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95th Congress ~ JOINT COMMITTEE PRINT
1st Session
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AMERICAN WOMEN WORKERS IN A FULL
EMPLOYMENT ECONOMY
A COMPENDIUM OF PAPERS
SUBMITTED TO THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC GROWTH
AND STABILIZATION
OF THE
JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE
CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES
~ ~ ~ ~SEBTE~\IBER 15, 1977
4~ ~
DEN~ ~`J~ J~ o8:Lo2 -
:~QVERNMENT DOCUMENT
Printed for the use of the Joint Economic Committee
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
91-686 WASHINGTON: 1977
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402
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~ 1971
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CA ~4 ~
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JOINT ECONOMIC COMMITTEE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HENRY S. REUSS, Wisconsin
WILLIAM S. MOORHEAD, Pennsylvania
LEE H. HAMILTON, Indiana
GILLIS W. LONG, Louisiana
OTIS G. PIKE, New York
CLARENCE J. BROWN, Ohio
GARRY BROWN, Michigan
MARGARET M. HECKLER, Massachusetts
JOHN H. ROUSSELOT, California
CHARLES H. BRADFORD STEPHEN J. ENTIN
M. CATHERINE MILLER
SENATE
ABRAHAM RIBICOFF, Connecticut
JACOB K. JAVITS, New York
WILLIAM V. ROTH, JR., Delaware
SENATE
JOHN SPARKMAN, Alabama
WILLIAM PROXMIRE, Wisconsin
ABRAHAM RIBICOFF, Connecticut
LLOYD BENTSEN, Texas
EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts
JACOB K. JAVITS, New York
WILLIAM V. ROTH, JR., Delaware
JAMES A. McCLURE, Idaho
ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah
PHILIP MCMARTIN
DEBORAH NORELLI
GEORGE R. TYLER
GEORGE D. KRUMBHAAR, Jr.
MARK R. POLICINSKI
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
RICHARD BOLLING, Missouri
LEE H. HAMILTON, Indiana
GARRY BROWN, Michigan
MARGARET M. HECKLER, Massachusetts
(Created pursuant to sec. 5(a) of Public Law 304, 79th Cong.)
RICHARD BOLLING, Missouri, Chairman
HUBERT H. HUMPHREY, Minnesota, Vice Chairman
JOHN R. STARK, Eccecutive Director
Louis C. KRAUTHOFF II, Assistant Director
RICHARD F. KAUFMAN, General Counsel
G. THOMAS CATOR
WILLIAM A. Cox
THoMAS F. DERNBURG
ROBERT D. HAMRIN
ECONOMISTS
KENT H. HUGHES
SARAH JACKSON
JOHN R. KARLIK
L. DOUGLAS LEE
MINORITY
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC GROWTH AND STABILIZATION
HUBERT H. HUMPHREY, Minnesota, Cochairman
LLOYD BENTSEN, Texas, Cochairman
(II)
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LETTERS OF TRANSMITTAL
SEPTEMBER 12. 1977.
To the Members of the Joint Economic Committee:
Transmitted herewith is a compendium of papers entitled "Ameri-
can Women Workers in a Full Employment Economy." This com-
pendium was prepared for the use of the Economic Growth and Sta-
bilization Subcommittee.
These papers supplement testimony at hearings of the Joint Eco-
nomic Committee on economic problems of women held in July of
1973 under the chairmanship of the Honorable Martha Griffiths. Since
then, the influx of women into the American labor force has acceler-
ated and their progress toward economic quality with men has risen
still higher on the national agenda. Today, more than ever before, the
formulation of national economic policy requires both a stronger data
base on women's employment, and a broader consensus on how to maxi-
mize their further contributions to the U.S. econowy. I believe that
these papers will be helpful to the members of the Joint Economic
Committee and other Members of Congress in their assessment of these
critical issues.
The 22 experts-economists, lawyers, sociologists, educators-who
contributed to the compendium were selected and their views edited
and summarized by Ann Foote Calm, consultant. The views expressed
in these papers are those of the authors, and do not necessarily repre-
sent the views of committee members or the committee staff.
Sincerely,
RICHARD BOLLING,
Chairman, Joint Economic Committee.
SEPTEMBER 7. 1977.
Hon. RICHARD BOLLING,
Chair~1nan, Joint Economic Committee,
U.S. Congress,
TVcishi'cgton, D.C.
DEAR Mu. CI-IAIRMAN: Transmitted herewith is a compendium of
papers entitled "American Women Workers in a Full Employment
Economy." This compendium of papers was prepared for the use of
the Subcommittee on Economic Growth and Stabilization in its in-
yes tigation of structural labor force problems.
In ~July 1973, the Joint Economic Committee. under the chair-
manship of the Honorable Martha Griffiths, heard testimony on the
"Economic Problems of Women." In the interim, the influx of women
into the American labor force has accelerated and their progress to-
ward economic equality with men has become an item of far greater
(III)
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Iv
national importance. Today, more than ever, the formulation of na-
tional economic policy requires a stronger data base for women's
employment and a broader consensus on how to maximize their further
contributions to the U.S. economy. We believe that this compendium
has initiated this search for more informa:tion a.cross numerous vital
areas. The collected studies encompass topics. ranging from structural
job discrimination, underemployment, part-time work, education and
career training, tax treatment of working wives, to international ex-
perience in meeting the needs of working women.
Twenty-two experts-economists, lawyers, sociologists, educators-
were invited to contribute to this compendium. These authors were
selected and their views edited and summarized by Ann Foote Calm,
consultant. We are indebted to the authors for giving so generously
of their time and to Ms. Calm for her supervision. The project was
developed under the direction of Sarah Jackson of the committee
staff, with the assistance of M. Catherine Miller, also of the committee
staff. The views expressed in these papers are those of the authors and
do not necessarily represent the views of subcommittee members or the
committee staff.
Sincerely,
HUBERT H. HUMPHREY,
Cochairman, Subcommittee on
* Economic Growth and Stabilization.
SEPTEMBER 1, 1977.
Hon. HUBERT H. HUMPHREY,
Cochairman, Subcommittee on Economic Growth and Stabilization,
Joint Economic Com'in1ittee, U.S. Congress, Washingto'rt, D.C.
* Th~&R SENATOR HUMPHREY: Transmitted herewith is a compendium
of papers entitled "American Women Workers in a Full Employment
Economy." This compendium of papers was prepared for the use of
the Subcommittee on Economic Growth and Stabilization.
The Joint Economic Committee has involved itself with the eco-
nomic problems of women since July of 1973 when hearings were held
under the chairmanship of Martha Griffiths. These problems have
become more complex over time and the steadily increasing number
of women coming into the labor force has focused more attention on
this phenomenon. It has become increasingly apparent that national
economic policy for full employment cannot be developed without
incorporating a solution to both the problem and the potential of
women in the labor force.
For these reasons, we believe that the first step in policy development
is a greater understanding on women's labor force participation,
their economic progress and supportive social programs. We believe
that this compendium has initiated this search for more information
in a number of vital areas. The collected studies encompass topics
ranging from structural job discrimination, underemployment, part-
time work, education and career training, tax treatment of working
wives, to international experience meeting the needs of working
women.
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V
Twenty-two experts-economists, lawyers, sociologists, educators-
were invited to contribute to this compendium. These authors were
selected and their views edited and summarized by Ann Foote Cahn,
consultant. We are indebted to the authors for giving so generously
of their time and to Ms. Cahn for her supervision. The project was de-
veloped under the direction of Sarah Jackson of the committee staff,
with the assistance of M. Catherine Miller, also of the committee staff.
The views expressed in these papers are those of the authors and do
not necessarily represent the views of subcommittee members or the
committee staff.
Sincerely,
JOHN IR. STARK,
Executive Director, Joint Economic Committee.
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CONTENTS
Page
Letters of transmittal ~_ III
AMERICAN WOMEN WORKERS IN A FULL
EMPLOYMENT ECONOMY
Summary-By Ann Foote Cahn 1
I. OVERVIEW
Women's stake in full employment: Their disadvantaged role in the
economy-Challenges to action-By Mary Dublin Keyserling 25
On the way to full equality-By Isabel V. Sawhill 40
II. OVERCOMING BARRIERS
The legal road to equal employment opportunity: A critical view-By
Mary C. Dunlap - 61
Legal remedies beyond title VII to combat sex discrimination in employ-
ment-By Marcia Greenberger and Diane Gutmann 75
De facto job segregation-By Barbara B. Reagan 90
Women workers, nontraditional occupations and full employment-By
Beatrice G. Reubens and Edwin P. Reubens 103
Underemployment of women: Policy implications for a full employment
economy-By Gerald P. Glyde 127
Lifetime participation in the labor force and unemployment among
mature women-By Steven H. Sandell 142
III. SUPPORT SERVICES AND ADJUSTED CONDITIONS
The homemaker, the family, and employment-By Nona Glazer, Linda
Majka, Joan Acker, and Christine Bose 155
Economic aspects of child care-By Myra H. Strober 170
Part-time work-By Carol S. Greenwald 182
IV. EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
Facilitating full employment of women through career education-By
Anita M. Mitchell 195
Vocational education-By Pamela Ann Roby 203
Apprenticeship-By Norma Briggs - 225
V. KEY FACTORS: TAX TREATMENT AND MEDIA IMAGES
Federal income tax and social security law-By Grace Ganz Blumberg._ 237
The impact of mass-media stereotypes upon the full employment of
women-By Gaye Tuchman 249
VI. INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS
Working women: European experience and American need-By Alice
H. Cook 271
(VII)
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vm
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
*Page
Joan Acker 155
Grace Ganz Blumberg 237
ChristineBose____ 155
Norma Briggs 225
Alice H. Cook 271
Mary C. Dunlap 61
Nona Glazer 155
Gerald P. Glyde 127
Marcia Greenberger
CarolS. Greenwald 182
Diane Gutmann
Mary Dublin Keyserling~ - - -- 25
Linda Majka 155
AnitaM. Mitchell~____- 195
Barbara B. Reagan - 90
Beatrice G. Reubens 103
Edwin P. Reubens 103
Pamela Ann Roby 203
Steven H. Sandell - 142
Isabel V. Sawhill~~___ 40
Myra H. Strober 170
Gaye Tucliman 249
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SUMMARY
Br ANN FOOTE CAHN*
CONTENTS
Page
I. Overview - 1
A. Status of women workers 2
B. Macroeconomic and microeconomic policies - 3
II. Overcoming barriers 5
A. Legal action against sex-based discrimination in employment.. 5
B. Increasing access to nontraditional jobs 7
C. Underemployment 8
D. Special problems of mature women -- 10
E. Minority women 11
P. Teenagers 12
III. Support services and adjusted conditions 12
A. The homemaker, the family and employment: Some inter-
relationships 12
B. Economic aspects of child care 13
C. Part-time work 15
D. Maternal and other health needs 16
IV. Education and work 17
A. Career education 17
B. Vocational education 18
C. Apprenticeship 18
D. Higher education 19
V. Key factors: Tax treatment and media images - 20
A. Impact of the tax system and social security on labor force
participation 20
B. Effects of mass media stereotypes on women's employment__ 21
Conclusion 22
I. OVERVIEW
Consideration of proposals for a national policy of full employment
has led to an increasing awareness that insufficient attention has here-
tofore been given to the role of women workers and potential workers.
