In the last 20 years, an increase in the number of working women has been accompanied by changes in the female labor force and in the concentration of women in particular occupations and industries. These changes have a profound effect upon women's earnings. The Current Population Survey (CPS) shows a wide disparity in the median earnings of women…

A study used data for the 1987 calendar year from the 1986 and 1987 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to examine the impact of union membership on women's wages and job tenure. The data set included 17,200 sample members, representing about 79 million workers, aged 16-64. The study mapped the distribution of union…

Data on women in labor unions in 1988 reveal the following facts: (1) women are becoming an increasingly important part of membership in organized labor, as the total number of workers in unions declines; (2) in 1988, nearly 6 million of the 47.5 million employed women in the United States, or about 13 percent, were members of unions; (3) since…

Since 1979, the wage gap between women and men has narrowed significantly, falling by more than 10 percent overall. The closing of the wage gap has slowed considerably in the 1990's, however, with women's real wages (adjusted for inflation) stagnating in recent year and men's wages continuing to decline. The lack of growth in both women's and…

Data on Hispanic women in the labor force between 1978 and 1988 show the following: (1) 6.5 percent of the women in the work force in 1988 were of Hispanic origin (3.6 million); (2) the median age of Hispanic women was 26.1 years, 2-5 years younger than Black or White women; (3) 66 percent of Hispanic women participate in the labor force, a higher…

This report examines the situation of the one-half of the nation's nine million working poor who are female. It begins by looking at just who the working poor are. Two areas of study are education levels and types of jobs. The discussion then shifts to minimum wage earners and their characteristics, the current status of the minimum wage, and the…

Issued on the 35th anniversary of the signing of the Equal Pay Act (1963), this report is a historical analysis of the economic trends affecting women workers from the years leading up to passage of the act through the present. It is divided into three time periods to highlight important developments: Part I--The Early Impact of the Equal Pay Act,…

The earnings gap is the difference between the percentage ratio of women's earnings to those of men and 100 percent. In 1988, the earnings gap for hourly earnings was 26 percent; for weekly earnings, 30 percent; and for annual earnings, 34 percent. Although the direction over the past decade is toward greater equality, the pace is extremely slow.…

This report addresses two central questions raised by the rapidly changing economic role of American women during the 20th century. First, why have the reported wages of women remained constant at approximately 59 percent of men's wages, in spite of the enormous increase in the numbers of women who work and who presumably have been acquiring…

In this congressional hearing on women in the labor force, focus is on the problems of wage discrimination and specific means of eradicating this injustice. Testimony includes statements and submissions for the record (prepared statements and reports) from United States Senators and from individuals representing the Committee on Women's Employment…

From 1977 to 1983, the number of sole proprietorships operated by women increased from 1.9 to 3.3 million. The number of self-employed women--the majority of whom are sole proprietors--continued to grow. In 1982 the median earnings of self-employed women were substantially lower than those of wage and salary women workers and self-employed men.…

Over the past 20 years, women's real earnings rose whereas those of men declined. Even as the gender pay gap narrowed, earnings differences between white women and black and Hispanic women continued to grow. (Author)

Although union membership has been declining overall, the number of women union members continues to increase. Currently, 37 percent of union membership are women. The proportion of women workers who are union members increased from 16.3 percent in 1965 to 19.3 percent in 1975 and fell to 14 percent in 1990; 7.4 million women were represented by…

A study conducted a questionnaire survey of 70 refugee women in Illinois and 2 service provider focus groups to assess the effects of welfare changes on refugee women and to identify barriers to workforce participation. Survey findings were that refugee women in the workforce are concentrated in low-wage jobs and do not earn enough income to move…

From 1978-79 incidence of long hours among full-time wage and salary workers dropped for the first time since the 1974-75 recession. Of those who worked long hours, about 43% received premium pay (time and one-half the regular wage for hours worked in excess of forty per week). Employers used overtime hours to cope with disequilibrium phenomena…