Trends in women' work participation

Abstract

Abstract The changes which have taken place in 15 countries of the Western world during the first half of this century with regard to the proportion of economically active to total females, have been studied ; some countries record a rise, others a fall. Further analysis shows that the participation of women in non-domestic work for pay has risen with only a few exceptions. The proportion of married women who are at work has also risen substantially in most of the English-speaking countries, as well as in Sweden. Changes in population structure cannot explain these developments. The influence of economic factors is not simple to assess, but the main explanation for the rise in women's work participation appears to be full employment and the development of new industries, increasing the demand for labour, and at the same time helping to raise women's earnings relatively to those of men and thus encouraging women to take up paid work. t is anticipated that female work participation will increase in the unde...