In seeking to correct this relative lack of attention, a growing body of
economic literature, of which this compendium is a part, has sought to
spotlight the past, present, and foreseeable job role of American
women, and those factors responsible for change. But events in the
form of women's own activity-their extraordinary influx into the
labor market-have outdistanced theory and intensified the need for
more up-to-date understanding.
The single most outstanding phenomenon of our century [is the huge number
of women who are entering the work force.] Its long term implications are ab-
solutely unehartable in my opinion. It will affect women. men and children and
the cumulative consequences of that will oniy be revealed in the 21st and 22nd
century (Eli Ginzberg) .~
*Consultant to the committee.
1 Mr. Ginzberg is Chairman of the National Commission for Manpower Policy and
Columbia University economist. New York Times, Sept. 12, 1976, p. 1.
(1)
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2
Even the short-range consequences of women's massive entry into
the work force are only beginning to be understood and addressed by
society. The root causes of the phenomenon have become clearer, if only
in retrospect: the psychological revolution in women's attitude toward
themselves, toward men, and toward women's role in society; the
change in women's lifestyles, as evidenced by their later age. of mar-
riage and childbirth, as well as reduction of the size of family; the
desire of married women and men to have two incomes so as, in the case
of many couples, to enjoy at least minimal living standards, and in the
case of other couples, to achieve more comforts and conveniences; and
the increase of separation and divorce, forcing women to be self-
supporting.
With so many antecedents. it is not surprising that women's aspira-
tions generate profound pressures of both a. quantitative and qualita-
tive nature for iiicreased and improved job opportunities. These pres-
sures are substantial in an economy which has set a limited goal of re-
ducing unemployment somewhat below mid-1970's levels. For an econ-
omy that raises its sights to the achievement of full employment, the
pressures become still stronger, more complex, and pervasive. Thus,
the relationship tends to be reciprocal: women seeking job opportunity
and equality urge a national policy of full employment in order to at-
tam their economic goals, and for men to do likewise: once such a na-
tional policy is declared, it cannot be fully realized without upgrading
women's lagging role in the job market.
The goal of this compendium is to view women's overall role in a full
employment economy and then their particular probleiiis in fulfilling
that role. It begins with an overview by two economists; then continues
with 15 chapters by economists, lawyers. educators, and other scholars,
arranged in five sections: Overcoming barriers; support services and
adjusted conditions; education and employment; key factors: tax
treatment and media images; and international comparisons. In the
description which follows, the views of the authors in the compendium
have been summarized with only limited interpolation in the interest
of communicating directly the tone and substaiice of their respective
views.
A. Status of Women Workers
Essential to setting future national policy is an awareness as to
women's current status in the labor market: why they work, what oc-
cupations and industries they work in, problems they encounter, and
remedies that might help resolve the problems.
As of December 1976, 39 million women aged 16 and over were in
the labor force. The proportion of the labor force between the ages of
18 to 64 who were women reached 56 percent. During the past. quarter
of a century, while t.lie total labor force grew hi- about 31 million,
women constituted more than three-fifths of the increase. In every age
group, the proportion of women who are working has steadily risen.
Particularly notable, the rate for married women with husbands
present and with children under the age of 18 increased nearly 21/2
times during 1950-75, while for those with children under the age
of 6, the rate more than tripled.
Women's entry into the labor market has been facilitated by growth
of the economy, and of service jobs in particular, but it has not been
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3
achieved without difficulties. Unemployment among women has con-
sistently averaged higher than for men during the past 30 years. In
19Th women's unemployment hit a post-World War II peak of 9.3
percent; it averaged 8.6 percent during 1976. Comparable figures for
men were 7.9 percent and 7 percent, respectively. With substantial
unemployment among both males and females, family incomes decline,
poverty increases, public revenues drop and the Nation utilizes fewer
resources to meet the needs of men, women, and children.
Women are motivated by a new set of aspirations and needs in their
efforts to achieve equality with men. Economic independence is a basic
goal for women. Psychological rewards are the "pull" behind their
desire to work. Women-like men-gain increased self-reliance and
confidence, have more power to influence events, and enjoy the satis-
faction that comes from contributing their talents to the world at
large. New social and economic realities are the "push" behind
women's need for employment. In 1975, 42 percent of women workers
were single, widowed, separated, or divorced and needed to support
themselves and their dependents. An additional 28 percent were mar-
iied to men who earned less than $10,000 a year. A new sociocultural
pattern has emerged: in 49 percent of all marriages, both spouses
were working, as of 1975. Once employed, women are likely to want to
continue working. A sample of employed women were asked whether
they would continue to work for pay even if there were no economic
necessity; 59 percent answered yes.
Because. women are concentrated in a relatively few low-paying occu-
pations and remain at the lower rungs of the job ladder, they con-
tinue to earn far. less money than men; they earn less than 60 percent
of men's earnings. For many years, the median earnings differential
on the basis of sex was attributed in large measure to the discontinuity
in women's employment. While this was a major factor in earlier
years, when a large percentage of working women left the labor force
after marriage to have children, the discontinuity of women's employ-
ment has decreased in recent years. There is markedly less difference
in the worklife expectancy of the two sexes today.
B. Macroeconomic and il!icroeconom/ic Policies
The Employment Act of 1946 set forth a mandate "to promote
maximum employment, production, and purchasing power." "Maxi-
mum employment" presumably means employment of those who want
to work, and applies equally to men and women. "Maximum produc-
tion" ca.n be construed to mean that people of both sexes should be.
able to work in jobs where they will be most productive.
Even under the limited goals of the 1946 act, assessment of the
intention of women to enter and remain in the job market has become
essential to optimal economic planning. But the Bureau of Labor
Statistics has consistently underestimated the. growth in the female
labor force: in 1973. the. BLS projected a participation rate for women
in 1980 that was already exceeded in 1974. Accurate prediction and
planning are particularly important to women's employment pros-
pects, which may be affected by future macroeconomic policy even
more than men's prospects.
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4
For instance, the latest Government figures indicate that women,
teenagers, and blacks have benefited least from the decline in unem-
ployment over the past 2 years, and experienced male workers have
benefited the most. While the decline was approximately 40 percent
among experienced workers, it was far less for new entry and reentry
workers, primarily women and youth. Decline was 25 percent for full-
time workers, oniy 7 percent for those seeking part-time work, again
primarily women, and 12 percent for teenagers.~
What would be the effect on women's employment if a Full Em-
ployment Act were passed and fully implemented? A proponent, Mary
Dublin Keyserling, projects that reducing unemployment to 4 per-
cent by mid-1981 would add about 9 million job holders to the labor
force over and above the number employed in 1976.
An estimated 60 to 65 percent of these jobs would be available to women,
for women represent a very large part of the reservoir of potential workers on
which a fully growing economy can draw. Unemployment among women, both as
recorded officially and hidden, would be reduced far more percentagewise than
among men. Welfare outlays would diminish sharply, for many women now on
public assistance would want employment and would be able - to obtain it.
Healthy rates of economic growth would also encourage wage gains for these
now earning sub-subsistence wages, the majority of whom are women.
Would these sanguine projections be accompanied, it may be asked,
by some adverse consequences for both men and women? Would fur-
ther intervention by the Federal Government in the job market, en-
tailing increased Federal spending and taxation, lead to a rising price
spiral, an expensive rise in public employment and harmful disloca-
tions in the private economy, as opponents counter?
Answers to these questions would require a definitive evaluation of
full employment policy, per Se, as it relates to all segments of the
economy. For purposes of the present compendium, the focus is neces-
sarily more limited-to consider some of the implications of future
policy and, at this point, to examine job problems of women under
present and past national policy.
To maintain economic equilibrium between inflation and unemploy-
ment, Isabel V. Sawhill suggests that national policy should not rely
solely on fiscal and monetary policies. She supports a selective set of
employment or income (wage-price) policies. On the employment side,
these measures would target programs at those groups which have
above average unemployment-women, teenagers, and minorities.
With the possible exception of the latter, these groups have a common
characteristic of a lack of recent labor market experience. In helping
to overcome women's problems of transition from school or home to
work, a broad variety of measures are needed: To provide new skills
or upgrade old skills, to end job discrimination and to provide sup-
port services for homemakers.
Nationwide job policies should take into account the local and
regional variation in both the number of jobs available and the num-
ber of jobs desired. On the demand side, women's participation in the
labor force varies widely by State and by urban, suburban and rural
sections. The chief but not sole cause of disparities in participation is
the variation on the supply side, that is, differences in the local avail-
ability of jobs. A further factor on the demand side is the varia-
tion in projections of employment growth by regions for 1970-1985;
la "Jobs Rise Helps Males Most," the Washington Star (May 8, 1977), p. A5.
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5
the range in growth rates is from a low of 21 percent in New England
to 38 percent in the far west. In addition, projections of the occupa-
tional composition of employment in the future reveal disparities
between the likely developments in specific job openings and the prepa-
ration and wishes of both men and women.
There follow now the principal findings and recommendations by
the compendium authors on selective problems experienced by women.
II. OVERCOMING BARRIERS
Although the Nation is committed by law to job equality be-
tween men and women, there is still a wide gap between the goal
and its fulfillment. Legal enforcement of programs against dis..
crimination lags; other impediments to equality-economic, cul-
tural, psychological~persist. Be facto occupational segregation
still restricts an overwhelming number of women to a narrow
range of low-paying, dead-end jobs which are traditionally "fe-
male." Underemployment is more characteristic of the female
than of the male work force. Mothers' and homemakers' intermit-
tent entry and reentry into the job market is penalized instead of
assisted by society. Mature women face special problems in resum-
ing a role in the labor force and would benefit from specialized
support measures.
A. Legal Action Against Sex-Based Discrimination in Employment
Equal employment opportunity-without regard to sex-will
not be achieved until judicial decisions more fully implement the
provisions of title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 and
other laws and regulations against sex-based discrimination, and
the responsible administrative authorities more adequately en-
force the antidiscrimjnatjon provisions within their jurisdiction.
After more than a decade of title VII litigation involving se~
discrimination in employment, widespread patterns of stratification,
underutilization and disparate compensation continue throughout the
Nation's work force. One indicator as to the inadequacy of legal rem-
edy is that from 1965 to 1975, only 13 percent of all sex discrimination
court cases were awarded "class relief." This is despite the fact that
such relief is supposed to be awarded under title VII whenever a policy
or practice has harmed a protected group by discrimination, necessi-
tating relief to the class to make it whole. While deciding numerous
cases concerning racial discrimination claims under title VII, the IJ.S.
Supreme Court had decided but one case concerning a sex discrimi-
nation claim under title VII, as of December 1976.
