A central organizing framework of the voluminous recent literature studying changes in the returns to skills and the evolution of earnings inequality is what we refer to as the canonical model, which elegantly and powerfully operationalizes the supply and demand for skills by assuming two distinct skill groups that perform two different and…

In this essay, the author provides a critique of sources relevant to the feminization of teaching in the United States from the mid- to late-nineteenth century. Sources covering topics such as the American Civil War, labor market forces, increasing urbanization, educational reform, and regional differences, and how they affected the feminization…

Earnings differences are relatively small between women and men in narrowly defined jobs; however, relatively few women fill the higher levels of these jobs. (Author/JOW)

Discusses reasons for the differences in earnings between men and women: (1) differences in the labor market characteristics between men and women, (2) differences in the distribution of men and women among different jobs, and (3) discrimination in the labor market. (JOW)

Combining distinct ethnic groups under one Hispanic rubric blurs important differences. The disparities in migration and demographic histories, in level of investment in human capital, and in labor market experiences among men of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, and other Spanish-speaking origins are enormous. (JOW)

Updates a 1976 article explaining the stability of hours of work per week in the U.S. since World War II. It introduces a revised series of the ratio of female to male wages over time. In a reply to this article, Kniesner presents estimates which support his 1976 conclusions. (CT)

Outlines a brief history of the unionization of business and office occupations as well as the contributions of feminist organizations, trade associations, legislative bodies, and wage equity groups toward the achievement of equitable pay for women in office occupations. Also discusses what educators can do to aid business students in the pursuit…

The Supreme Court has interpreted two civil rights statutes so that women whose jobs differ from men's can recover for discriminatory undercompensation without first proving unequal pay for equal work. (RM)

Describes "comparable worth" and discusses women's earnings versus men's earnings, the reason for this earnings gap, the structure of the labor market, arguments against comparable worth, jobs traditionally held by women, the role of vocational educators, and teaching women about job ladders. (CT)

Investigates influences on occupational earnings by estimating a standard human capital equation across 175 occupational classifications, using mean 1969 male earnings as the dependent variable. The author finds it significant that the highest paid occupations included manager and self-employed groups while low paying ones included service and…

Compares male and female professional librarians in English public libraries in terms of salaries, employment level, participation in continuing education activities, reasons for taking an extended leave or quitting a job, and respondents' descriptions of an ideal job. (8 references) (Author/CLB)

Models of aggregate production are estimated and used to investigate the effects of changes in labor force composition on the recently observed decline in the earnings of college graduates relative to other workers and on the fall in the earnings of younger workers relative to older workers. (Author/SSH)

Affirmative action is a necessary and effective strategy to end racial and gender inequalities. While moral and historical defenses of affirmative action have merit, economic reasoning is a more potent argument. Analysis of the economic costs and benefits of affirmative action in higher education illustrate its effectiveness in reducing income…

This book proposes that job-level segregation by sex and race is a fundamentally important source of black-white and male-female inequalities in employment. Drawing on the North Carolina Employment and Health Survey, the first general population survey that measures the gender and racial compositions of jobs, the book explores this thesis in the…

Findings from the 1992 Generation survey carried out by Creq in 1997 among young people exiting the French school system indicates that work-related disparities encountered by young labor market entrants in France can be characterized according to the worker's gender. Obstacles facing women include the following: (1) risk of unemployment or…