National Women’s History Month’s roots go back to March 8, 1857, when women from New York City factories staged a protest over working conditions. International Women’s Day was first observed in 1909, but it wasn’t until 1981 that Congress established National Women’s History Week to be commemorated the second week of March. In 1987, Congress expanded the week to a month. Every year since, Congress has passed a resolution for Women’s History Month, and the President has issued a proclamation. Following are a few key statistics on women in the United States and the role they play in our labor force and economy.

161 million 

The number of females in the U.S. as of December 2013. The number of males was 156.1 million. 

75.1 million

The number of females 16 and older who participated in the civilian labor force in 2013. Women comprised 47.4 percent of the civilian labor force in 2013.

63% 

Percentage of social scientists who were women, the heaviest representation of women among all STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields. Among other STEM fields, approximately 14 percent of engineers, 45 percent of mathematicians and statisticians and 47 percent of life scientists were women.

$39,157

The median annual earnings of women 15 or older who worked year-round, full time in 2013. In comparison, the median annual earnings of men were $50,033.

1.6 million

Number of women veterans in the United States in 2013.

For more interesting statistics on women in the United States, please go to the latest issue of the U.S. Census Bureau's Facts for Features. 

Guest blog post by Stefan M. Selig, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade

When we look back at 2014, it will be seen as the year our country regained its economic confidence, symbolized by the nearly 3 million jobs our economy created in 2014.

While this feat extended the longest streak of job growth in American history, we should not overlook the role our exports and our exporters played in regaining that economic confidence.

U.S. exports of goods and services tallied a record $2.35 trillion in 2014. That was the fifth consecutive year we achieved record exports. This is a clear validation of the Administration’s commitment to a robust trade and investment agenda.

In fact, there are three ways that our exports played an important role in the breakthrough year our economy produced.

First, at the same time that we were experiencing the longest streak of job growth, we also experienced a record year when it came to export-supported jobs: more than 11.7 million.  This number includes the 2.8 million jobs supported by the exports to our North American Free Trade Agreement partners Canada and Mexico. And we know those export supported jobs pay 13 to 18% higher wages than non-export supported jobs.  

Second, U.S. exporters reaped the benefits of a record year of exports with our 20 free trade partners – with a total of $765 billion in goods sent to these markets. That record included increases in exports to Colombia (up 10.5%), South Korea (up 6.8%) and the Central America Free Trade Agreement-Dominican Republic partners (up 5.7%).  Overall, these 20 countries purchase nearly half of all U.S. exports today – 47% to be exact.

Third, a major driver of our export growth came from our Latin American free trade partners, such as Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, and Peru. Exports to these 11 countries alone represented more than a third of our entire year-over-year increase in exports. The region is a major destination for U.S. petroleum and coal, computers and electronics, chemicals, and transportation equipment.

So 2014 was clearly a breakthrough year for our exports and for our economy in general. Now, we need the tools that will allow us to carry that momentum into 2015 and beyond.

That is why passing trade promotion legislation is even more crucial, particularly as we work to finalize the historic Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP).

Guest blog post by Charles Shoopman, Assistant Vice President, UT Institute for Public Service

On June 23, 2014 I received a letter officially designating the 69-county, four-state DRIVE! for the Future region as one of the nation’s first 12 Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) communities. Serving as the primary contact person for a public-private partnership effort involving more than 15 organizations, I could hardly wait to send copies of the letter to my colleagues.  After all, we had invested hour after hour in crafting consensus around a shared work agenda and at least grudging acceptance of a narrative describing that agenda in the context of a 35-page proposal (plus appendices!) that was due in Washington, D.C. by April 14, 2014.

Receiving notification of the designation was exciting, but was simply the beginning of a non-stop effort to actually deploy the ideas we had so painstakingly assembled during the January – April proposal development period. In short, receiving the designation didn’t complete anything; we simply were given an opportunity to go do what it was we wrote we wanted to do!

Granted, after investing the energy and effort to develop the partnerships, shared vision, defined work agenda, performance metrics, and a governance structure our partners could agree with, we much preferred to have the IMCP designation. However, our partnership noted that working together to build the proposal we had developed a fact-based plan that needed to be deployed within our region, whether or not we secured the designation as an IMCP community. So, at a minimum, the IMCP solicitation process had motivated us to assemble our team, affirm our shared interests and aims, and develop a written plan to actually accomplish a work agenda that will help citizens throughout our community improve their quality of life and build a more sustainable future.

Since receiving our designation we’ve been able to meet colleagues from across the nation who also are actively working to grow their economies and who are willing to share ideas and lessons learned. We’ve been introduced to federal leaders who’ve become our BFFs in helping us navigate the federal assistance infrastructure, introducing us to potential new allies and funding partners, and serving as our advocates within the federal government in sharing our needs, frustrations and successes. We have launched our efforts to build stronger working partnerships throughout our DRIVE! region that help us more effectively leverage our existing assets while positioning our firms, communities and workers for an even brighter future.  We are proud to be part of a national effort that is actively working each day to help the federal government find innovative ways to more effectively accomplish its work by partnering across agency boundaries, leveraging the strengths of local communities to Invest in Manufacturing Communities Partnerships that get results.

The deadline for round 2 applications is April 1. For more information on how to apply visit: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-01-29/pdf/2015-01763.pdf.

To demonstrate the United States’ commitment to Tunisia’s transition to democracy, and to underscore the reforms needed to attract investment, generate economic growth, and create jobs in the country, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker led a delegation to Tunisia this week. In addition to offering a keynote address at the Investment and Entrepreneurship Conference, hosted by the Partnership for New Beginnings and the American Chamber of Commerce in Tunisia, Secretary Pritzker met with Tunisian government officials, business leaders, and entrepreneurs to better understand the challenges and opportunities facing the country’s economy.

In a meeting with representatives from the American Chamber of Commerce in Tunisia, Secretary Pritzker received input on the country’s current business environment and discussed potential opportunities for U.S. firms in the market. For example, Tunisia’s location on the coast can make it an ideal hub for operations in the Middle East and Africa. Others spoke about the opportunities in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector, specifically.

About 70 American firms operate in Tunisia right now, but there is substantial room for that figure to grow should Tunisia make certain economic reforms that will create a more inviting business climate. Some of these reforms include streamlining the investment code, restructuring the banking sector, creating a more transparent, reliable, and modern tax and customs structure, and developing a strong public-private partnerships law that increases transparency and predictability for domestic and foreign firms.