During the past decade, in Federal District and Appelate Courts,
express exclusionary policies have been repeatedly deemed to violate
title VII, but subtler forms of sex discrimination and those based on
statistical demonstrations of disparate treatment of women have re-
ceived less even treatment by Federal courts. Mary C. Dunlap con-
tends that, with some exceptions, "judicial standards governing dis-
position of sex discrimination cases have diverged substantially from
standards developed in race discrimination cases under title VII," i.e.,
a double standard is beina followed. She feels that an overall improve-
naent in the courts could he fostered by affirmative action in Federal
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0
judicial appointments, to help overcome the disproportionate under-
representation of women. (In 1975, the Federal bench had more than
600 judges. Just six of those judges, including 1 black, were women.)
Over and above title VII, there are a number of other Federal pro-
hibitions against sex discrimination in employment, including the
Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), Executive Order 11246, and title IX
of the Education Amendments Act of 1972. Despite various difficul-
ties, major gains have come from private citizens bringing direct
lawsuits. In contrast, Govermnent agencies appear to lack commitment
and are found to be inadequately enforcing the sex discrimination
laws aiid regulations for which they are responsible, such as EPA and
Executive Order 11246.
Under the Equal Pay Act, which is concerned with discrimination
in compensation only, the Wage and Hour Division of the Depart-
ment of Labor can conduct investigations of employers' compliance
with the Act, whether or not au employee makes a. complaint. Al-
though the Division's actions to date have been limited, the large sums
of money found due to thousands of women, as for example iii the
America.n Telephone and Telegraph case. indicate the pervasive nature
~of sex discrimination in wage rates. As in the case of the Equal Em-
ployment Opportunity Commission.2 which administers title VII. the
baeklog of EPA cases awaiting action is unduly large.
Executive Order 11246 prohibits Federal contract funds from going
to employers who discriminate in their employment policies and prac-
tices. One of its strong advantages is that it requires contractors to
develop affirmative action plans. Its disadvantage is that, unlike title
VII and EPA, individuals cannot sue directly, but must rely oii the
Office of Federal Contract Compliance, or one of the 11 Federal con-
tract compliance agencies, to investigate complaints filed. The Gov-
ernment Accounting Office (GAO), which recently reviewed the en-
forcement efforts under this Executive order. has found them seriously
ineffective. Virtually no Federal funds have been terminated because
of sex discrimination practices.
Enforcement of title IX, which prohibits sex cTiscrimination in
employment or student programs or policies of educational institutions
receiving Federal funds, also has been found by the GAO to be
seriously inadequate. Since the Government is not carrying out its
function, the effectiveness of title IX may hinge on whether individuals
and groups can sue schools directly; several pending court cases will
determine the answer to this question.
Early passage of the Equal Rights Amendment by the three addi-
tional States necessary to assure constitutional ratification is urged
by Keyserling. Although it is difficult to foresee all the effects of a
constitutional amendment, proponents of ERA feel that it will have
a strong salutory effect, if only because of the psychological message
it will carry-that is, sex-based discrimination must be eradicated.
On the congressional front, equal rights advocates seek to undo the
decision of December 6~ 1976, by the Supreme Court which struck
down a lower court ruling that General Electric Co.'s exclusion of
pregnancy and childbirth from disability income and sick pay violated
`See, for example, "The EEOC Has Made Limited Progress in Eliminating Employment
Discrimination," a report to the Senate Committee on Labor and Public welfare (Wash-
lngton, D.C. General Accounting Office, October 1976).
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title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as written. Proponents of cor-
rective legislation regard it as essential in order to close what they view
to be a large loophole opened by the Supreme Court in title Vii's
prohibition against sex-based discrimination. If, for purposes of dis-
ability insurance or sick pay, pregnancy is treated any differently
than a man's elective medical decision, proponents feel the result is
to legitimize discrimination against women.
The insurance industry points out that if pregnancy expenses were
uniformly covered, the resultant costs would be about 6 percent more
than is currently being spent for disability income and sick pay plans.
These costs would be borne directly and indirectly by both men and
women.
B. Increasing Access to Nontrad~tsonaZ Jobs
Countermeasures are suggested against what is regarded as
women's de facto job segregation in traditional jobs-a condition
which limits women's economic and psychological satisfactions
and lowers the total economic product of society.
Forty percent of employed women are still concentrated in 10
traditional fields-secretary, retail trade salesworker, bookkeeper,
private household worker, elementary schoolteacher, waitress, typist,
cashier, sewer/stitcher and registered nurse. In those 10 fields, women
comprise 80 percent or more of the workers, except for retail trade
sales personnel, where they make up 69 percent. Male employment
shows much less concentration, with less than 20 percent of male
workers in the 10 largest occupations. The tendency of women to
cluster in a few selected occupations contributes to overcrowding,
which in turn is a factor in relatively low wages.
A common characteristic of these occupations is that, with the excep-
tion of bookkeepers, teachers and registered nurses, they require com-
paratively little training; with easy entry, supply tends to exceed
demand. A first step toward ending overconcentration is to improve
guidance counseling and widen the range of job training. These
efforts will not in themselves alter de facto job segregation; barriers
may persist against women's entry into other fields.
Even in traditional "female" occupations, there is a lack of promo-
tion opportunities. One study noted that two-thirds of all jobs in New
York City municipal hospitals do not have educational or training
requirements for entry, but neither do they have promotional possibili-
ties. Analysis of 270 labor market segments in the occupational-
industry matrix showed that only 38 had a considerable proportion
of their jobs organized for promotion based on on-the-job training.
Few of the 38 had many women employees.
A view of overall trends among the Nation's occupations does show
that occupational segregation is beginning to give way-slowly. The
rate of growth of women workers in occupations characterized as male
intensive (75 percent or more of employment in the occupation is male)
has been faster than in women's employment as a whole. But female
entry has often occurred in shrinking or dying occupations which men
no longer want. Among blue collar and lower level occupations where
women have made large gains in their share, total and male employ-
ment have either been declining or increasing quite slowly.
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8
In certain occupations where there is "sluggish" overall growth, with
the niunber of male jobs increasing, if only slightly, the female propor-
tion has risen, but the outlook for future growth of the field itself is
limited. This includes such fields as upholsterers, furniture finishers,
bartenders, recreation attendants, and lumber mspectors.
Strong growth of female employment in male intensive occupations
is closely associated with rapid expansion of total employment in these
managers rose approximately 2,000 percent between 1960 and 1974; the
female share of employment rose from 9 percent to 21 percent.
Women moving from female intensive to male intensive jobs do earn
more money than formerly, but tend not to earn the same amount of
money as the men who are doing identical work. Thus, opening non-
traditional jobs to women will not, of itself, lead to equalized earnings.
Nor do all women want nontraditional jobs. Rather, the individual
woman will make her choices based not only on pay, but on job satis-
faction, educational background, working conditions, stability of em-
ployment, prestige, husband's type of employment and other factors.
For better educated women, the minimal goal of equal access to and
participation in suitable jobs is still to be achieved. In male-dominated
professions such as law, medicine, and accounting, the proportion of
women has increased only slightly.
Occupational segregation is more likely to persist if full employ-
ment is not achieved.
Unless there is a much closer approximation to full employment, the failure
to satisfy the demand for jobs in numerical terms will preclude any serious
effort on the desegregation front, i.e., to provide the types of jobs which will
meet the demand for greater similarity in the occupational distribution of men
and women. (Beatrice G. Reubens and Edwin P. Reubens.)
C. Underemplo~inuint
The reduction of widespread underemployment, with its waste
of human resources, will require governmental policies which en-
able women to obtain jobs that match their abilities and skills.
Underemployment is defined as:
An involuntary employment condition where workers are in jobs, either part-
time or full-time, in which their skills, including formal and work experience
training, are technically underutilized and thus undervalued relative to those
of other individuals of similar ability who have made equivalent investments
in skill development. (Gerald P. Glyde.)
There is no adequate measure of underemployment at the present
time.
Employers' inaccurate perceptions and imperfect labor market in-
formation may contribute to bias against hiring women workers for
jobs appropriate to their abilities. Employers may choose not to hire
women based on an over-generalization as to women's weaker attach-
ment to the labor force. The fact that many women do interrupt their
job continuity does not constitute a justification for prejudice by an
employer against all women. A women or number of women applying
for a particular vacancy may have as strong or stronger labor force
attachment than a particular male applicant or applicants.
Internal or within-firm hiring and promotion may likewise be based
on employer misperceptions. Even though they may have equivalent
skills, women "outsiders" competing with men "insiders" for job
PAGENO="0017"
9
vacancies above the entry level may tend to have their ability dis-
counted. Women within a firm may also be discounted because of an
employer's continued misconception of their anticipated "quit rate"
and because of occupational segregation.
Four other factors contributing to underemployment are: The lack
of suitable part-time work; intermittent home and family duties, which
can result not only in a decrease of skills, but in women's loss of con-
fidence to compete for jobs; the customary primacy of a husband's
career, which may necessitate women's geographic moves; credential-
ism, although there have been few validations of a correlation between
credentials and job performance.
Because of women's concentration in a more limited number of edu-
cational courses and occupations, and because of the increased entry of
women into the labor market, they are less able to compete effec-
tively as the demand for a given skill ebbs. Women (and men as well)
become caught by the time-lag between the period that the market
signals a decline in a particular type of job and the time that college
students (or other trainees) begin to shift away from that particular
career choice. Women who are already employed are less able to trans-
fer to new fields because of job segregation, and they are less likely
than men to invest in retraining because women's return on that in-
vestment will be smaller.
Recommendations for remedying women's underemployment tend
to be the same or similar to those recurrently proposed throughout the
compendium as remedies for a host of other problems-women's unem-
ployment, inadequate access to vocational education, and apprentice-
ship, etc.:
1. A full employment economy.-Employers, ftnding it more diffi-
cult to hire qualified males, would turn to women and qualified minori-
ties, and in doing so, would become more knowledgeable about women's
work performance.
2. Enforcement of antidiscrimination laws in hiring and promo-
tion.-Screening procedures which are genuinely related to job per.
formance should be differentiated from those which are prejudicially
discriminatory.
3. improved labor market information.-This includes (a) more re-
fined methods of forecasting demand and supply, so as to assure a
better match between workers and jobs, and (b) improved identifica-
tion of new and emerging occupations and more insight into the link
between occupations and the transferability of skills.
4. Gender-neutral career orientation.-Counseling in the classroom
from earliest school years on helps to improve women's awareness of
the world of work.
5. increased on-the-job training to prepare workers for vertical job
imobility.-One aspect is cooperative education, which combines work
experience and formal education.
6. Paraprofessionalism.-Relaxing rigid work rules enables indi-
viduals who lack graduate or postgraduate education to acquire skills
to perform subprofessional duties under careful supervision.
7. More and better part-time jobs.-This is particularly important
for professional and skilled women workers. Handicapped and older
workers, as well, would benefit from shorter and more flexible work
week@.
91-686-77-----2
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10
D. Special Problems of Mature Women
Specific governmental policies are necessary to meet the employ-
ment problems of mature women, whose years of family responsi-
bilities may entail a pattern of intermittent job entry, withdrawal,
and reentry.
Mature women who have been out of the job market for a number
of years face a particularly severe problem in finding suitable work.
These women include: (a) Mothers who prior to raising children may
never have been in the work force at all, or for only a few years; (b)
those forced by abrupt circumstances-divorce, separation, desertion,
death of spouse-to support themselves. When a woman suddenly be-
comes head of a family, the economic burdens may be overwhelming.
