Understanding the Gender Gap: An Economic History of American Women (NBER Series on Long-term Factors in Economic Development)

Women Have Entered The Labor Market In Unprecedented Numbers. Yet These Critically Needed Workers Still Earn Less Than Men And Have Fewer Opportunities For Advancement. This Study Traces The Evolution Of The Female Labor Force In America, Addressing The Issue Of Gender Distinction In The Workplace And Refuting The Notion That Women's Employment Advances Were A Response To Social Revolution Rather Than Long-run Economic Progress. Employing Innovative Quantitative History Methods And New Data Series On Employment, Earnings, Work Experience, Discrimination, And Hours Of Work, This Study Establishes That The Present Economic Status Of Women Evolved Gradually Over The Last Two Centuries And That Past Conceptions Of Women Workers Persist. Women's Experience In The American Economy -- The Evolution Of The Female Labor Force -- The Gender Gap In Earnings And Occupations -- The Emergence Of Wage Discrimination -- The Changing Economic Role Of Married Women -- Why Did Change Take So Long? -- The Political Economy Of Gender -- Economic Progress And Gender Equality. Claudia Goldin. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 263-279). The author develops a set of data drawn from the US census, vital statistics, city directories, and other American sources in order to examine the differences between men and women in the US labour force.