2023 was the year of the economic woman. Will it last? You get to decide.
I was born in 1976. My mother was 26 years old and recently married. The Vietnam War was over. Fat Elvis played Las Vegas. Jimmy Carter beat out Gerald Ford in the presidential elections. Straight, white women from economically sound families went to college in search of a spouse — and career. Their households thrived on one breadwinner’s income (but wouldn’t for long).
By my calculations from U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers, almost three-fourths (72%) of 26-year-old women in 1976 were married and 6% had already divorced. Two-thirds of these married women were mothers, slightly fewer than half (46%) of whom worked in the labor market — my mother among them.
Abortion was a legal right. Women had gained the ability to have independent bank accounts in their name — a right established in 1974. Unilateral divorce laws expanded, leveling bargaining power in relationships and helping women escape bad ones.
Fast forward to 2023. Taylor Swift is Time Magazine’s Person of the Year and broke the Guinness World Records with the highest grossing tour of all time (more than $1 billion).
Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Pink and their fellow entertainers sparkled on stage, adding to local economies across the globe as their female-leaning fan base bought tickets, accommodations, meals and merch.
Barbie graciously held Oppenheimer’s hand walking into box office stardom, eventually joined by Swift’s “The Eras Tour” and Beyonce’s “Renaissance” movies. Together, they reinvented movie theater experiences across the country.
While women let their glitter shine, men jumped on the fashionista bandwagon at spring awards shows such as the 2023 Oscars. Footballers, not wanting to be left behind, touted their fall NFL pre-game fits, and Rihanna gave us the ultimate Super Bowl halftime pregnancy announcement we didn’t know our Grinchy hearts needed.
More watched Coco Gauff US Open tennis than men’s
I love 2023, not for what it says about the immensely talented, but for what it says about all the rest of us — like those of us with extra paper in our pockets and a desire to experience joy from art that expresses our deepest inner truths. Like the dads who love their daughters (and sons) so much, they were willing to spend their hard-earned cash and precious time to sit through the ”Barbie “ movie or wait outside a football stadium for their kids to exit a concert.
We used our economic clout to boomerang entertainers and athletes to new heights. Viewers of the U.S. Open Women’s Championship surpassed men’s when 3.4 million tuned in to watch Coco Gauff versus Aryna Sabalenka. Taylor Swift and Simone Biles increased the National Football League’s viewership and fan base, and NFL leadership welcomed them with open arms like a parent whose child has just married up into a wealthier, more economically stable family.
We saw a record number of women in the U.S. Congress (1 in 4 members), and more female CEOs than any other time in history (10%). Women’s labor force participation patched the tattered quilt of our labor market, reaching the highest point ever for both prime-age women without children (78%) and mothers (73%), and we now have real in-depth and relatable stories being told about us in the media on a daily basis.
We are all responsible for the economic drive of women in 2023, not just the famous who lovingly and graciously gave it all to us.
Reproductive rights rollback, child care costs rising
But. Yet …