The long range effects pervade American life. In 19Th, 17 percent of
children under 18 lived in a single parent home; 9 out of every 10 of
these children lived with their mothers; 44 percent of these female-
headed families were poor.
The increasing number of divorces makes more and more women
economically vulnerable, particularly because almost half of those
eligible for child support or alimony never receive it. Of those who do
receive financial support, the mean amount meets only about half of a
family's subsistence (that is, poverty level) needs. Only about 3 per-
cent of all eligible female-headed families receive sufficient child
support and alimony alone to put them over the official poverty level
for their size family.
Both mature and younger women's difficulties in finding gainful
employment under such conditions may have their origins in decisions
they made long before marriage. From precareer on, women tend to
underestimate their future labor force participation and to under-
commit themselves to formal and on-the-job training. Black women are
considerably more realistic than white women in anticipating their
future labor participation, but young women of all races need substan-
tially more guidance in preparing for their future lives.
When a mature woman seeks reentry, she may confront biases against
age, which a mature man also may face. But her problems are com-
pounded by the fact that if she has been a homemaker, some of her
skills are likely to have depreciated during years out of the job market,
and she may have been undertrained to begin with.
One way by which Government could assist reentry is by encourag-
ing women to use the public employment service more fully, and to
direct that such services reach out more effectively to women. Cur-
rently, only 29 percent of women, compared with 37 percent of men,
use State employment services. Another method of assisting reentry
is by means of a retraining subsidy, which could be funded from the
unemployment compensation fund; this method has been used in some
European countries for many years.
One type of assistance contemplated under displaced homemaker
programs in 26 States aims at providing education, retraining, coun-
seling and other job services for special groups of mature women~ such
as the divorced, widowed and separated. A pilot program is now being
conducted in Oakland, Calif., under a 2-year State grant of $200,000.
The program is geared toward the homemaker who has lost financial
support, is too young for financial aid, or too old or unskilled to find
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11
work readily. Through workshops, the creation of on-the-job training
opportunities, validation of volunteer work and contact with potential
employers, the Alliance of I)isplaced I-Io~nernakers is helping many
women become financially independent.
Other services to homemakers also bear consideration. One possibil-
ity is Sawhill's suggestion that husbands with homemaking wives
might contribute to State unemployment compensation funds. Another
is Grace Ganz Blumberg's social security proposal-to credit one-half
of the husband's social security contribution to the homemaker wife's
account. Either protection could be a valuable buffer against poverty
of the homemaker who becomes "displaced" before or after 65.
Some European countries give broad categories of women, such as
homemakers, mothers and mature women, preferential treatment in
counseling, testing, training on-the-job and in the classroom, grants-
in-aid for schooling, job placement and other services to help them
secure suitable employment. Such aid, somewhat similar to veterans'
preference in the United States, may include subsidies for training,
books. relocation, entrance fees, maintenance costs, meals, and some-
times housing and family allowances.
Sweden's training program for women is particularly noteworthy.
It is based on a government decision to cease recruiting foreign work-
ers in favor of training and employing married Swedish women seek-
ing to enter the labor market. Housewives who want to work report
to their local labor office and are enrolled as unemployed; they are
then entitled to unemployment benefits, counseling and testing serv-
ices, which usually result in referral to training programs, with ac-
companying subsidies.
E. Minority Women
Minority women, facing heavier economic burdens than white
women, may need assistance in coping with their added employ-
ment, unemployment, and underemployment problems.
Minority women are under greater pressure to be wage earners than
white women, because minority men who are family heads have an
average income that is lower than white men who head families. These
men also have had about twice the rate of unemployment that white
male family heads have had throughout the post World War II period.
Black female-headed households are more numerous than white. Mi-
nority women are even more heavily concentrated in a handful of low-
paying service occupations than white women. Most critical of all, the
recorded unemployment rate of minority women was 79 percent higher
than among white women, averaging 9.3 percent a year during the past
quarter century.
Some improvements have occurred in the employment condition of
minority women. The wage gap between nonwhite and white women
is almost closed. Measured in 1975 dollars, the earnings of nonwhite
w-omen for year-round, full-time work increased nearly sixfold from
1969 to 1975. More advances can be expected in the future. Length of
education for minority and white women is now almost identical.
But the quality of education of black women (and men) as compared
with that afforded white women (and men) is still an important fac-
tor in determining their respective life-long attainments. Very much
in black women's favor is the realistic recognition of the likelihood
that they will be working most of their adult lives.
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12
F. Teenagers
Teenage females, especially minorities, experiencing the highest
unemployment rate of any group in the Nation, need special assist-
ance to begin productive careers.
In 1976, 19 percent of teenagers of all races and both sexes were offi-
cially recorded as out of work, but the rate was 37 percent for minor-
ity teenagers and 3~/2 percent higher for minority girls. These un-
employment rates for youth are more understated than for adults
because so many teenagers are discouraged from even applying for
jobs.
One of the most significant factors affecting the likelihood of teen-
age employment is the employment status or lack of status of one or
both parents. In a typically disadvantaged home, a son or daughter
does not have the benefit of a helpful job role model if a father is un-
employed, underemployed, or absent entirely, or if a mother has a
low-paying job or is on welfare. Teenage deprivation, including seri-
ous unemployment, is associated with high incidence of crime.
One of the most critical events in the life of a young women is the
birth of her first child, which may cause her to drop out of school or
the labor force, go on welfare, or abandon a career. Those and still
earlier choices, as to sexual activity, contraception, and abortion con-
front an increasing number of teenagers.
Urban Institute research indicates that the availability of subsidized
family planning services reduces the incidence of premarital preg-
nancies. Yet only about 40 percent of women estimated to be in need
of subsidized family planning services actually obtained them in 1974.
For these and the remaining 60 percent of women, widened career
options at all ages may hinge on the availability of such services.
III. SUTPORT SERVICES AND ADJUSTED Co~rnoxs
Because women sometimes face double or triple burdens as
homemakers, mothers, and workers, they may need support serv-
ices to help fulfill their multiple roles in society. The homemaker's
work is "work," but society neither values it as such, credits her
in various ways for her contributions, nor assists her, particularly
when she desires to enter the formal work force. Quality child care
at an affordable price is basic if the working mother is to meet her
job responsibilities without neglecting her children. Work hours
could be adapted to women's and men's needs through part-time
jobs and flexible work hours. Occupational health problems, espe-
cially those affecting the pregnant woman and the fetus, deserve
increased attention.
A. Tire Honrerna1~er, the Family, and Employment: Some
Interrelation.s hips
A meaningful family life for the working couple may require
support services to help relieve the special burdens of the wife!
mother.
Until society abandons the view that "work" only includes paid
activities, the homemaker will be denied the status to which she is
PAGENO="0021"
13
entitled and assistance which she may need. Affluent working parents
can make and pay for their own arrangements to fulfill their personal
and child care needs. But for millions of other working parents and
especially for single parent families, public programs may represent
a crucial difference in the quality of adult and child life.
In the homemaker's and the family's behalf, Nona Glazer, Linda
Majka, Joan Acker, and Christine Bose recommend a broad series of
support measures: Round-the-clock child care centers for children up
to the age of 15 become more feasible if older children and retired peo-
ple are involved in the caring process; Neighborhood Service Houses,
rooted in the tradition of Settlement Houses, could offer multiple serv-
ices, such as job reentry counseling, medical day clinics and medical
transportation for children, house visitors to facilitate repair services,
a distribution point for meals, tools and neighborhood bartering of
services, psychological support at times of family stress, and referral
to professional help; federally funded holiday camps for employed
mothers, modeled after the family holiday camps in Norway, represent
another innovative suggestion.
Legislation to set up these structures which Glazer et al. recommend
would facilitate a change in the structure of national employment
standards, they believe. Thus, the labor market would accommodate
personal human needs, rather than the reverse situation which exists
today. This would entail such measures as fostering mandatory over-
time limits, flexitime, routine personal leave, paternity as well as
maternity leave, and improved status and fringe benefits for part-time
work.
Precedent for a national family policy is notable in France. Because
it is concerned with social, economic, and other elements of family life,
France provides a broad set of services for all families, not just the
least fortunate. However, French policy is geared, at least in part, to
increasing the birth rate so as to compensate for the ravages of war,
a situation with which the United States is not faced. Because this
country is starting to recognize that we must pick and choose more
carefully how the taxpayers' money is spent, and because such family
support programs are costly, one approach might be to set up pilot
projects. This method of "sampling" potential new social programs,
then adopting or discarding them, is widely and successfully used in
Sweden.
B. Economic Aspects of Child Care
A full employment guarantee for women, if it is to be more than
an empty promise, would make available a system of child care
which is both economically efficient and effective in meeting the
needs of young children and their parents.
The need for organized child care is indicated by the fact that in
1974, 42 percent of all children under 18-almost 27 million-had
working mothers, with more than 22 percent of these children under
the age of 6. Yet there are only 1 million spaces available in licensed
day care programs for the almost 6 million pre-school children whose
mothers work.
A wide variety of day care programs coexist: In the child's own
home, in another person's home, by their own mothers at work, by
PAGENO="0022"
14
community; religious and/or business-run centers. Costs in day care
centers vary widely, depending on the quality of the staff, their num-
bers, and education levels, the range of support services, the quantity
and quality of food, the nature of the facility and equipment, and
whether or not the center is designed to yield a profit. The fact that
costs represent an overwhelming barrier to use of day care is confirmed
by numerous surveys. Private enterprise is discouraged from increas-
ing the supply of formal child care to meet the demand because of the
small likelihood of a profitable return from any but upper income
users.
Whatever the "mix" of a child care systern~ economic planning
should take into account the high costs of quality child care and the
facts as to parents' willingness or ability to pay. Satisfactory sub-
sidized child care will, in Myra H. Strober's judgment, "require
partial subsidization of even those families with incomes above the
median."
Opponents of subsidization dispute the expenditure of public re-
sources for care of children in families with median or higher incomes.
Why, they ask, should a mother who chooses to raise a child entirely
by herself and to forego any job income, neither receive nor expect a
subsidy, while a woman who transfers part of the child-raising burden
to society in order to earn her own income, be subsidized? Even as
regards the children of lower income families, critics ask: should
taxpayers spend, for example, $5,000 a year to give two children
subsidized day care so that the mother can earn perhaps $7,000 to
$10,000 a year?
The arithmetic of each case varies, but day care supporters counter
that the taxpayer's investment is repaid clirectl . if only in part~ by
the higher taxpaying ability of the working mother. More important,
the intangible values of society are strengthened by providing free-
dom of choice-to work or not to work-to women who would other-
wise lose such choice, and by assuring quality care for the coming
generation.
Noting that the desire for children care is worldwide, Alice H. Cook
compares European and other nations' practices. One of the issues is
whether publicly supported child care should be administered by edu-
cational, labor or social service authorities-each of which tends to
have a different approach to the child.
