In 2024, women accounted for 46% of Idaho’s total occupational employment, making them less represented than men in the overall labor force. However, women were significantly more concentrated than men in the industries of health care, education, personal care services and office and administrative support. [1]
While men hold a higher share of jobs overall, women account for the majority of Idaho’s recent postsecondary education metrics, including both non-degree certificates and advanced degree completions. While data suggests women will continue to favor formal education at elevated levels, the growing diversity of alternative career pathways such as apprenticeships may reshape this pattern in the future.
Idaho’s young women begin preparing for their careers in high school
Compared with young men, young women in Idaho’s high schools consistently graduate at higher rates. Between 2021-2024, Idaho reported average four-year graduation rates at 85% for young women and 80% for young men.
Young women also participate in more advanced career readiness opportunities while earning their high school diploma. Although they generally account for just under half of K-12 public school enrollments statewide, high school girls completed 51% of advanced courses in 2024-2025 and earned 60% of dual credits between 2016-2020. [2]
High school students who have completed dual credit courses tend to have higher postsecondary go-on rates. In the most recent data for the school year of 2019-2020, young women who had earned dual credits in high school had a 56% go-on rate compared with 40% for young men. Fall-to-spring retention rates were also higher for women than men who had previously taken dual credit courses. [3]
Figure 1. Idaho high school graduation rates and program completions by sex, 2016-2025
Source: Idaho Department of Education, “Idaho Report Card, 2024-2025.”
Young women in the U.S. are less likely to participate in CTE
Young women throughout the U.S. were less likely than young men to have completed career and technical education (CTE) courses — nearly one out of two (47%) male high school graduates completed three or more CTE credits while a little more than one out of three (36%) female graduates pursued this career pathway.
Of the young women who did complete any level of CTE credits during their secondary education, they were most likely to be within the areas of business/finance/marketing, communications, and consumer services. While young men also had high participation in business/finance/marketing, their next highest focus area was engineering/design/production.[4]
Idaho’s young women pursue postsecondary education immediately after high school
In 2024, youth ages 5-17 in Idaho enrolled in primary and secondary school at similar rates by sex. For ages 18-19, this ratio changed to a 10% higher share of young women enrolled (see Figure 2). For all adults over the age of 18, 10% of adult women were enrolled in school in 2024 compared with 9% of adult men. [5]
Figure 2. Share of resident population in Idaho enrolled in school by age and sex, 2024
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “American Community Survey, 2024.”
Go-on rates track the enrollment of high school graduates into courses at two-year or four-year institutions immediately after graduation. From 2017-2022, the go-on rates in the fall immediately after high school graduation averaged 52% for women compared with 36% for men. [6]
However, go-on rates are unable to capture alternative career readiness pursuits such as the military, apprenticeships and other highly specialized training programs. Since these alternative pathways have traditionally been more populated by men than women it could explain the discrepancy for go-on rates by sex.
Women are a large share of postsecondary enrollments in Idaho and the U.S.
In most states — Idaho included — women outnumber men in both postsecondary program enrollments and completions.
For Idaho specifically, women earned 62% of statewide postsecondary certificate and degree completions in the 2023-2024 academic year — exceeding the national average of 59%. [7]
Figure 3. Share of degrees and certificates completed by women as a share of the total, 2023-2024
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, “Degrees/certificates by gender, 2023-2024.”
In fall 2023, there were 1.3 women enrolled within a postsecondary academic institution in Idaho for every man. When factoring in certificate and degree completions, the ratio increases to 1.6 female completions for every male. [8]
Although women outnumbered men in educational programs overall, a higher concentration of women targeted shorter duration certificates or associate degrees than their male counterparts. In 2024, more than half (55%) of women who earned a postsecondary completion did so at either the certificate or associate degree-level compared with 50% of men.
The choice to pursue a shorter education is likely made after considering the trade-off between the cost of education — in terms of time, energy and finances — and future wage value. Additionally, the availability of alternative non-degree certificate programs has increased over the past 10 years, with the total completion rate for both men and women growing from 10% in 2014 to 35% in 2024, as shown in Figure 4 below.
Figure 4. Certification and degree completions within Idaho by sex, 2014-2024
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “American Community Survey, 2024.”
Top certificates and associate degree programs completed by Idaho’s women in 2024
Three out of every four certificate and associate degree completions by women at Idaho’s institutions between 2023-2024 were within business management, liberal arts, health professions, family and consumer sciences and culinary, entertainment, and personal services. In each of these popular programs, women made up 55% or more of total completions (see Figure 5).
In contrast, women comprised less than 25% of all completions at a certificate or associate degree-level for computer and information sciences, mechanic and repair technologies, engineering, precision production and construction trades. While a third (34%) of all men’s completions at this educational level occurred within these five focus areas, less than 5% of women’s completions were in these fields.
Figure 5. Top five certificate and associate degree program completions by women in Idaho, 2014 and 2024
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, “Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, 2014-2024.”
Top bachelor’s and graduate degree programs Idaho women pursued in 2024
Overall, women accounted for 59% of degree completions at the bachelor’s degree and above level (bachelor’s+) in 2023-2024. This increased incrementally from the 55% of bachelor’s+ degrees within Idaho awarded to women in 2014.
