Entrepreneurship and inequality in access to remote work: a longitudinal study of social groups in the United States

Abstract In advanced economies, the growth of telework has changed the nature of labor. However, access to remote work is still not equally distributed. This study examines access to telework opportunities in the United States (U.S.) from October 2022 to February 2025, focusing on demographic factors such as age, gender, and educational attainment. Using a longitudinal, intersectional approach, the analysis identifies patterns in telework adoption based on monthly data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The findings reveal that individuals aged 25 to 54 and those with higher education consistently exhibited the highest telework rates. Women also demonstrated higher participation rates than men throughout the period. Conversely, younger workers (16–24), older adults (55+), and those with lower levels of education remained significantly underrepresented. This study contributes to management and entrepreneurship research by providing insights into workforce segmentation in teleworking environments in the post-pandemic era. The findings are relevant for managers, human resources specialists, and policymakers aiming to promote inclusive remote work practices. Interventions such as digital skills training and sector-specific hybrid models may help close access gaps, enhancing employee engagement and fostering broader participation in the digital economy. However, the findings should be interpreted in light of certain research limitations, particularly the lack of granularity in the dataset with respect to ethnicity, family status, geographic region, and social class. Despite these limitations, the study provides valuable empirical insights and opens avenues for future research on telework inequality.