. However, growing demand for blue-collar workers does not necessarily translate into greater gender balance.
Representation Doesn’t Guarantee Leadership
Workforce representation tells only part of the story. Across the dataset, women account for 46% of entry-level workers but just 23% of C-suite executives.
This gap highlights a separate challenge from workforce participation: advancement into senior leadership. Women continue to face barriers to promotion, including unequal access to career development opportunities and professional networks. These challenges can persist even in industries where women make up the majority of employees.
The disparity also underscores the importance of looking beyond employment figures when measuring gender equality. Education, occupational segregation, and promotion barriers all matter when evaluating gender equality across labor markets and societies.
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To explore another dimension of workplace inequality, see Mapped: America’s Gender Earnings Gap by State, which examines differences in earnings between women and men across the United States.