As the nation turns to the annual State of the Union address on February 24, we’re taking a moment to examine the state of women in print’s workforce.

Data from PRINTING United Alliance’s Wages, Salaries and Benefits Report 2024-2025 reveals that women comprise an average of 40% of the workforce among 512 surveyed printing companies, signaling measurable progress toward greater industry inclusion.

But dig deeper into the research, and you find another data point complicating the picture: nearly one in five printing companies—19% of survey respondents—have workforces where women make up fewer than 25% of employees.

Why the contradiction? The reality is that gender representation varies dramatically depending on where you look. Company size matters. Industry segment matters even more. And while momentum exists in some corners of the industry, equity remains frustratingly out of reach in others.

The Company Size Paradox
One of the most interesting patterns in the data emerges when you break down representation by company size.

Small printing companies—those with 1 to 19 employees—show the strongest representation of women, averaging 42% of the workforce. Nearly half of these small companies (43.6%) report gender parity or better.

But as companies scale up, something shifts. Mid-size companies with 50 to 99 employees see representation drop to 36% on average, and more than a quarter of these businesses (27%) fall below the 25% threshold. It’s the low point in the data—a reality check that suggests growth often comes at the expense of gender diversity.

The trend reverses again at the largest companies. Organizations with 100 or more employees rebound to 42% women on average, matching the representation seen in the smallest firms. About 35% of these large companies report achieving gender parity. The pattern suggests that while mid-size companies struggle with representation, larger organizations have both the resources and the imperative to prioritize diversity.

Where Segment Makes All the Difference
If company size creates variations in the data, industry segment creates chasms. Consider the following:

Apparel decoration stands out as the clear leader in women’s representation. The average workforce in this segment is 52% women—making it the only segment where women actually outnumber men. Even more striking, 68% of apparel decoration companies report workforces that are 50% women or more. This isn’t incremental progress; it’s a fundamentally different landscape.

In-plant printing also shows encouraging numbers, with women making up 43% of the workforce on average and 38% of companies reporting gender parity or better. These operations—typically housed within larger organizations like universities, hospitals, or corporations – may benefit from the diversity initiatives of their parent institutions.

Commercial printing, the industry’s traditional core, tracks close to the overall average at 39% women. About one in three commercial printers (32%) have achieved gender parity, suggesting steady but unspectacular progress.

Graphic and sign printing shows similar, yet more uneven, results. While the average workforce is 36% women, a full quarter of companies in this segment have fewer than 25% women—one of the higher concentrations of low representation in the survey.

Packaging takes the dubious honor of the most male-dominated segment of the broad printing industry. Women make up just 30% of the packaging workforce on average, and nearly a third of packaging companies (31%) fall below the 25% representation threshold. Simply put, this segment has the furthest to go.

What Can We Take Away?
The state of women in printing is complex – and changing. We invite you to reflect on the data points above and use these insights to spark reflection and conversation at your own organization.