Like the certificate/associate degree-level, bachelor’s+ degree completions for Idaho women in 2023-2024 followed a similar pattern of strong participation within health professions, business management, education and multidisciplinary studies (see Figure 6). With the exception of business management, women accounted for at least 60% of total completions for the other four of the top five focus areas.
Also similar to the certificate/associate-degree level, women accounted for less than 25% of upper-level degree completions in the information sciences, engineering and engineering-related technologies areas. Although women’s participation in these three areas increased from 14% of total completions in 2014 to 21% in 2024, women continue to pursue these specialized fields of study at lower rates than men.
Figure 6. Top five bachelor’s+ degree program completions by women in Idaho, 2014 and 2024
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, “Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, 2014-2024.”
More of Idaho’s women are participating in apprenticeships
Apprenticeships in Idaho have traditionally been utilized by very few women as a viable workforce preparation path. Former apprenticeship opportunities were initially focused on the male-dominated industries of construction, utilities and manufacturing. In 2025, approximately 96% of apprentices within the popular industries of construction, manufacturing and public administration were either men or did not indicate their sex.
However, recent program expansion in areas such as health care and educational services have significantly increased both the number of women and total participants enrolled in active apprenticeships statewide. In 2025, 17% of total apprentices within Idaho were women compared with 2% in 2015. [9]
While over two-thirds of active male apprentices in Idaho in 2025 were in the construction and public administration fields, nearly two-thirds of female apprentices were concentrated within health care and education — accounting for over 80% of health care and social assistance apprenticeships and over 40% for educational services.
Women also comprised at least half of active apprentices within the more minor industries of finance and insurance, accommodation and food services, and professional/scientific/technical services.
Figure 7. Share of active apprentices in Idaho by industry and sex, 2015 and 2025
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, “Apprenticeship USA, 2025.”
While the pursuit of formal postsecondary education may cause women to temporarily leave the labor force, apprenticeships are an avenue to continue active labor force participation while simultaneously gaining new skills and direct hands-on experience.
Women have more educational completions, but lower labor force participation rates
Women have higher on-time high school graduation rates and pursue postsecondary education in larger numbers compared with men in nearly every U.S. state.
In general, labor force participation rates tend to rise as additional education is attained. The link between educational attainment and women’s labor force participation rate becomes complicated as men participated in the labor force at higher rates than women in all U.S. states in 2025. [10]
Although the labor force participation rate of female Idaho residents increased from 56% in 2014 to 57% in 2025, it continues to have one of the highest male-female labor force participation rate gaps in the U.S. As of 2025, Idaho was one of seven states with at least a 12% labor force participation gap between men and women.
Figure 8. Degree/certificate completions in 2023-2024 and labor force participation rate in 2025, by sex
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, “Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, 2023-2024.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population by sex and intermediate age, 2025.”
Different approaches impact labor market outcomes for Idaho’s men and women
Women in Idaho pursue formal postsecondary education at higher rates than men but represent a smaller minority of other forms of career readiness — such as active apprenticeships, CTE enrollments and military recruitment.
The higher labor force participation rate for men demonstrates they may prioritize alternative pathways not fully captured in this data and engage more consistently in the labor force than women. Labor force participation is not a permanent economic status and will fluctuate as an individual’s priorities change over the course of their life — including during the pursuit of education.
Lisa.Grigg@labor.idaho.gov, regional economist
Idaho Department of Labor
208-696-2256
Citations
[1] “American Community Survey, 2024,” U.S. Census Bureau, last accessed on March 4, 2026, https://data.census.gov/.
[2] “Idaho Report Card, 2024-2025,” Idaho Department of Education, last accessed on March 6, 2026, https://www.idahoreportcard.org/.
[3] “Evaluation of Idaho’s dual credit funding through Advanced Opportunities, November 2021,” Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, last accessed on February 23, 2026, https://dashboard.boardofed.idaho.gov/downloadables/publications/annualreports/dualcredit/WICHE-Dual-Credit-Report-2021.pdf.
[4] “CTE Coursetaking pattern, by gender, 2019,” National Center for Education Statistics, last accessed on March 5, 2026, https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ctes/tables/h259.asp.
[5] “American Community Survey, 2024,” U.S. Census Bureau, last accessed on February 20, 2026, https://data.census.gov.
[6] “2023 Fact Book,” Idaho State Board of Education, last accessed on March 6, 2026, https://dashboard.boardofed.idaho.gov/Publications.html.
[7] “Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, 2023-2024,” National Center for Education Statistics, last accessed on February 20, 2026, https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data.
[8] “Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, 2023-2024,” National Center for Education Statistics, last accessed on February 20, 2026, https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data.
[9] “Apprentices by state dashboard,” Apprenticeship USA, last modified/accessed on February, 2026, https://www.apprenticeship.gov/data-and-statistics/apprentices-by-state-dashboard.
[10] “Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population by sex and intermediate age, 2025,” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, last accessed on February 20, 2026, https://www.bls.gov/lau/ptable14afull2025.htm.
This Idaho Department of Labor project is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor for SFY26 as part of a Workforce Information grant (41%) and state/nonfederal funds (59%) totaling $860,595.
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