France provides free child care services for a greater number of 2 to
6 years olds (proportionately) than any other non-Communist coun-
try. It. in effect, starts its free education system at the age of two,
instead of five, as the United States does. All French day care homes,
no matter how small, are registered, inspected and licensecL and must
adhere to established standards. All children who are placed in care-
even with a close relative-are registered. An unusual service-a short-
term nursery called Halte Garderie (Child Parking)-is available
even to nonworking mothers, so that they can be free for shopping or
leisure pursuits. France's system emphasizes care at the young forma-
tive ages, when assistance is most needed.
Sweden has the most all-inclusive and integrated program of pre-
school and school-age childcare of an country in the non-Communist
world; that is, it has the broadest range of services. Before and after
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15
school care includes supervision of homework and play activities, hobby
programs, free activities, breakfast, and midafternoon snacks when
necessary. While Sweden relies on full-time formal day care centers, it
also utilizes family day care to help parents who work irregular hours
or need overnight care for children. Sweden's comprehensive care of
sick children ranges from sickrooms at centers, to child visitor services
to homes, and includes transportation of ill children. Sweden's sys-
tem emphasizes total child care around the clock and throughout the
year for all ages.
The Swedish program was planned by representatives of govern-
ment, private and public social welfare, and employers' and employees'
organizations. A plus in the Swedish system is that family day care
mothers, who are under Government supervision, have 90-day training
programs available to them, as well as such amenities as insurance
coverage, vacations, and established wage rates. This gives recognition
to the paraprofession of "family daycare mothering" and establishes it
as a desirable category in the labor force.
U. Part-Time TVov/e
Wives, particularly mothers, who choose to work should have
the option of career-oriented part-time jobs. A similar option for
men would provide greater flexibility in the sharing of parental
and household responsibilities, and add to the quality of life.
Despite widespread interest, there is a lack of career-oriented
part-time work. Practically all part-time jobs today are the lowest pay-
ing ones; virtually anyone ta.king part-time work today suffers sub-
stantial career and economic penalties, ranging from lack of oppor-
tunity for promotions to loss of fringe benefits. Yet the disadvantages
of part-time work are less than those of dropping out all together,
which results in depletion of skills, lack of confidence and an image in
employers' eyes as lacking attachment to the work force.
Industry should be encouraged to rethink its own concepts of the
workday and work continuity. While experiments in the 4-day week
are increasing, most businesses have resisted part-time employment for
a variety of philosophical and administrative reasons. Contrary to the
general perception, part-time work need not increase the cost of bene-
fits, because required statutory benefits can be offset by adjustment of
optional benefits. Flex-time, which faces less resistance than part-time
work, has been found to be mutually rewarding for both employer and
employee, based on observations of a number of companies where it
has been used.
Institutionalizing part-time work options-for both men and wom-
en-offers these benefits to society:
1. Children benefit. Their emotional and other needs are met by
the availability of not just one, but both parents, at different times.
2. Parents benefit. The desire of both father and mother to share
parental responsibilities is fulfilled.
3. Women benefit. The shorter workday makes it easier for a woman
to work while she retains the psychological benefits of being a "good
mother."
4. Business and industry benefit. The "magnetism" of part-time
work can attract quality employees into the work force. Companies
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16
may experience greater productivity and lower unit costs, due to re-
duced `absenteeism, turnover, recruitment activity and overtime pay.
Higher productivity may also occur because `an employee can maintain
a faster work pace for 4 to 6 hours a day than she/he can for 8 hours.
5. Labor and society benefit. The sharing of work opportunities
would be facilitated in a society where the munber of jobs available is
not keeping pace with the growth in the number of potential workers.
In addition, greater equality of opportunity is assured between men
and women. Increased time away from work adds to the quality of life.
7. Taxpayers benefit. The burden of taxpayer-subsidized child-care
centers is reduced.
Carol S. Greenwald urges structural changes in the occupational
system, such as have already begun in Sweden. There, a parents' insur-
ance system, replacing a maternity allowance system, makes it possible
for both parents to alternate working part time for a given period
after the birth of a child, without any economic or occupational
penalty. Greenwald suggests that parental leave (in place of mater-
nity leave) and part-time work options be required by the Department
of Labor as part of the affirmative action program for Federal con-
tractors. The absence of such provisions, she believes, is discrimina-
tory in effect and is not required as a matter of business necessity,
but is based on mere custom and convenience.
Critics view the proposed imposition on employers of mandatory
part-time work as unjustified intervention in private enterprise. In
their view, consequences may include arbitrary dislocation of efficient
work schedules, elevation of personnel and other business costs, and
the inflation of prices to the consumer.
D. illaternaZ and Other HeaUh Needs
The topic of support services would not be complete without a brief
consideration of women's health as affected by employment, a subject
which is not covered by an individua~t paper within the compendium.
The influx of women into the job force and specifically into a
broadened range of occupations has outpaced society's alertness
as to the health implications to the woman worker, especially the
pregnant woman and her unborn child.
Few issues represent more of a double-edged sword than that of
proposed standards for women under the Occupational Health and
Safety Act. On the one hand, rigid standards may result in
automatic screening out of women applicants in a way which may be
regarded as discriminatory; on the other hand, pregnant women
(including those who are not aware that they are pregnant) may
risk substantial injury to themselves and to their unborn children in
hazardous work environments. The pregnancy-related dile~nma faces
women even in such traditional occupations as operating room attend-
ant, dental assistant, radiology technician, and flight attendant, where
scientific evidence has `begun to question the safety of what had for-
merly been considered relatively healthy work environments. The issue
is drawn more sharply as women enter into the chemical, mining, and
other heavy industries, where dangerous substances have been sus-
pected for some time and are now becoming increasingly recognized.
There is wide agreement that, at the very minimum, women should
have the benefit of timely information before entering into such occu-
PAGENO="0025"
17
pations,~ or, if they are already so employed, as soon as scientific infor-
mation on hazards is validated. It is obvious that men also are entitled
to information concerning occupational health hazards.
Health poses a problem to the working woman in othere woman in
other ways, as well. Information remains sparse on the impact of
workman's compensation on women; the problem of coverage of preg-
nancy under disability income and sick pay protection awaits congres-
sional resolution. The female-headed family and two-worker parents
are inadequately served by a health system which does not have flex-
ible hours for child clinics.
IV. EDUCATION AND WORK
Improvement in the Nation's system of education and training
of women could play an important part in achieving the goal of
full employment. Career education is developing as a useful tool
to aid women's and men's decisions at each stage of life. Voca-
tional education could be a much more significant aid to women if
they could share equally with men in its benefits. Similarly, the
apprenticeship system, still largely closed to women, could add to
the diversification of their work opportunities and the increase of
their earnings. Subsidized training and retraining would enable
women to strengthen their human capital.
A. Career Education
Career education can broaden and sharpen individuals' knowl-
edge about both their own abilities and the labor market's oppor-
tunities, and can help them arrive at the best decisions about their
work lives.
Women, in particular, benefit from career education, a concept
which helps relate current learning to future careers. National tests
indicate that 17-year-old girls-the age when career decisions are in
the process of being made-have a less realistic understanding about
careers and working than do boys of the same age. Another study of
adults indicates that sex stereotyping within our society makes it in-
creasingly important that career education be incorporated into our
educational system in order to counteract these negative patterns.
Substantial literature by both Government and individual employ-
ment specialists document the fact that career education can improve
individuals' self-assessment and development as workers, their occupa-
tional awareness and preparedness for work, and their ability to put
it all together through skilled planning and decisionmaking.
Lack of career-oriented education and training is one of the strong
root causes of women's inability to establish themselves in upwardly
mobile careers. Access to genderless-oriented education and training
on an equal basis with men is a start towards providing full employ-
ment for women. Without it, all other support programs will not
achieve their potential.
Recommendations to facilitate the growth of career education in-
clude the following:
1. Career education should become mandatory in all schools and
encouraged in other community programs.
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18
2. Community career education action councils should be established.
3. Career education concepts should be included as a standard part
of the curriculum for educators.
4. Schools should become more fiexible-4wit.h open entry and open
exit-to serve the job needs of women of all ages.
5. Tax, and other reforms should be used to encourage the retrain-
ing and upgrading of women's working skills.
B. T7ocationa~ Education
Vocational education is booming, but present opportunities for
girls and women are still limited to clusters of low-paying, tradi-
tionally "feminine" occupations, and little attempt is being made
to open up nontraditional areas.
With almost 61/2 million women and girls enrolled in public voca-
tional classes in 1972, about 4 out of 5 were being trained in home
economics and office practices. Few women are being trained for the
20.1 million jobs that estimates indicate will exist by 1980 in the better
paying trades, industrial and technical jobs, and for which high
schools offer entry level courses. These latter j~bs, unfortunately, are
viewed primarily as male occupations.
A 1974 report showed that 98.5 percent of all students in Wisconsin
high school industrial classes were boys. In one city, the average ex-
pected wage for trades learned by girls was 47 percent lower than for
trades learned by boys. At the postsecondary level, admission of
women `is hindered by inconvenient school hours and location,
lack of child care facilities, and limited distribution of publicity about
the programs.
Some of the following steps would be helpful in upgrading voca-
tional education for women: Improvement in counseling based on more
research on how females make career decisions; an introductory course
on the `changing career patterns of women, labor market projections
and wage differentials of occupations; better literature and audio-
visual materials-prescreened against traditional stereotypes; updat-
ing of counselors' knowledge and skills by summer institutes and in-
service training programs; tours for young girls of vocational class-
rooms and industries; visits to schools by women workers in a broad
range of occupations: simulated job experience kits for fields iii which
expansion is projected.
C. Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship, one of the most important doors to skilled and
well-paid jobs, remains all but closed to women today because of
deen-rooted custom and outright discrimination.
The reasons for the exclusion of women are multiple: Most ap-
prenticeships are in male-dominated occupations which have his-
torically tended to perpetuate barriers on the ground that the jobs
are "unsuitable" for women; the stereotypes deter women from ap-
plying; jobs traditionally held by women are perceived to require
less training and therefore are excluded from the apprenticeable
trades.
IVomen account for only slightly over 1 percent of all registered
apprentices. Over 415 differeni trades and crafts are apprenticeable,
PAGENO="0027"
19
according to Federal Government standards; the 21 construction
trades account for approximately 64 percent. Thirty-six one-
hundredths of 1 percent (0.36) of apprentices in the highly paid build-
ing trades were women in 1975. Among these key trades, only carpen-
ters and electricians had more than 100 women apprentices at that
time.
Why is apprenticeship important? It is a bargain for those high
school graduates who cannot afford continued classroom education.
They can earn a wage while simultaneously acquiring a skill leading
to still higher income. Long waiting lists of hopefuls attest to the
desirability of being accepted as an apprentice.
A forward step taken by the Manpower Administration is the ap-
prenticeship outreach program, which emphasizes recruiting, counsel-
ing, and tutoring women for apprenticeships and which now covers 27
cities. Despite their potential promise, these programs achieved only
"modest results"-according to a Civil Rights Commission study in
1974.
An improvement in the `appreirticeship system would be to admit
women exceeding the maximum age, as part of affirmative action.
Overview of the program could be strengthened by correcting under-
representation of women within the Department of Labor's Bureau
of Apprenticeship and Training, which has 240 males and only 14
females. It should be borne in mind that recessions have an adverse
effect on the numbers of apprenticeships, as it does on so many other
programs which offer increased career opportunities.
