- Introduction
- Changes in the Labor force participation rate of men and women and future trends
The later half of the 20th century saw the rate of participation of women in the US labor force increasing at a commendable pace. The labor force participation rate (LFPR) of women increased from a meager 34% in 1950 to an impressive 60% in 2000. The US labor force consisted of 18million women in 1950 which increased to 66 million in 2000 showing an average annual growth rate of 2.6%. The share of women in the labor force also increased. It was 30% in 1950, increasing to 47% in 2000. It is projected that the number of women in the workforce will reach 92 million by 2050 at an average annual growth rate of 0.7%, increasing women’s share in the work force to 48%. (Toossi, 2002). The difference in the participation rate between men and women has also declined from 53% in 1950 to 46% in 1960. In 1990, the difference was 19%. It is expected to be around 10% by 2050 as depicted in Chart 1. The labor force participation rates of women between the age group of 25-34 increased by 20.5 percentage points in 1970-80. In this decade, the participation rate for women in the age group of 35-44 increased by 14.4%. (Toossi, 2002). All these figures are depicted in Table 1.
Source: Toossi, 2002.
Chart 1 Aggregate Labor Force Participation Rates 1950-2000, projected to 2050
- An Analysis of the Changing Scenario in the Labor Force Participation Rate of Women
Economic thinkers have come up with varying observations and reasoning for the initial lack of labor force participation by women and the subsequent rise from the later part of the twentieth century. In this section, we discuss some of these ideas.
- Women bear the brunt of household chores: I t has been observed that women spend more time on housework than men do. In 1960-80, studies have shown that men spent 11 hours a week on household work as against 50 hours by women who are not engaged in any paid job. Women employed outside their home also spent as much as 33 hours in housekeeping activities. This was a primary reason why women couldn’t get time out of their household work to pursue a career.(Calasanti & Bailey, 1991).
Even in the later part of the twentieth century, when we find more women entering the job market, there were certain limitations to this entry. Firstly, women entered jobs which were mostly an extension of their role as a homemaker. These jobs were low paid also. Secondly, since looking after family and children was considered the fundamental duty of women, they were compelled to look for jobs where they could get more time away from work for their family or even discontinue service intermittently.(Cohen, 2004). This also resulted in women being concentrated in low paying job areas. This is evident from the data given in Table 2 which shows that the jobs of secretaries, receptionists, housekeepers and the like were dominated by females. Of all the women work force, more than a fourth were engaged in housekeeping activity.
- Change in economic power of women: The economic power of women increased considerably in the twentieth century. So the opportunity cost of spending time at home for child care and other activities have increased. This has induced women to reduce their want for children thereby substituting the time spent on motherhood for profitable employment. As women’s economic dependence on their husbands has reduced, marriage is less attractive to women. This has resulted in a rise in divorce rates which has further increased the tendency of women to spend more time in career pursuance. The reduction in fertility rates has moved in consonance with the increase in labor force participation by women. (Becker, 1985).
- The role of the State: The government has an important role to play in increasing the participation of women in the job market. The focus on both ‘worker friendly’ and ‘family friendly’ policies have resulted in the creation of an atmosphere which is more conducive for women to advance towards their career aspirations. (Mandel & Shalev, 2009). The provision of child care centers as well as passing of laws in favor of women with children or with pregnancy in the workplace have greatly helped women to carry on with a job along with the task of bringing up children. This has resulted in an increase in participation of married women into the labor force. For example, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) scheme launched by the Government of the US, which has benefited around 20 million families in 2000, have, evidently, increased employment for the unmarried women with children. But it has also been pointed out that this scheme has given disincentive for married women to look for a job as it is based on family income. (Eissa & Hoynes, 2003).
- Conclusion
References
Toossi, M. (2002). A Century of Change: the US labor force, 1950-2050. Monthly Labor Review, May 2002.
Calasanti, T.M. & Bailey, T. A. (1991). Gender Inequality and the Division of Household Labor in the United States and Sweden : A Socialist-Feminist Approach. Social Problems 38(1), 34-53. Feb. 1991.
Becker, G.S. (1985). Human Capital, Effort and Sexual Division of Labor. Journal of Labor Economics, 3(1), Part 2: Trends in Women’s Work, Education and Family Building, S33-S58. January 1985.
Mandel, H. & Shalev, M. (2009). How Welfare States Shape the Gender Pay Gap: A Theoritical and Comparative Analysis. Social Forces, 87(4), 1873-1911, June 2009.
Eissa, N. & Hoyne, H. W. (2003). Taxes and Labor Market Participation of Married Couples: The Earned Income Tax Credit. Venice Summer Institute 2003, Workshop on Tax Policy and Labour Market Performance. July 2003.
Cohen, P.N.(2004). The Gender Division of Labor: “Keeping House” and Occupational Segregation in the United States. Gender and Society, 18(2), 239-252. April 2004.
