Table Of ContentWOMEN AND THE ECONOMY
WOMEN AND THE
ECONOMY
A Comparative Study of Britain and the USA
A. T. Mallier
and
M. J. Rosser
Foreword by Baroness Seear
Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN 978-1-349-07607-9 ISBN 978-1-349-07605-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-07605-5
Text © A. T. Mallier and M. J. Rosser, 1987
Foreword © The Macmillan Press Ltd., 1987
Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover 1st edition 1987
All rights reserved. For information, write:
Scholarly & Reference Division,
St. Martin's Press, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
First published in the United States of America in 1987
ISBN 978-0-312-88732-2
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mallier, A. T. 1931-
Women and the economy.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Women-Employment-Great Britain. 2. Women
Employment-United States. 3. Women-Great Britain
Econornic conditions. 4. Women-United States-Econornic
conditions. I. Rosser, M. J., 1949- 11. Title.
HD6135.M35 1987 331.4'0941 86-4011
ISBN 978-0-312-88732-2
Contents
List 01 Tables vii
List 01 Figures x
Acknowledgements xii
Foreword by Baroness Seear xiv
INTRODUCTION
2 THE DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE 9
The Sources of Demographie Data 10
The Demographie Background 12
The Changing Age Distribution of the Female Population 13
Twentieth-Century Changes in the Marital Status of Women 16
Employment Trends 19
The Female Economic Activity Rate 21
Conclusions 29
3 EMPLOYMENT TRENDS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 30
Industrial Distribution of Female Employment 32
Change within the Productive Industry Sector 35
The Development of Serviee Industry Employment 40
Change in the Relative Female Contribution to Industry 43
Occupational Distribution of Female Employment 45
The Relative Female Contribution to the Occupational Classes 52
4 THE SUPPLY OF FEMALE LABOUR 59
Economie Methodology 64
Theories of Labour Supply 65
Methods of Testing 68
Data Bases and Overview of Cross-Section Studies 70
Factors Affecting the MFAR 71
Cyclical Fluctuations 79
Long-Term Trends 80
v
vi Contents
5 THE DEMAND FOR FEMALE LABOUR 89
Why is there a Demand for Labour? 89
The Level of Labour Demand in Britain and the USA 93
Why the Demand for Female Labour Grew 106
ConcIusion 112
6 EQUALOPPORTUNITY ANDPAY 114
The Evidence of Inequality 114
Explanations of the Observed Inequalities 120
Theories of Discrimination 125
ConcIusions 130
7 ISSUES OF THE 1980s: PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT,
UNEMPLOYMENT AND THE NEW TECHNOLOGY 133
Part-Time Employment 133
Unemployment 145
The Effects of the New Technology on Female Employment 157
8 INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS 166
Fernale Ernployrnent in Free Market Industrialised Econornies 166
Wornen in the Soviet Union 180
9 A MARXIAN PERSPECTNE 190
The Role of Domestic Labour 193
Women and the Reserve Army of Labour 195
Conc1usion 199
Re[erences and Selected Bibliography 200
Author Index 212
Subject Index 216
List of Tables
2.1 Population of Great Britain, total and female, 1901-81 12
2.2 Population of the United States, total and female, 1900-80 12
2.3 Percentage distribution of the age structure of the British
female population, 1901-81 14
2.4 Percentage distribution of the age structure of the US female
population, 1900-80 14
2.5 Married female population, Great Britain, aged 15-64 years,
1901-81 17
2.6 Married female population, USA, aged 15-64 years, 1900-80 17
2.7 Median age of marriage by spinsters in the USA and England
and Wales, 1900-80 18
2.8 Total and female labour force, Great Britain, 1901-81 20
2.9 Total and female labour force, United States, 1900-80 20
2.10 Female labour force activity rates, Great Britain, 1901-81 23
2.11 Female labour force activity rates, Uni ted States, 1900-80 23
2.12 Female labour force activity rates, for Great Britain by
marital status, 1900-81 28
