For 50 years, laws such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended in 1991, and the Equal Pay Act of 1963 have protected women from overt discrimination. Although gender inequity persists in today's workplace, its presence and effects continue to be underestimated by the relevant stakeholders. Informal observations have shown that college…

Discusses the following major subjects of state labor legislation: increases in minimum wage rates, prevailing wage changes, protection for employers disclosing job performance information, and bans on employment discrimination. Includes a state-by-state summary of labor legislation enacted in 1996. (Author/JOW)

The papers in this book were prepared for research workshops on equal employment opportunity that were held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology during 1974. Economists, psychologists and sociologists were invited to assess the scope of research to date on employment discrimination. Their paper topics include: (1) economic theories of…

Surveys theories in labor economics about how the female labor supply is affected by the wage offers that women receive. Summarizes the implications concerning expected effects of comparable worth wage adjustments on female labor supply. Examines empirical evidence pertaining to the theory of female labor supply. (JS)

Analysis of North Carolina survey data indicates that females' average hourly wages were 71% of males', and blacks' wages were 78% of whites'. Human capital factors (educational attainment and occupational experience) explained 31% and 3% of the racial and gender gaps, respectively. Job gender composition explained 56% of the gender gap; job…

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…

This document outlines the affirmative action that has evolved as the result of attempts to eliminate discrimination in federal employment and in federal contracts. The following acts are discussed: (1) Federal Executive orders; (2) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (3) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended by the Equal…

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…

Patterns of employment in U.S. industry today were studied in order to explore factors behind the low income and lagging occupational status of black women workers. The data collected for this group were contrasted with similar data for white women workers. The study found (1) substantial underrepresention in hiring black women at all income…

This report discusses sex-based wage discrimination, the role of comparable worth doctrine in analyzing or combating such discrimination, and the appropriateness of the remedial prescriptions that comparable worth doctrine envisions. The report consists of a brief introduction and five chapters. Chapter 1 presents a brief overview of women in 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,…

EQUAL PAY MEANS PAYMENT OF "RATE OF THE JOB" WITHOUT REGARD TO SEX. EQUAL PAY LAWS WERE ENACTED IN 29 STATES FROM 1919 TO 1965. FOUR ADDITIONAL STATES HAVE FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES LAWS. SUPPORT FOR SUCH LEGISLATION HAS COME FROM WOMEN'S AND CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS, AFL-CIO, AND THE PRESIDENT'S AND STATE COMMISSIONS ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN. THE…

A comparison of median income since 1955 shows that the salary differential between men and women has increased in recent years. Although this is due primarily to the over-representation of women in low-skilled, low-paying jobs, even within the same occupations men are better paid. Salary comparisons for professional occupations show differentials…

A study found that women in female-dominated jobs earned 6-15 percent less than women with the same characteristics in other occupations. These results support the hypothesis that women are crowded into "female" jobs because of employer discrimination, resulting in lower wages for these jobs. (JOW)

From 1976 to 1992, gender integration of occupations proceeded more rapidly and steadily in the federal civil service than in the general economy. Increasing numbers of women moved into traditional male occupations; little of this progress was attributed to changes in women's education or seniority. (SK)