D. Higher Education
The component of American society which might best show evidence
of the results of women's increased aspirations is the segrner~t that has
documented and fostered those aspirations, namely, American higher
education itself. Women's status as students and members of faculties
in colleges and universities is not treated as a separate paper in the
compendium, but the relative unevenness of women's progressin higher
education is noteworthy of comment. The women's proportion among
students in undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate ins~i~tutes has
continued to rise. By 1974 the proportion of women aged 18 to 19
going to college equalled the proportion of young men. In 1975, more
women than men took the scholastic aptitude tests, the first time in
the 49 years that the SAT's have been in existence. But, most impor-
tant, the percentage-24 percent-of women among all faculty on
academic year contracts remained the same in 1974 and 1975, while
the percentage of women ranked professor, associate professor and in-
structor actually decreased. The average salaries of these professionals
remained less than that of men.
Title IX, approved in June 1972, prohibits discrimination on the
basis of sex in educational programs which receive Federal funds,
including recruitment and admission, financial assi~tance, housing, and
hur~ng of professional faculty.
Title IX, plus other legislation such as the Medical Education A~t,
have been instrumental in opening the doors to medical and law schools
and other graduate facilities. Upper level positions for women in man-
agement, government and the professions are vital because they serve
PAGENO="0028"
20
as role models for children and young adults to follow, they help
change deep-seated negative attitudes in our society, and they place
women in top echelon positions where they can help overcome other
barriers that still remain.
On the other side of the coin, affirmative action programs required
by title IX have been characterized by college administrators as a
"mixed blessing" which has lowered standards, led to "reverse dis-
crimination" against white males, and increased university paper-
work and other costs. -
V. KEY FACTORS: TAX TREATMENT AND MEDIA IMAGES
Reforms should be considered in both the tax and social security
systems in the interest of justice for working as well as nonwork?
ing women. Another adverse and pervasive factor is media-
disseminated stereotypes which may handicap girls and women
at every stage of their intellectual and economic development.
A. Impact of the Tax System and Social Security on Labor Force
Participation
Changes are required in the American tax and social security
systems whose, direct or indirect inequities may discourage women
from working, or penalize them if they choose to work.
Three major problems in the tax treatment of the two-earner family
are:
(a) The marriage penalty, which substantially increases the tax
bill of the two-earner family. (b) The fiscal inequity of failing to dif-
ferentiate between the traditional worker-housewife couple and the
emergent two-earner couple, whose greater earnings are offset with
increased but often nondeductible job-related expenses. (c) The work
disincentive to potential second family earners, since the second
family earner's first taxable dollar is effectively taxed at the first
earner's `highest tax rate.
Suggestions offered to overcome these difficulties include:
(a) A system of individual tax treatment of earned income, similar
to Sweden's, or an option to married taxpayers to choose individual
treatment of earned income, similar to that of England, Norway, and
other countries. (b) An allowance to second earners to accommodate
the working couple's higher cost of earning income.
In the social security system, Blumberg identifies the issues and
offers several remedies:
1. Worker-housewife cou.ples frequently receive substantially more
benefits than two-earner couples, even though earnings and social
security payments are equal. To achieve parity in determining bene-
fits, Blumberg suggests that working couples should be permitted to
combine their earnings up to the maximum taxable wage base (rather
than `as at present, computing benefits from the separate earnings of
two bases).
2. The married working woman realizes little or no benefits from
her social `security payments because she can only collect from one
account (usually her husband's). It has been argued that the married
woman does receive benefits because her payments cover more than
PAGENO="0029"
21
her retirement benefits-her own disability, and survivor's benefits.
If this is the rationale, then the married woman's contributions should
be adjusted downward to reflect the actual coverage she is purchasing.
3. There are inequities in the calculation of "replacement income"
for women. Retirement benefits are computed by averaging earnings
for all years except the lowest five; employed wives and working
mothers may have been home for child rearing and homemaking for
a cumulatively longer period than 5 years. Some countries have
treated women's absence from the labor market because of pregnancy
and child rearing as "covered employment," and credited the married
woman's account with some. ascribed earnings.
4. In the event of divorce, many nonemployed wives and mothers
lose their dependent status and are deprived of their social security
eligibility; thus, older housewives may be left entirely without re-
tirement income; younger housewives may not have a basis for an ade-
quate average earning record.
A comprehensive solution offered by Blumberg is equal apportion-
ment between husband and wife of all spouse's contributions based
on wages. In her opinion, this would "more profoundly reflect the
view that marriage is an economic partnership: * * * that each spouse
has an interest in all income generated during a marriage, and that
the housewife does make a valuable economic contribution to her
family".
B. Effects of Mass Media Stereotypes on Women's Employment
Efforts should be made to reduce sex bias in the content of mass
media if a constructive self-realization of women is to be
encouraged.
While women's role in society and in the labor market has experi-
enced vast changes in the past quarter century, the mass media's un-
realistic portrayal of that role is an impediment to women's equality.
One television study showed that commercials mentioned 43 different
occupations for men,, only 18 for women. When TV shows reveal some-
one's occupation, the worker is most likely to be male. Women's maga-
zines have traditionally focused on women as homemakers, rather
than as workers, but have recently become more responsive to change.
In the Nation's newspapers, news of food, fashion, weddings, and
society-not jobs-has tended to dominate the women's pages. A sub-
stantial body of research suggests particularly profound effects of
media stereotyping in restricting the horizons of young women; these
effects may well deter girls from undertaking career-oriented educa-
tion or training programs. The mass media may also exert a conserva-
tive force among adults, which prevents affluent and other women from
seeking employment and discourages women who must work from
seeking better jobs or higher goals.
Gaye Tuchman recommends a complete analysis of the effect of
mass media upon women and minorities. She also suggests Federal
Trade Commission restrictions on sex-typed advertising during chil-
dren's viewing hours; banning sex-role stereotypes under the National
Association of Broadcasters Code; Federal Communications Com-
mission denial of renewal of station licenses if program stereotyping is
found; and priority given to affirmative action programs in the mass
media.
PAGENO="0030"
22
CONCLUSION
Full employment is a moving target; it takes a growing number of jobs to
provide for a growing labor force, and women are currently the prime movers of
the target (Isabel V. Sawhill).
The targets are moving as well for government and for all other
institutions-business, labor, education, and social sciences-as they
respond to women's rising economic aspirations. To the authors of thd
compendium, the achievement of women's equality in a full employ-
ment economy is the logical and necessary culmination of the phe-
nomenon of their massive entry into the labor force and of the rights
to which they are entitled under law. The authors note that even in
the absence of a full employment goal, the success of macroeconomic
growth policies is affected to a greater degree than ever before by the
Nation's ability to estimate, to plan for and to accommodate the in-
tentions of women workers and potential workers. Noninflationary,
cost-effective microeconornic policies could help open up career oppor-
tunities for groups with special needs, such as mothers with infants and
small children, displaced homemakers and mature women,, and teen-
agers-especially minorities.
A fundamental reality of this era is that women's economic progress
has already attained an inner momentum which will intensify their
quest for job satisfaction and equality. Traditional acceptance by
women, as well as by men, of substantial unemployment and under-
employment is likely to give way to a consensus for national policies
which will make better use of all human resources. Whether or not
these policies become embodied in a full employment goal. as such,
increased effort may be anticipated to end sex-based discrimination
and de facto job segregation, to improve women's education and train-
ing so as to foster self-fulfillment in jobs, and to expand support serv-
ices, especially for the homemaker and working mother.
To achieve these and other objectives, the specific recommendations
within this compendium carry direct and indirect price tags, as yet
largely unknown. But the failure to assure women's optimal economic
role also entails costs of both a tangible and intangible nature to
women, men, and to all society.
PAGENO="0031"
Part I. OVERVIEW
(23)
PAGENO="0032"
PAGENO="0033"
WOMEN'S STAKE IN FULL EMPLOYMENT: THEIR
DISADVANTAGED ROLE IN THE ECONOMY-CHAL-
LENGES TO ACTION
Br MARY DUBLIN kEYSERLING*
CONTENTS
Page
I. Where women are in the labor force 26
A. Earnings and status __ 27
B. Work discontinuity and work life expectancy 29
II. The impact of unemployment on women 30
III. Women's increasing stake in full employment~__ 31
IV. The high vulnerability of minority women - 32
V. Unemployment and teenagers 34
VI. Some challenges to action 35
Major sources of statistical data used 38
Women in the United States have an immense stake in the achieve-
ment of full employment.' In a shrinking economy women suffe.r high
rates of unemployment considerably in excess of those experienced by
men. Inflation rises and inflicts an especially hard blow on women.
Poverty increases, family incomes decline, and business earnings fall.
These developments and the resulting reduction in public revenues
lessen our Nation's capacity to meet the needs of its people. Women,
whether wage and salary earners or full-time homemakers, are affected
by the consequences to a disproportionate extent.
The highly disadvantaged position of women in the American econ-
omy today exists despite the fact that their participation in the labor
force has advanced rapidly during the last two and one-half decades.
In 1940 they represented 29 percent of all workers. By 1976 their pro-
portion had increased to 41 percent. While they have comprised more
than three-fifths of the growth in the civilian labor force during this
period, they have moved increasingly into the lesser skilled, lower paid
jobs. Despite the fact that national legislation directed toward the
elimination of discrimination in employment on the basis of sex, among
other grounds, has been on the statute books for moie than 10 years,
the relative employment status of women has shown little improve-
ment in some respects and has. actually deteriorated in some more
significant ways.
*Consulting economist in private practice in Washington, D.C. She was the Director of
the Women's Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, 1964-1969.
1 Full employment In this paper Is based on a level of employment consistent with the
reduction of unemployment to an overall rate of about 3 percent. This is treated as the
"frictional" level of unemployment, that Is, those unemployed are primarily wage and
salary earners moving from one job to another. This paper assumes that a reasonable and
feasible target for the reduction of unemployment is to lower the overall rate of unPin-
ployment from 7.7 percent In 1976 to 4 percent by mid-1981 (about 3 percent for adults
aged 20 and over) and to 3 percent within a year or two thereafter.
(25)
91-6S6----77-----3
PAGENO="0034"
26
Experience during the post-World War II years clearly indicates
that existing employment inequities strongly resist redress wli.en eco-
nomic gTowth rates are slow or the economy declines. When the. econ-
only moves into high gear and there are ample mlml)erS of j ohs
available for those seeking them. gains for women-and for all A.mer-
jeans-are very great indeed. This is not to say that strong aiid specific
efforts to eliminate employment discrimination are not needed in
periods of economic expansion; they clearly are. But. such efforts have
a better chance of achieving their objectives when job opportunities
are on the increase.
A review of where women are in the labor force and of recent trends
during times of economic advance and decline sheds a revealing light
on why full employment is of signal importance to them.
I. WHERE WOMEN ARE IX THE LABOR FORCE
As of December 1976, 39 million women, aged 16 and over~ were in
the labor force-a number which had more than doubled since 1950
and nearly tripled since 1940. Nearly half of all women~ 16 and over,
were employed or actively seeking work. Of those between the. ages
18 and 64, the proportion was 56 percent.
