Top 10 industries where women make up the majority of the workforce: Here's the list

Women make up the majority of workers in some industries, but their representation varies significantly across the global workforce. Healthcare, education and consumer services have some of the highest shares of women employees, while sectors such as infrastructure, mining and manufacturing continue to be dominated by men.

According to a ranking published by Visual Capitalist on October 16, 2026, using data from the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2026, healthcare and care services lead with women accounting for 60% of their workforce. Education ranks second, followed by consumer services and the government and public sector.

The analysis uses unweighted industry averages based on LinkedIn data covering 61 economies through June 2026. It examines the share of women across 18 industries, highlighting how workforce participation differs from one sector to another.

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Top 10 industries with the highest share of women workers

Why are women underrepresented in some industries?

The report also highlights the continuing gender divide in several traditionally male-dominated sectors. Women account for just 24% of workers in infrastructure and 25% in oil, gas and mining. Manufacturing and supply chain and transportation also have relatively low female representation, at 33% and 32%, respectively.

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Occupational stereotypes, traditional apprenticeship pathways, workplace culture and limited advancement opportunities can contribute to these gaps. Attracting more women into these sectors may require changes to recruitment, workplace practices and career-development opportunities.

What is the share of women workers in India Inc

While broader national labor assessments estimate that female workers account for over 33% of total enterprise employment across combined formal and informal manufacturing activities, official industrial surveys indicate that female representation within organised, registered factory floors hovers closer to 20%. The structural distribution of female employment remains heavily weighted toward labor-intensive consumer goods production.

Sectors such as tobacco products and apparel manufacturing continue to post the highest proportions of women shop-floor operators, with emerging consumer technology assembly — particularly mobile phone line manufacturing — rapidly scaling up female hiring. Conversely, core heavy engineering, capital goods, and machinery production lines record female workforce levels beneath 6%.

Nearly nine out of ten female industrial workers operate within informal, unorganised setup enterprises that lack standardized service contracts or statutory social safety provisions.