Between 1973 and 1988, private sector union membership fell by 9.5 percentage points more for men than women; the gender wage gap decreased by 0.09. Unionism fell more slowly for women. Greater decline in male unionism is responsible for one-seventh of the decline in the wage gap. (SK)

According to data from the Newly Entitled Beneficiary Survey and the 1979 and 1988 Current Population Survey, much of the gender gap in pensions is caused by gender differences in such labor market characteristics as experience, tenure, and income. Children and marriage have a negative effect on females' pensions, although not for more recent…