Between 1950 and 1976, the total labor force grew by about 31
million. Women constituted more than three-fifths of this increase.
MTith five recessionary interruptions, the economy expanded, although
not nearly enough, over this period as a whole. The number of jobs
was growing and women entered the job market in rapidly increas-
ing numbers. Of major significance has been the very substantial
rise in the proportion of women aged 25-64, particularly those with
children, who sought employment during the quarter century. Among
those aged 25-34, there was a 68-percent increase in their labor force
participation rates between 1950 and 1976. The rate of increase for
those aged 35-64 was also very rapid, as is shown in table I.
TABLE 1.-LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATES OF WOMEN, BY AGE GROUPS, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970, 1976, AND
PERCENT CHANGE 1940-76~AND1950-76
Percent change
Age (years) 1940 1 1950 1960 1970 1976 1940-76
1950-76
Total, 16 yrs and over 28. 9 33. 9 37. 8 43. 4 47. 3 +63. 7 ±39. 5
16 and 17 13. 8 30. 1 29. 1 34.9 40.7 ±194. 9 +35. 2
18 and 19 42. 7 51. 3 51. 1 53.7 59. 0 438. 2 4 15. 0
20 to 24 48. 0 46. 1 46. 2 57. 8 65. 0 +35. 4 +41. 0
25 to 34 35. 5 34. 0 36. 0 45.0 57. 1 +60. 9 +67. 9
35 to 44 29. 4 39. 1 43. 5 51. 1 57. 8 +96. 6 +47. 8
45 to 54 24.5 38.0 49.8 54.4 55.0 +124.5 +44.7
55 to 64 18. 0 27. 0 37. 2 43. 0 41. 1 +128. 3 ±52. 2
65 yrs and over 6. 9 9. 7 10. 8 9.7 8. 3 ±20. 3 -14. 4
1 Data for 1940 are for March of that year; for other years, annual.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, D.C.
WThen 1940 is used as the base year for conwarison with 1976, the
labor force participation rates for women aged 35-64 had more than
doubled.
Before World War II, the peak rate of labor force participation
was for women aged 20-24, 48 percent of whom were workers. By the
PAGENO="0035"
27
age of 25, a large proportion of women had already married and the
responsibilities of child rearing removed many from the job world.
The labor force participation rate of those aged 25-34 was 26 percent
lower than among those aged 20-24. It declined another 17 percent
among those aged 35-44, and still another 17 percent for those aged
45-54. This continuous decline reflected the greater difficulties of home
management than in more recent years, the absence of child day-care
facilities, the insufficiency of jobs, and the strong prejudice against
hiring middle-aged women, among other factors.
After the. war, labor force participation rates for women aged 25-34
continued to be lower than for those aged 20-24, although to a. dimin-
ishing degree from 1950 onward. By 1976, women aged 25-34 were 12
percent less likely to be in the labor force than those aged 20-24.
Throughout the post-World War II period, the labor force participa-
tion rates of women over age 35 have continued to increase.
During the past two and one-half decades, the labor force participa-
tion of married women with husbands present grew more rapidly than
that of other married or single women; it increased nearly 90 percent
between 1950 and 1976. The rates for married women with husbands
present and with children under the age of 18 increased nearly two-
and-a-half-fold during this period; for those with children under the
age of six, the rates more than tripled (see table II).
TABLE 11.-LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATES OF WOMEN, BY MARITAL STATUS, IN MARCH 1950, 1975, AND
1976 AND PERCENT CHANGE, 1950-76
Percent
Marital status
1950
1975
1976
change,
1950-76
Married women, husband present
With children under 18 yr
With children under 6 yr
With no children under 18 yr
Other ever-married women
With children under 18 yr
With children under 6 yr
With no children under 18 yr
Single women
23.8
18. 4
11. 9
30. 3
37. 8
54. 9
41. 4
33. 7
50. 5
44.4
44. 9
36. 6
43. 9
40. 7
62. 4
55. 0
33. 2
56. 7
45.0
46. 1
37. 4
43. 8
40.9
63. 8
56. 2
32. 8
58.9
±89.1
±150. 5
±214. 3
+44. 6
±8. 2
+16. 2
±35. 7
-2. 7
+16. 6
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, "Current Population Reports," series P-50, No. 29;
and U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Special Labor Force Reports," Non. 13, 130, and 183 and
BLS unpublished data for 1976.
A. Earnings and Status
Most women work for the same reason as most men; they need the
money. As of March 1976, 43 percent of all women in the labor force
were single, widowed, separated or divorce.d, and worked to support
themselves and their dependents. More than an additional quarter of
all women in the labor force were married women whose husbands
had earned less than $10,500 in the previous year, or less than what
was regarded as needed to meet the minimum requirements of a family
of four. Thus, for 7 out of 10 working women, employment is a com-
pelling economic necessity. A large majority of the remaining women
also work because they desire to improve their families' economic
opportunities.
While a ma~ority of women of working age are now job holders,
they are heavily concentrated in the lower-paid, lesser-skilled posi-
PAGENO="0036"
28
tions which women have traditionally held. In 1975? somewhat more
than a third of women job holders were in clerical and. kindred occu-
pations, and nearly a fifth were in the service trades~ excluding pri-
vate household employment, with median annual earnings in 1974
for year-round, full-time work of $7,562 and $5,414 respectively. About
an additional fifth were sales, craft and kindred workers, and opera-
tives, with median earnings in these three fields combined for year-
round, full-time work in 1974 of $6,100. About 16 percent of working
women were in Professional and technical occupations, with nearly
half of them concentrated in three fields traditionally held by women,
also relatively low paid: elementary and prescl~ool teachers, registered
nurses, and health technologists and technicans.
Because of women's concentration at the lower rungs of the occu-
pational ladder, their median earnings for year-round, full-time work
in 1975 were only $7,504, or only 59 percent of the $12,758 median
earnings of men for year-round full-time work. Of all women em-
ployed year-round and full-time, 22 percent earned less than $5,000.
This compares with fewer than 7 percent of men. At the upper end
of the earnings scale, only 4.5 percent of women earned between
$15,000 and $25,000; the percentage of men in this income bracket
was six times greater. Fewer than one-half of 1 percent of all these
women earned $25,000 or more; the percentage of men in this bracket
was 20 times higher.
Women's occupational status is very different from that of men.
While in 1975 they comprised 40 percent of the labor force, they were
99 percent of all secretaries; 98 percent of all household workers and
nurses; 96 percent of dressmakers, sewers and stitchers; 85 percent of
all elementary schoolteachers; 77 percent of all those in clerical occu-
pations; and 58 percent of all nonhousehoid related service employees.
About three-quarters of all women workers were in these occupations,
generally characterized by relatively low average earnings.
Wonien remain poorly represented at the more privileged end of
the occupational ladder. In 1974, they were 6 percent of all lawyers
and judges, 10 percent of physicians, 14 percent of all chemists, 20
percent of computer specialists, and 31 percent of all college and uni-
versity teachers, to mention a few examples.
Even within the professions underrepresenteci by women, they were
concentrated at the lower end of the scale, and some trends have act-
ually been regressive. For instance, in colleges and universities in
1974, women were 9 percent of all full professors-down from 10 per-
cent in 1959-60; they were 15 percent of associate professors-down
from 17.5 percent in 1959-60; they were 24 percent of assistant pro-
fessors and 45 percent of all instructors. These last two ratios were
higher than in the base year, but these gains did not co~npensate for
the declines at the higher levels, so that, overall, women lost. salary
ground relative to men. At each of the teaching levels, the average
compensation of women was lower than that of men-the difference
of all ranks combined averaging 18 percent lower for women.
Another illustration of disparities affecting women is employment
in the Federal civil service. The Federal Government might well be
2 The 1975, rather than 1976, occupational data are used in this connection because, at
the time of writing, data with respect to median earnings in 1976, by occupation, for
year-round, full-time work, were not yet available.
PAGENO="0037"
29
expected to be the pace setter with respect to affirmative action em-
ployment policy, being charged by an Executive order to prohibit
discrimination on the basis of sex. But an analysis of Federal civil
service reports indicates that the mandate is far from fulfilled.
Women in 1975 were only 35 percent of total white collar Federal
employees-about the same proportion as in 1968, and considerably
lower than their proportion in the total labor force. Their number in
the civil service failed to keep pace with their growing role in the
general economy; such progress as they have made at the top, in
recent years, has been very slight. In 1975, women were only 2.7 per-
cent of all those in the three highest grades-GS 16, 17, and 18-up
from 1.5 percent in 1968. They were only 4.3 percent in the next two
highest grades-QS 14 and 15-up from 3.4 percent in 1968.
Not only is the overall occupational position of women inferior in
relation to that of men; women's relative position in the labor force
has been deteriorating in recent years. The comparative median earn-
ings of men and women in year-round, full-time employment were
used above as a meaningful index of relative economic status. Corn-
parison of these figures over a period of time shows relative retrogres-
sion. Median earnings of women in year-round full-time work were 59
percent those of men in 1975, While this ratio averaged the same in the
1960's. it was considerably lower than the 63 percent average for 1955-
59 and the 64 percent registered in 1955. The wage gap was $3,081 in
1955 (measured in 1975 dollars). It was $5,254 in 1975, or 71 percent
larger.
B. Work Discontinuity and Work Life Expectancy
For many years it was argued that the median earnings differential
on the basis of sex could be attributed in large measure to the dis-
continuity in women's employment. This was clearly a major causal
factor in earlier periods when a large percentage of working women
left the labor force after marriage to bear and rear children. How-
ever, while the discontinuity of women's employment has been dimin-
ishing very rapidly in recent years, the differences in relative earn-
mgs of men and women have increased.
Recent studies show that the worklife expectancy of women has
continued to lengthen significantly, while it has edged downward for
men. As is shown in table IV, women's worklife expectancy at birth
rose from 6.3 years in 1900 to 12.1 years in 1940, or nearly doubled;
by 1970 it had almost doubled again to 22.9 years.
TABLE V-LIFE AND WORK EXPECTANCY AT BIRTH, SELECTED YEARS, 1940-70
Expectancy 1900' 19402 19502 19602 1970
MEN
Life expectancy 48.2 61.2 65.5 66.8 67. 1
Work expectancy 32. 1 38. 1 41.5 41.1 40. 1
Nonwork expectancy 16. 1 23. 1 24. 0 25.7 27. 0
WOMEN
Life expectancy 50.7 65.7 71.0 73.1 74.8
Work expectancy 6. 3 12. 1 15. 1 20. 1 22.9
Nonwork expectancy 44.4 53.6 55.9 53.0 51.9
Women's worklife expectancy as a percent of men'S. 19. 6 31. 6 36. 3 48. 6 57. 1
Data for 1900 are for white persons in death registration States.
2 Figures adjusted to remove 14- and 15-yr-olds from the labor force to be consistent with 1970 (1900 is not comparable).
Source: Howard N. Fullerton, Jr. and James J. Byrne: `Length of Working Life for Men and Women, 1970," Monthly
Labor Review, February 1976, p. 32. (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, D.C.).
