Just over 46% of today's unionized workers are women, and when looking at the impact of unionizing along gender lines, the EPI says that collective bargaining can serve as a corrective to wage discrepancies by increasing transparency. "Workers know what other workers are making," they write. "Hourly wages for women represented by unions are 9.2% higher on average than for non-unionized women with comparable characteristics. Union-represented workers in service occupations (which include food service and janitorial services) make 87% more in total compensation and 56.1% more in wages than their nonunion counterparts."