The number of people available to work or available for a job, usually considered as a resource or supply.
A compound of 'man' (person) and 'power' (strength or capability), first used in the 1800s as factories and industries needed to think about how many workers they had available.
The term 'manpower' became super important during wars when countries tracked how many soldiers they could field—it's basically human resource optimization, but militarized!
Gendered term assuming workforce is male. Originated in industrial era when women were excluded from formal labor markets.
Use 'workforce', 'labor', 'personnel', or 'staff' as gender-neutral alternatives.
["workforce","personnel","labor capacity","staff"]
Women comprise half the global workforce; this term's persistence erases their economic contribution and labor value.
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