Understanding the Gender Gap An Economic History of American Women

by Goldin, Claudia

• ISBN13: 9780195072709
• ISBN10: 0195072707
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1992-02-13
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Women have entered the labor market in unprecedented numbers, yet these critically needed workers still earn less than men and have fewer opportunities for advancement. This study traces the evolution of the female labor force in America, addressing the issue of gender distinction in the workplace and refuting the notion that women's employment advances were a response to social revolution rather than long-run economic progress. Employing innovative quantitative history methods and new data series on employment, earnings, work experience, discrimination, and hours of work, it establishes that the present economic status of women evolved gradually over the last two centuries and that past conceptions of women workers persist.

Author Biography

Claudia Goldin is Professor of Economics at Harvard University and Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, where she serves as Program Director.

Table of Contents

Women's Experience in the American Economy	p. 3
The Evolution of the Female Labor Force	p. 10
The Measure of Market Work	p. 13
Labor Force Participation of Married Women Since 1890	p. 16
Cohorts of White Married Women	p. 17
Cohorts Versus Cross Sections	p. 21
Implications of Cohort Change	p. 23
Cohorts of Nonwhite Married Women	p. 27
Life-Cycle Labor Force Participation and Work Experience	p. 28
Direct Measures of Life-Cycle Work	p. 30
Work Experience, 1930 to 1950	p. 37
Economic Development and the Life Cycle of Work	p. 42
Corrections to the c. 1890 Data	p. 43
Participation Rates Before 1890: Married and Adult Women	p. 46
Participation Rates Before 1890: Single Women	p. 50
Single Women in the Labor Force, 1890 to 1930	p. 54
Summary: The Work of Women, 1790 to 1988	p. 55
The Gender Gap in Earnings and Occupations	p. 58
The Gender Gap in Earnings over the Long Run, 1815 to 1987	p. 59
The Ratio of Female to Male Full-time Earnings	p. 59
Manufacturing and Agriculture, 1815 to 1970	p. 63
All Workers, 1890 to 1987	p. 68
Occupational Segregation and the Male-Female Wage Gap	p. 71
Sources of Change in the Ratio of Male to Female Earnings	p. 73
The Gender Gap in Occupations	p. 74
Occupational Distributions Among White and Black Women	p. 74
Occupational Segregation by Sex, 1900 to 1980	p. 75
Occupational Segregation in Manufacturing, 1900	p. 77
Implications of Occupational Segregation	p. 81
Summary: Earnings and Occupations	p. 82
The Emergence of "Wage Discrimination"	p. 83
A Measure of "Wage Discrimination"	p. 84
"Wage Discrimination" in Recent Studies	p. 87
Discrimination and "Wage Discrimination"	p. 88
Explaining Differences Between Male and Female Earnings	p. 90
Manufacturing, 1888 to 1907	p. 91
Female Manufacturing Workers	p. 93
Earnings of Manufacturing Workers	p. 97
"Wage Discrimination" in Manufacturing	p. 101
Clerical Sector, 1940	p. 105
Clerical Work and Clerical Workers	p. 106
Earnings of Clerical Workers	p. 107
"Wage Discrimination" in Clerical Work	p. 110
The Origins of "Wage Discrimination"	p. 114
Summary: "Wage Discrimination"	p. 117
The Changing Economic Role of Married Women	p. 119
Explaining Long-term Trends in Married Women's Labor Force Participation	p. 122
Supply Versus Demand	p. 122
Labor Supply: Income, Wage, and Substitution Effects	p. 124
A General Model of the Labor Market for Married Women	p. 126
Estimates of Income, Wage, and Substitution Effects	p. 131
Applying the General Model, 1890 to 1980	p. 136
A Cohort Approach to Change in Married Women's Labor Force Participation	p. 138
Cohort Differences in Fertility	p. 139
Cohort Differences in Education	p. 143
Occupational and Educational Change	p. 143
A Cross-Section, Time-Series Model	p. 149
Expectations and Cohort Labor Force Participation	p. 154
Summary: Married Women in the Labor Force	p. 157
Why Did Change Take So Long?	p. 159
Marriage Bars	p. 160
Extent of the Marriage Bar	p. 161
Firm-Level Evidence, 1931 and 1940	p. 166
Evidence from Local School Districts	p. 170
Explaining the Marriage Bar	p. 171
The Decline of the Marriage Bar in the 1950's	p. 174
The Long-Run Impact of the Marriage Bar	p. 177
Hours of Work and Part-time Employment	p. 179
Hours of Work	p. 179
Part-time Employment	p. 180
Summary: Easing the Constraints	p. 183
The Political Economy of Gender	p. 185
Historical Dimensions of Public Policy	p. 186
Origins and Impact of Protective Legislation	p. 189
Hours and Employment Effects of Maximum Hours Legislation	p. 195
Protective Legislation Versus Equality	p. 198
The Federal Government and the Economic Status of Women	p. 199
The President's Commission on the Status of Women, 1963	p. 200
The 1963 Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act	p. 201
Origins of Discontent	p. 202
Perceptions of Discrimination	p. 203
Discontent Among College Graduates	p. 206
The New Political Economy of Gender: Comparable Worth and Title VII	p. 208
Summary: Altering the Rules	p. 210
Economic Progress and Gender Equality	p. 211
The Present	p. 211
The Past	p. 213
The Future	p. 215
Appendix to Chapter 2: Corrections to the c. 1890 Female Labor Force Participation Rates	p. 219
Data Appendix	p. 228
Notes	p. 233
References	p. 263
Index	p. 281
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