Occupational segregation and structural labor market discrimination contribute to significant socioeconomic disparities afflicting Latinas; these inequalities were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2020, approximately one in five Latinas were unemployed, registering the highest unemployment rate among all workers. Overall, the Latino…

In the last decades, developed economies have witnessed significant declines in wages for low-skill workers, increases in employment in high-skill occupations, rapid diffusion of new technology, and expanding offshoring opportunities. Labor markets in developed countries have reallocated labor from manual to cognitive jobs and from routine to…

This paper develops and estimates a model for the choice of part-time and full-time employment and the decision to pay for childcare among single mothers. The results indicate that a lower childcare price and a higher full-time wage rate both lead to an increase in overall employment and the use of paid childcare. The part-time wage effects are…

Using data on 271 jobs, a study showed that both worker characteristics (education, months employed or unemployed) and job characteristics (skills, mental and physical demands, tools) are determinants of pay. Females tend to hold jobs of lower value to the organization, which explains part of the male-female pay differential. (SK)

Between 1986 and 1996, the number of black women aged 16 and over in the United States increased from 11 million to 13 million. Labor force participation for black women rose during that time from 56.9 percent to 60.4 percent. In 1996 the total labor force population of black women was 7.9 million. Of these, 80 percent worked full time. Black…

This bulletin summarizes some current information on working women into 20 short statements. Some of the highlights are the following: (1) about 58 percent of all women aged 16 and older (58 million) were labor force participants in 1992; (2) labor force participation for women was highest among those in the 35-44 age group---77 percent, with 73…

In order to examine the factors that contribute to the relatively greater employment problems of females as opposed to males, examines longitudinal data on the labor market participation of young (17- to 20-year-old) women. (Author/GC)

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…

The degree to which wives' work decisions reflect the fulfillment of efficiency principles versus a response to social norms and personal needs was analyzed. The National Longitudinal Survey of Women, who were 30 to 44 years of age, provided the data base. To determine if women's work decisions were consistent with maximizing their economic return…

Women of Hispanic origin are one of the fastest-growing population groups in the United States, increasing from 6.2 million in 1986 to 9.6 million in 1996. The largest segment of this population is of Mexican origin, followed by Puerto Rican origin, Cuban origin, and other Spanish descent. As a group, women of Hispanic origin are younger than…

The female share of the older work force has nearly doubled since 1950. In 1987, the 6.2 million women aged 55 and over in the labor force constituted 4 of every 10 older workers. Because young women today have a stronger work attachment than did their mothers and grandmothers, the female share of the older work force is likely to continue to…

Differences in the occupational attainment patterns of men and women were investigated by using data from 12 industrial societies. The sample consisted of employed persons 20 to 64 years of age working full- or part-time in the United States, Australia, Denmark, Finland, West Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Sweden,…

Many economists have tried to explain existing wage differentials between men and women. A new approach compares the relative importance of occupational discrimination with that of wage discrimination. This model allows for variation both in occupational distribution and in wages resulting from differences in job qualifications and productivity…

In the United States, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Denmark, employment trends have been considerably more favorable than in Germany. A country is considered successful in an employment policy context if unemployment is falling steadily or is low and if employment is increasing steadily or the employment rate has reached a high level.…

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,…