The role of women in the work force and the wages paid to women workers have become major employment discrimination issues of the 1980's. Comparable worth, wage discrimination, and the existence and possible influence of sex-related factors in wage administration systems, which include formalized job evaluation schemes, are discussed. (MLW)

Despite the great influx of women into the labor market, the gap between men's and women's wages has remained stable at 40 percent since 1950. Analysis of labor data suggests that this has occurred because women's educational attainment compared to men has declined. Recently, however, the wage gap has begun to narrow, and this will probably become…

Women's difficult working conditions are due to factors such as the nature and form of women's employment, their reproductive role, and family responsibilities. The relative importance of these factors must be assessed in order to redress inequalities. (SK)

Despite the magnitude of changes in both female labor force participation and labor force attachment, research suggests that young women continue to make inappropriate decisions regarding investment in human capital, that is, education and work experience, given their probable work status later in life. (CT)

A discussion of ways to remedy women's wage disadvantage in higher education looks briefly at affirmative action, then more extensive examines the principle of comparable worth, including advantages of implementing a comparable worth program, criteria for judging worth, bias-free job evaluation, and making comparable worth adjustments. (MSE)

Women have made slow, steady progress in the labor market since 1979, but the wage gap has not narrowed significantly. This briefing paper updates a September 1987 paper based on "Male-Female Differences in Work Experience, Occupations, and Earnings: 1984" (Current Population Reports, Household Economic Studies, Series P-70, No. 10, issued in…

Millions of women face bleak retirement futures. In 40 years, when today's 25-year-olds retire, fewer women will be retiring married, and therefore fewer will have access to a husband's retirement income. Young women continue to face a future of significantly lower wages. Caregiving responsibilities continue to fall predominantly on women's…

A major concern for researchers and managers alike is the inequality in the workforce based on gender and position. Researchers have found that women tend to hold disproportionately lower positions than men and receive remuneration of about 60 cents to the dollar compared to their male peers. This study assessed inequality in wage and position…

This discussion of the impact of new computer occupations on women's employment patterns is divided into four major sections. The first section describes the six computer-related occupations to be analyzed: (1) engineers; (2) computer scientists and systems analysts; (3) programmers; (4) electronic technicians; (5) computer operators; and (6) data…

In an attempt to achieve equality in employment practices this annual report is presented as an ethnic survey of employees of the executive branch of New York State government. This report compares the data collected in late 1972 with that gathered in three of five previous years: 1967, 1970, and 1971, and tabulates and examines employee…

Women earn only 64 cents for every dollar earned by men. Five and a half million women number among the "working poor." The following are suggested for change: (1) raise the minimum wage; (2) institute gender- and race-blind pay scales; (3) establish child care centers; and (4) enforce anti-discrimination laws. (PS)

A major development in the American workforce has been the increased labor force participation of women. In 1970, only about 43 percent of women age 16 and older were in the labor force; by 1999, that figure had risen to 60 percent. From 1999 to 2004, women's labor force participation rate receded slightly to 59.2 percent, still well above the…

Given the salience of biological sex, it is not surprising that gender stereotypes are pervasive. To explore the prevalence of such stereotypes, the accuracy of gender stereotyping regarding occupations is presented in this paper. The paper opens with an overview of gender stereotype measures that use self-perceptions as benchmarks of accuracy,…

A study used data from the 1998 Current Population Survey to document job growth in the public and private sectors and examine the quality of jobs in terms of wages and benefits. Findings indicated public sector employment declined for both women and men during the period from 1979-98 with a somewhat sharper decline among men. In 1998, median…

A recent United States Supreme Court Case, County of Washington v. Gunther, examined issues related to sex-based wage discrimination, as defined by federal statutes. The positions of the respondent and petitioner and majority and minority views of the court are presented. (PP)