Learn about the types of people who become sign language interpreters. This page goes into detail about the employment, gender, and ethnic ratios of the workplace.
Employment Type Mix, 2025
47% of sign language interpreters work in full-time roles while 53% work part-time.
Gender Mix By Career Interest, 2025
This graph shows the distribution of females and males that are interested in becoming a sign language interpreter. Four or five star ratings on CareerExplorer indicate interest.
More women than men are interested in becoming sign language interpreters at a ratio of 2.71 to 1.
Actual Gender Mix, 2025
87% of sign language interpreters are female and 13% are male.
Gender Bias, 2025
This is one of the most compelling statistics we collect. Gender bias shows the difference between gender interest in being a sign language interpreter and the actual gender mix of people in the career.
If there is a significant difference, then it means there is a gender imbalance between those interested in becoming a sign language interpreter and those who end up becoming one.
In this case there are more men interested in becoming a sign language interpreter than those actually working as one. It is hard to pinpoint the exact reasons why, but there are likely various forces at play, from changing interests over time to societal norms and biases.
Ethnic Mix, 2019
The largest ethnic group of sign language interpreters are White, making up 70% of the population. The next highest segments are Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish and Black or African American, making up 14% and 6% respectively.