Burden of care still largely falls on women, Maine Women's Commission report says
Maine women are still trying to catch up with men on their earning potential, a situation partly exacerbated by the persistence of women as primary child and family caregivers.
That’s according to this year’s report on women’s labor and economic security.
The biennial report from the Maine Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, a group operating under the Department of the Secretary of State, says Maine’s tight labor market in the direct care service industry has implications for the women who make up the bulk of the direct care workforce, women who disproportionately need direct care services and women who pick up the slack when caregiving services are not available.
“This issue sits at the nexus of Maine’s aging population, our societal undervaluing of care work and our reliance on women to step in when systems fall short,” the report says.
However, there have been advances in traditionally male-dominated industries, like construction, which is are experiencing a tight labor market and is looking to nontraditional workers to fill in the gaps.
In May, Gov. Janet Mills issued an executive order aimed at supporting more women in the construction industry.
Key data
- About 51% of the state population is women
- Women make up the majority of Maine’s oldest residents
- 11.9% of Maine women have incomes below the federal poverty level, compared with 9.9% of Maine men and women in New Hampshire (8.3%), Vermont (11.5%), Massachusetts (10.8%)
- Statewide, the median annual gender gap in earnings was $10,123, with full-time women workers making about 83% of what men make.
- Among Maine parents, mothers earn far less than fathers, with a median annual earnings gap of $19,791.
Disproportional impact
Although Maine women have a slightly higher labor force participation rate than the national average, they participate in the labor force at a lower rate than men and women are more likely to be employed on a part-time basis, the report says.
That’s partially driven by disproportionate care responsibilities and insufficient access to supports like affordable, high-quality child and elder care.
Women make up the vast majority of the direct care workforce. Additionally, 20% of home health aides in Maine are immigrants.
Worsening workforce shortages in the direct care industry are driven in part by Maine’s changing demographics and the field’s low wages.
“These issues disproportionately impact women in numerous ways,” the report says. “Women in Maine live longer than men and are more likely to need these care services themselves. When services are not available, Maine women are disproportionately likely to drop out of the workforce or take on part-time work to provide unpaid care for family members. Maine women are also more likely to work in these low-paying roles, a reality which drives the gender wage gap and harms women’s economic security.”
The report adds, “While one tool for tackling the ongoing gender pay gap is to encourage women to join higher paying fields like construction, there is a dire and growing need for direct care workforce across the state — and an opportunity to meet the needs of the many women working in these critical roles.”
Unpaid caregiving work also largely falls on women and can be a barrier to paid employment, the report says.
In a 2019 online survey of caregivers, 86% of respondents identified as female.
In the 2024 survey, which included online and mail-in, 52% of respondents identified as women.
Child care shortage
In an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Data from January 2022 to February 2023, the Maine Center for Economic Policy found that 24,000 Mainers cited a lack of available child care as the main reason they were not participating in the labor force.
“The high cost of child care is one key driver of Maine women dropping out of the workforce or opting for part-time work in order to care for their children,” the report says.
Average annual prices of full-time child care in Maine for one child, in 2023, ranged from $7,800 to $11,960.
In addition to affordability, availability of childcare is also a concern across the state.
“This has major economic implications for Maine,” the report says. “A 2023 study found that the lack of reliable child care for working parents of children under age 3 could cost the state as much as $403 million annually.”
The issue has been a focal point for lawmakers in recent years, with recent state investments aimed at bolstering the childcare workforce and child care providers while also improving affordability.
In 2023, 166,000 family caregivers in Maine provided unpaid care and the majority of caregivers were women, the report said.
Stereotypes
The report says there are opportunities for women in higher-paying fields like construction, where women represent 15% of Maine’s construction workforce.
However, there are commonly identified barriers that include persistent stereotypes and a need to emphasize that construction work includes many different career paths and is not just about brute strength, the report says.
“As federal infrastructure investments flow into Maine over the next few years, there is an opportunity to support positive change in the construction industry while meeting the needs of construction employers,” the report says.
To read the full “Report on Women's Labor and Economic Security,” click here.
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