Obesity prevalence has doubled among adults and overweight has tripled among children since 1980. This article discusses behavioral approaches to the obesity epidemic, focusing on recent environmental changes, the resulting behaviors, and possible solutions. Over the last 4 decades, time spent in sedentary activities, the consumption of fast food,…

One of the sharpest criticisms of welfare state research is insufficient attention to factors relating to gender relations and inequalities. Recent scholarship has begun to address welfare state effects on gender-related outcomes, but the evaluation of theories of welfare development with respect to gender factors is somewhat less developed,…

Since 1950, social changes and employment-retirement experiences have contributed to a dramatic increase in labor force participation rates for women, a slower but steady decline for men, and a mixed pattern for teenagers. Tables and charts depict data analyzed in the text. (MF)

This annotated bibliography reflects relevant issues covered in the accompanying article in this issue (CE 506 866). It presents a general outline of recent literature on labor force participation, including underlying secular movements and cyclical analysis. (MF)

Examines trends related to proportion of the population engaged in market work and to the age and sex composition of the work force. Trends indicate that work patterns are becoming increasingly similar for men and women and that much greater proportions of persons in the age group 20-54 are working than has been true in the past. For journal…

Data from 1970 on work life expectancy indicate that the average number of years spent in the labor force is declining for men and rising for women, with an increase in the number of working women with children under six. Tables supplement the discussion. (LH)

In light of changing statistics about women in the labor force since 1960, the author discusses possible trends related to working women in the future. In 1962 the labor force participation rate of all U. S. women was 36% and of mothers, 34%. By 1975 these rates increased to 43% and 47% respectively. Unfortunately, women still seem to be taking…

An outgrowth of a conference, this book defines issues, identifies problems, and suggests courses of action that will lead to the full utilization of women in the work force. Chapters are: (1) "The Current Status of the Employment of Women" by C. East; (2) "Women's Liberation Means Putting Sex in Its Place" by W. S. Heide; (3) "Employment…

The Women's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor was created by Congress in 1920, and given the mandate: "to formulate standards and policies which shall promote the welfare of wage-earning women, improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency, and advance their opportunities for profitable employment." Highlights from the…

Points out that changing attitudes are responsible for more women working outside the home. Shows that the tendency for women to work and their higher status when working reinforce each other. Suggests husbands' attitudes become more favorable towards working women when they become used to their wives working. (Author/RC)

Previous studies by Newman, Whittemore, and Newman (NWN) reported that between the years 1959 and 1963 and the years 1962 and 1967, percentages of women in the labor force increased as well as suicide rates. The role of women in the labor force was indicative of anomie, which correlated with suicide. The relationship between working women and…

The economic evolution of American women from the colonial era to 1984 is examined. The labor-scarce environment of the colonial era gave women access to any occupation they wished, e.g., field work, household manufacturing. With the Industrial Revolution, 1820-1865, the role of women changed. Industrialists hired women because they would work for…

The two papers in this report focus on some of the social, demographic, and economic consequences of the increasing entry of women into the workforce. Arthur Norton and Louisa Miller in "The Family Life Cycle: 1985" show trends in the frequency and timing of marriage, divorce, remarriage, and fertility across several generations of…

Using data from the 1980 census and earlier censuses this booklet briefly profiles women in the American population and the changes in their educational levels, workforce participation, income levels, marital status, and roles as mothers. Graphs are used throughout to highlight these changes. Census figures indicate that women are now the majority…