Where Women Work: 20 Most Common Occupations

You've Come a Long Way Baby... Or Have You?

Think back to the most common jobs that women held in your mom's day, and if that's not far enough back, think about your grandmother. Do secretaries, nurses, teachers and retail sales clerks come to mind? Now think about the most common jobs for women today: Are you envisioning managers and administrators, lawyers, marketing specialists, content producers and entrepreneurs? If so, you'd be wrong. It seems we haven't "come a long way baby" at all.

In fact, according to the latest numbers released by the United States Department of Labor, the Leading Occupations of Employed Women for 2009 are secretaries, nurses, teachers and cashiers, in that order. And in the first three, women represent over 80 percent of all those employed. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just a little surprising that even with technology and society experiencing phenomenal upheaval on a daily basis, things haven't changed much for the working woman during the past 50 years.