2.13 Female 1abour force activity rates for United States by
mari tal status, 1900-80 28
3.1 Sectora1 changes in total emp10yment, Britain 1901-81 and
the United States 1900-80 31
3.2 Industrial distribution of gainfully occupied female population
in Britain, selected years 36
3.3 Industrial distribution of gainfully occupied female population
in USA, selected years 37
3.4 Industrial sec tors of gainfully occupied British female
population as percentage of total in each industrial sector
of gainfully occupied population, selected years 44
3.5 Industrial sectors of gainfully occupied US female population
as percentage of total in each industrial sector of gainfully
occupied population, selected years 44
vii
viii List 01 Tables
3.6 Occupational class of gainfully occupied female population
in Britain, selected years 47
3.7 Occupational class of gainfully occupied female population
in USA, selected years 48
3.8 Occupational class of gainfully occupied British female
population as percentage of total in each occupational class
of gainfully occupied population, selected years 53
3.9 Occupational class of gainfully occupied US female
population as percentage of total in each occupational
dass of gainfully occupied population, selected years 54
3.10 Occupational segregation, 1971 and 1981, England and Wales 56
3.11 Changes in occupational segregation, 1971-81, England and
Wales 57
4.1 Changes in female labour supply, Great Britain, 1951-81 60
5.1 Principal trends in British employment, 1955-80 98
5.2 Principal trends in US employment, 1955-80 104
6.1 Deployment of male and fern ale employees by key
industrial sector, 1980-1 115
6.2 Deployment of male and female employees in selected
occupations, 1980-1 116
6.3 Dispersion of full-time adults' total earnings, 1983 118
6.4 Length of employment with current employer, 1979 124
6.5 Selected subjects successfully attempted at summer
examinations, 1982 124
7.1 Part-time employment in Great Britain, 1971-83 136
7.2 Part-time employment in the USA, 1965-82 137
7.3 Part-time employment in Great Britain, 1981 138
7.4 Age distribution of female part-time workers 139
7.5 Unemployment by sex and reason, USA, 1970 and 1982 155
7.6 Unemployment by sex and age group, Great Britain, 1971
and 1981 156
7.7 Females in selected occupations, Great Britain, 1981 160
7.8 Females in selected occupations, USA, 1982 161
8.1 Females as a percentage of total civilians in employment 167
8.2 Female activity rates 167
List of Tables ix
8.3 Females in civilian employment by industrial sector , 1980 169
8.4 Total civilian employment by industrial sec tor 170
8.5 Employment of married women 171
8.6 Part-time working in the EEC, 1979 179
8.7 Ratio of female to male earnings (annual), selected years 180
8.8 Female proportion of occupation grous, 1982 181
8.9 Economic activity in the USSR 182
List of Figures
2.1 Female economic activity rates by age, Great Britain, 1901,
1951,1981 25
2.2 Female economic activity rates by age, United States, 1900,
1950, 1980 26
2.3 Married female economic activity rates by age, Great
Britain, 1901, 1951, 1981 27
3.1 Percentage of female labour force employed in the service
sector , 1900-81 34
3.2 Female employment in selected manufacturing industries,
Grea t Britain, 1901-81 38
3.3 Female employment in selected manufacturing industries,
Uni ted States, 1900-80 39
3.4 Female employment in selected service industries, Great
Britain, 1901-81 41
3.5 Female employment in selected service industries, United
States, 1900-80 42
4.1 Female economic activity rates by age and marital status,
Great Britain, 1981 62
4.2 Female economic activity rates by age and marital status,
United States, 1982 63
5.1 Trends in British employment, 1955-80 95
5.2 Trends in United States employment, 1955-80 96
5.3 Percentage of labour force in productive industry and service
industry, Great Britain and USA 108
6.1 Profile of full-time adult gross weekly earnings by age, sex
and status, 1983 117
x
