Women in the American economy.

Abstract

Striking changes in the economic pursuits and status of women have marked the last 2 decades: 1) more women are in the labor force than ever before, 2) they are more likely to have continuous lifetime work experience, 3) they are better educated, and 4) the law mandates greater opportunity for equal employment. Still, as a group, most women continue to work in traditionally female, low-paying occupations. This report addresses 2 questions: 1) why some economic differences between men and women have narrowed, and 2) why they still continue to narrow. Over the past few years, women have been spending more years prior to marriage supporting themselves; in marriage, they have been contributing more to the household income, and a greater number of divorced women have been rearing children alone, often with little or no financial help. Some of the highlights reported in this study are: 1) in 1985, 31.5 million women held full-time, year-round jobs; 2) younger women are increasingly delaying marriage and childbirth to attend college and establish careers; 3) over 1/2 of all children under 18 had a mother in the labor force in 1985; 4) 48% of women with babies under 1 were in the labor force in 1985 as were over 1/2 the mothers with toddlers under 3; 5) by 1995, 61.4 million women are projected to be in the labor force--a participation rate of 60%; and 6) 13% of women who worked year-round, full-time in 1984 had earnings greater than $25,000 compared with 46% of men.

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