Employment Outcomes For Women Research Articles

The Professional Clothing Bank as Evidence-Based Practice

Little research exists linking interview-appropriate attire to improved employment outcomes for women. Thus, it appears that the professional clothing bank has not been investigated as evidence-based practice. To provide preliminary evidence for clothing banks, in this article the author synthesizes findings from existing research on the provision of a professional clothing bank as a means for offering interview-appropriate attire to poor women in job readiness programming. For context, job readiness programs are explored and a case study of one program operating a professional clothing bank is presented. Finally, preliminary considerations for planning and implementing clothing banks based on this literature review are given.

The Future of Work-Family Policy: Is 'Choice' the Right Choice?

This article reviews the new, interdisciplinary book, Women and Employment: Changing Lives and New Challenges, which contains a set of empirical studies and policy proposals on work-family balance. This review uses the book’s research and analysis as a springboard for considering the role that gender equality should play in advancing a coherent work-family policy agenda, and more specifically, what “gender equality” means in the context of care work and labor force participation. Until recently, work-family discourse has been influenced by two dominant perspectives: one that seeks to achieve equal employment outcomes for women and men, and one that focuses on achieving equal valuation of unwaged care work with work performed in the paid labor market. In an attempt to bridge this divide and forge a way forward, some work-family scholars have begun to shift away from calls for particular substantive outcomes and towards a more process-based conception of gender equality. This new perspective focuses on equality of choice amongst a range of combinations of market work and care work. This review examines how the book’s empirical findings may advance our understanding of the existing constraints on “choice” in women’s and men’s work-family balance solutions, and it explores what the book’s analysis may reveal about the viability of an “equal choice model” as a path forward in work-family policy debates.

Gender differences in income after substance abuse treatment.

This study asked whether men and women who enrolled in substance use treatment reported similar changes in income from work, public assistance, and crime over time. Income data were analyzed for 261 substance users (77 women, 184 men) who entered day or residential treatment, and completed Addiction Severity Index measures at treatment entry and up to 18 months later. Over time, respondents reported increases in employment income. People whose main source of income at baseline had been crime or public assistance showed significant decreases respectively in income from crime or public assistance. Men made greater gains in work income than women did. Across time, men were more likely to be employed than women were. Findings show the economic value of substance use treatment, but less improvement in employment outcomes for women than men.

Assessing the Impact of Location on Women's Labor Market Outcomes: A Methodological Exploration

Location and the nature of locally available employment opportunities is believed to shape labor force participation, job type, and wages. Analysts investigating this issue have encountered problems in operationalizing the concept of “locally available employment opportunities.” We first review the grounds for expecting a relationship between local context and employment outcomes for women and then critically assess the methods and measures that analysts have used to explore the relationship. Finally, we describe a new approach for measuring local employment context that consists of a fine‐scaled measure individually tailored for each woman in the sample. Using discriminant analysis we ask whether the spatial variables measuring local employment context are important determinants of women's employment in female‐dominated occupations. The results suggest that for most groups of women (defined by city or suburban residence and by sociodemographics) the spatial variables are not important. For well‐educated, part‐time employed women with young children, however, living in an area rich in female‐dominated job opportunities increases the likelihood of having a job in a gender‐typical occupation; for these women, the local employment context does affect labor market outcomes.

Reconciling Competing Theoretical Explanations for Women's Employment Experiences: Implications for Human Resource Management

While evidence of the existence of gender‐based inequality in employment outcomes such as career grade and pay, abounds, theoretical disputes over the explanation for this phenomenon remain unresolved. Broadly, writers are divided over those who believe that unequal employment outcomes for women are the result of their individual choice (for example see Becker, 1975 and 1985; Lord, 1979; Hakim, 1991, 1993 and 1996), and those who believe this to be the result of the constraints placed on women (for example see Davies and Rosser, 1986;Curran, 1985and 1988; Collinson et.al., 1990; Vogler, 1994).