Full Citation

Title: Racial/Ethnic Variations in Married Women's Labor Force Participation: Social Class Effects and Historical Patterns

Citation Type: Conference Paper

Publication Year: 2001

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Abstract: From 1950 to 1999, married women's labor force participation rate increased from 23% to 72% among those younger than 55. Currently, married women of middle-income husbands are more likely to be in the labor force than those of high- or low-income husbands, but this pattern emerged only after 1980. Using Census date from 1950 to 1990 and 1999 CPS data , the proposed paper analyzed the pattern for various racial/ethnic groups (African, Asian, and Hispanic Americans). It was found that married women's labor force participation rate hasn't converged much among racial/ethnic groups. Hispanic Americans still appear to be less likely to be employed and African Americans more than their white counterparts.The analysis also shows that white and Asian women who are married to the husbands with large incomes tend to withdraw from the labor market while this pattern is not so obvious among African and Hispanic Americans. This finding may indicate that while white and Asian women withdraw from the labor market when their husbands earn enough income, African and Hispanic women withdraw from the labor market when they themselves do not possess enough human capital to participate in the labor market activity.

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Yoshinori, Kamo

Conference Name: NCFR Conference

Publisher Location: Rochester, NY

Data Collections: IPUMS USA, IPUMS CPS

Topics: Family and Marriage, Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Race and Ethnicity

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