Status of Women in NC: Investing in Economic Opportunity for Women Report

Investing in Economic Opportunity for Women Fact Sheet

In 2025, the NC Department of Administration’s Council for Women and Youth Involvement released the sixth report in the Status of Women series that analyzes key issues impacting women in North Carolina. The new report, Investing in Economic Opportunity for Women in North Carolina, examines disparities in access to childcare and barriers to economic security among North Carolina women and provides recommendations to invest in better outcomes for women and families across the state.

Key Findings

  • The gender wage gap for women’s median earnings compared to men’s in NC narrowed from 80.9% to 83.4% between 2016 and 2023, raising NC from 31st to 9th nationally.
  • 68.9% of mothers with children under the age of six were in the labor force, compared to 93.8% of fathers
  • North Carolina women working full-time spent 20 to 26% of their annual income on infant childcare (20.5% for home-based care and 26.1% for center-based care).
  • NC ranks lowest nationally in preschool enrollment for 3-year-olds (7%); well below the national average (17%). North Carolina is among the lowest in the Southeast in 4-year-olds enrolled in preschool (30%).

Recommendations

  1. Create a task force to explore a statewide comprehensive paid family and medical leave program.
  2. Guarantee workers across the state access to paid sick days.
  3. Increase North Carolina families' access to child care by investing in a child care subsidy program.
  4. Invest in and expand eligibility for free pre-K for families.
  5. Enact pay equity policies across state agencies to model opportunities for statewide expansion and leadership.
  6. Increase the minimum wage to promote access to livable wages for North Carolinians.
  7. Extend workplace antidiscrimination protections to cover sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy and marital status.
  8. Expand opportunities for student loan forgiveness for care workers and STEM-related professions.
  9. Promote collaboration that advances workforce strategies to support women.
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