Consumers may be unaccustomed to discovering their Uber driver is a woman, but it could become a more common occurrence.
Financial site SmartAsset analyzed Bureau of Labor Statistics data to rank, among occupations that employed at least 25,000 women, the jobs that saw the greatest increase of women workers between 2014 and 2018. The No. 1 spot goes to taxi drivers and chauffeurs, where women’s representation nearly tripled in the past few years.
Overall, this segment of workers for both men and women grew by 102% since 2014, more than doubling its workforce thanks to the rise in popularity of ride-share services like Uber and Lyft. At a 188% surge, however, the number of women joining ranks far outpaces the growth of the industry.
Gig work with flexible scheduling makes another showing further down the list, with the share of women couriers and messengers increasing 66% over the five-year time span.
SmartAsset’s ranking also highlights the growth of women working in construction and STEM, some of the most male-dominated fields. Construction laborers saw 85% more women in the role by 2018, and share of female construction managers grew by 49%. Still, women continue to make up a fraction of the people who hold those occupations overall (just 4% and 8%, respectively).
The trend behind health care workers tells a different story. Veterinarians is the first job on the list where women are already in the majority — more than 71% of veterinarians were women in 2018 — and the gap between men and women who hold the job has increased in recent years. And while nurse practitioners added more women to the occupation since 2014, the percentage of women in the job among all new employees actually went down, due to a greater share of men joining the field.
Read on for the top 10 fastest-growing jobs for women and what they pay.
1. Taxi drivers and chauffeurs
- Women employed in 2014: 48,600
- Women employed in 2018: 139,900
- Job growth: 188%
- Median weekly earnings: $611
2. Construction laborers
- Women employed in 2014: 42,200
- Women employed in 2018: 78,100
- Job growth: 85%
- Median weekly earnings: $717
3. Industrial engineers, including health and safety
- Women employed in 2014: 31,000
- Women employed in 2018: 56,600
- Job growth: 82%
- Median weekly earnings: $1,499
4. Couriers and messengers
- Women employed in 2014: 37,300
- Women employed in 2018: 61,800
- Job growth: 66%
- Median weekly earnings: $786
5. Veterinarians
- Women employed in 2014: 45,500
- Women employed in 2018: 72,600
- Job growth: 60%
- Median weekly earnings: $1,677
6. Nurse practitioners (tie)
- Women employed in 2014: 117,100
- Women employed in 2018: 184,900
- Job growth: 58%
- Median weekly earnings: $1,894
6. Architects, except naval (tie)
- Women employed in 2014: 45,000
- Women employed in 2018: 71,000
- Job growth: 58%
- Median weekly earnings: $1,464
8. Physician assistants
- Women employed in 2014: 62,600
- Women employed in 2018: 95,200
- Job growth: 52%
- Median weekly earnings: $1,752
9. Construction managers
- Women employed in 2014: 52,600
- Women employed in 2018: 78,600
- Job growth: 49%
- Median weekly earnings: $1,431
10. Non-farm animal caretakers
@crystalmariesing | Twenty20
