Women continue to dominate the applicant pool for remote jobs — but there aren't nearly enough positions to satisfy the demand, according to a new report from LinkedIn.
On April 11, LinkedIn's Economic Graph team released its "Global State of Remote and Hybrid Work" report, which analyzed data from the platform's more than 1 billion users. Specifically, the report considered applications to remote and hybrid jobs on the platform, along with the quantity and type of positions labeled "remote." The analysis focused on users in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and India.
In most countries, women are more likely to apply for remote roles than on-site ones, but they are met with a lack of supply, the report found. In the U.S. in February, there were 5.6 times as many applications by women to remote jobs as there were available roles.
Out of all applications made by U.S. women, 45.7% are to remote roles, compared to 42.3% of U.S. men. However, remote job postings only composed 8.2% of total listings.
In the U.S., women were slightly more likely than men to hold a remote position — but on-site arrangements are more than twice as common than remote roles for both genders.
Industry and demographics play a role, the report found. More than 50% of U.S. women who started a new job in the tech industry in 2023 are working remotely, whereas women in entry-level roles are more likely to work on-site. Internationally, members of Generation Z expressed more enthusiasm for in-person work.
"It is apparent companies are still experimenting with defining this new world of work and creating their path forward," the report said."An office can provide benefits for company culture like promoting collaboration and a sense of community, however we see that women in particular can benefit from an increased flexibility to work from home when needed."