PAGENO="0038"
30
By 1970, the work expectancy of men at age 20 was 41.5 years; for
women who were divorced, widowed, or separated it was somewhat
higher-42.3 years; for single women it was nearly the same-41.'2
years.
At age 35, the large majority of women in the labor force in 1970
had a work expectancy t.hat varied relatively little from that of men,
as is shown in table V.
TABLE V.-WORIILIFE EXPECTANCY OF MEN AND WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE AT SELECTED AGES AND BY
MARITAL AND CHILD STATUS FOR WOMEN, 1970
[In years]
Eve
r-married women
Women in
labor force
after birth
Divorced
Age
Men
Single
women
No children
ever born
of last
child
widowed, and
separated
20
25
30
35
41. 5
36.9
32. 3
27. 6
41. 2
36.4
32. 6
28. 5
34. 1
29.2
24. 3
20. 8
(2)
(2)
(2)
26. 8
42. 3
37.4
32. 6
27. 8
40
45
23.2
18.9
24.0
19.4
17.6
13.4
21.2
16.3
23.0
18.3
50
55
60
14. 8
10. 9
7. 4
15.0
10. 9
7. 1
12.0
10. 6
8. 9
11. 9
8. 2
5. 0
13. 6
9. 0
6. 7
65
5. 7
4. 4
6. 6
4. 5
5. 3
1 Includes mothers. Women in these marital statuses were also included in the tabulation for the 2 previous columns1
2 Not applicable.
Source: Same as for table IV,
With employment discontinuity sharply on the decline for women
and with worklife expectancy markedly on the increase, it is clear
that a large number of other factors contribute to the relatively dis-
advantaged position of women in the labor force. Many women are
willing to settle for lesser-skilled, lower-paid jobs because their train-
iug, education, and attitudinal conditioning have not prepared them
realistically to anticipate their employment commitments. Stereotyped
vocational guidance and training, which have not adjusted to the new
realities of women's worklives, tend to move women into jobs they have
held traditionally. There is continuing discrimination against women
in hiring ancT promotion. In periods of declining employment, women
and minorities are generally the last hired and first fired, largely be-
cause seniority systems prevail over the dictates of affirmative action
employment policies. This separation from jobs affects earnings and
promotion potentials.
II. THE IMPACT OF UNEMPLOYMENT ON WOMEN
Unemployment affects women to a far greater degree than men. It
has averaged 25 percent higher for them during the years 1947-75.
In 1975, officially recorded unemployment among women reached a
post-World War II peak of 9.3 percent and averaged 8.6 percent dur-
ing 1976. The comparable rates for men were 7.9 and 7 percent, respec-
tivelv. These sex differentials are considerably larger than the official
figures indicate; when job hunting becomes harder, women are more
PAGENO="0039"
31
likely than men to abandon the search because there are fewer jobs
available to them. When they do, they are no longer counted among the
unemployed.
During the post-World War II period, the impact of unemploy-
ment on women, relative to that on men, has been intensifying. From
1947 through 1959, unemployment averaged 11 percent higher for
women than men, and in the subsequent years, 1960 through 1976,
averaged 31 percent higher.
In addition to its higher incidence, unemployment among women
has become a more serious problem for a growing number of families
who are increasingly dependent on women's earnings. The proportion
of families headed by women rose 43 percent from 1950 to 1976-from
9.3 to 13.3 percent. Furthermore, women's earnings had become far
more important to husband-wife families as the labor force participa-
tion of wives had increased from 24 to 45 percent-a rise of 89 percent.
III. WOMEN'S INCREASING STAKE IN FtTLL EMPLOYMENT
Women workers accounted for a considerably larger proportion of
the unemployed during the most recent recession than in earlier eco-
nomic downturns; the increase in their vulnerability is dispropor-
tionate to their expanding role in the labor force. In the two economic
downturns of the 1950's, as unemployment peaked in 1954 and 1958,
women's unemployment represented 34 and 33 percent of total unem-
p1oymei~t, respectively. In 1961, another year of high unemployment,
women represented 36 percent o-f the total, somewhat higher than their
percentage of the total labor force, which was then 34 percent. In 1976,
women comprised 46 percent of all those unemployed, at a time when
they were 41 percent of the total labor force. As earlier stated, because
of prejudice and seniority system priorities, women find themselves
among the last hired and among the first fired when the economy
slackens. Equal employment obligations go by the wayside.
Another factor of major concern is the rising incidence of poverty ~
among women. During the past 7 years of low economic growth,
two recessions and acute unemployment, poverty has been on the in-
crease, with women suffering disproportionately.
The years 1961-68 were characterized by continuous economic ex-
pansion. Real GNP advanced at the average annual rate of 4.6 percent
a year. The total number of people suffering the hardships of poverty
declined from 39.9 million in 1960 to 25.4 million in 1968, or by 36
percei~t.
From 1969 to 1975, with economic growth interrupted by two reces-
sions, real GNP increased at the average annual rate of only 1.7 per-
cent. The number of those in poverty rose from 24.1 million in 1969
to 25.9 million in 1975, or by 7.5 percent. The number of persons in
families in poverty headed by women declined from 7.2 million in
1960 to 7 million in 1968; the number increased to 8.9 million in 1975,
which is 27 percent higher than in 1968. In 1975, more than half of
related children under the age of 18 and in poverty were in female-
headed families.
The official TT.S. Government figure for the poverty threshold of a nonferm family of
four was $5820 in 197G. Telephone conversation with the Bureau of the Census.
PAGENO="0040"
32
Black families headed by women and in poverty suffered more
acutely than those headed by white women. The number of their fami-
lies rose from 700,000 in 1968 to 1 million by 1976, or by 43 percent,
compared with a 36-percent increase in the number of poor families
headed by white women.
Low economic growth and resulting unemployment in the period
1969-76 actually reduced living standards. Measured in dollars of
constant purchasing power, the average weekly earnings of nonsuper-
visory workers in private nonagricultural employment were lower in
1976 than 1969. Despite the fact that in 1975 a larger proportion of
families benefited from women's earnings than in 1969, the median
income of all families, measured in constant dollars, was actually
lower.4
Rampant inflation was a basic element in these living standard
declines; post-World War II experience clearly indicated that exces-
sive lrice rises are now closely associated with high unemployment
and low economic growth rates. From 1947 to 1953, the annual rate of
real growth averaged 4.9 percent. Unemployment averaged 4 percent
during the period and declined to a low of 2.9 percent by 1953. Con-
snmer price rises averaged only 3 percent a year, and in 1953 these
prices were less than 1 percent higher than in the previous year.
Similarly in 1960-68. a period of relatively healthy economic
growth, unemployment declined continuously from a high of 6.7 per-
cent in 1961 to 3.6 perecent in 1968, with price increases averaging less
than 2 percent a year.
In contrast, during the years 1969 to 1976, unemployment rose from
3.5 percent to a peak of 8.5 percent in 1975 and remained at the high
level of 7.7 percent in 1976, with an average of 5.8 percent for the
i~eriod; consumer price rises averaged 6.5 percent, or more than three
times the rate of advance registered in the preceeding 8 years.
Prices increased 11 percent in 1974 compared with 1973, were 9.1 per-
cent more in 1975 (when unemployment reached the highest level
since the Great Depression) than in 1974, and advanced by another
5.8 percent in 1976.
These comparative trends indicate that a full employment policy
does not necessarily have a serious inflationary impact. lVhen our pro-
ductive resources are underutilized, the unit cost of many products
rises, sales shrink, and many industries raise their prices in an effort
to reach profit targets nonetheless. When economic expansionary poli-
cies are implemented and fuller use is made of plant capacity. produc-
tivity gains increase~, unit costs fall and sales rise. These developments
reduce inflationary pressures.
IV. THE HIGH [TLNERABILITY OF MINORITY Wo~rnx
Minority women are far more vulnerable than white women to eco-
nomic downturns. Not only is their labor force participat1on higher
their unemployment rate has a.veraged about 80 percent above that of
white women over the last 26 years. A larger proportion have depend-
ents and their median earnings are lower; as a result. a much greater
proportion experience the hardships of poverty.
`The 1976 famIly Income data were not as yet available at time of writing.
PAGENO="0041"
33
Of the 39 million women in the labor force in 1976, 5 million, or 13
percent, were nonwhite (of whom 90 percent were black). For many
years, their labor force participation rates have been higher thaii for
white women. In 1950, 47 percent of minority women were in the labor
force, compared with 33 percent of white women. This difference has
narrowed markedly in subsequent years. By 1976 the labor force par-
ticipation rate for minority women was 50.2 percent, while that of
white women, which had risen far more rapidly, was 46.9 percent. The
difference in these labor force participation rates in 1976 would
undoubtedly have been greater had minority women not been far more
affected by unemployment, both reported and hidden.
During the period 1950-76, recorded unemployment of minority
women was 79 percent higher than that of white women, averaging
9.5 percent a year, compared with 5.3 percent. It should be stressed
that official unemployment rate.s are understated to a greater degree
for minority women than for white because the higher the unemploy-
ment rate for any group, the more likely are its members to give up
the job search when times are hard. Thus, larger proportions of them
are omitted from the official unemployment statistics.
The greater financial responsibilities of minority women are another
factor which undoubtedly would have lifted their employment rates
faster had more jobs been available to them. The average income of
nonwhite males who are family heads is lower than that of white males
who head families; this fact puts added pressure on minority wives
to seek employment. Media.n income of black males who headed their
families was $11,389 in 1975, compared with $15,094 for white male
family heads, or about 25 percent lower; it was $10,925 for male family
heads of Spanish origin, or 28 percent lower than for white male heads
of households. Nonwhite heads of families suffered about twice the
rate of unemployment experienced by white male family heads
throughout the post World War II period.
Furthermore, a far larger and more rapidly growing proportion
of nonwhite women than of white women head their families. In
March 1976, about a third of all nonwhite families were headed by
women, compared with 1 out of 10 white families. The respective
proportion had been 21 percent and 9 percent in 1955.
Despite these comparative differences, the occupational pattern of
minority women has been improving. In 1955, 55 percent of all em-
ployed minority women were in service occupations; this proportion
had dropped sharply to 35 percent by 1976. In the latter year, a much
larger proportion of minority women were in the more economically
advantaged white collar jobs; the proportion had risen from 24 to 46
percent over this same 11 year period.
But there are still marked occupational differences between minority
and white women. While 35 percent of minority women were in the
service occupations in 1976, this was 86 percent higher than the pro-
portion of white women in this category. And while 46 percent of mi-
nority women were in white collar jobs, this compared with 66 percent
of white women. These differences, among others, indicate the continu-
ing need for the intensification of efforts to eliminate discrimination
on the basis of race as well as sex.
Occupational differences between the two gToups of women may be
expected to narrow to a greater degree in the years immediately ahead.
PAGENO="0042"
34
This is indicated by the fact that the gap between the occupational
status of white and minority women, aged 16-34, is much less than
that among women 35 years of age and older. This reflects progress,
especially with respect to relative educational opportunities. There is
now virtually no difference between the median years of school com-
pleted by white and minority women workers (12.5 and 12.3 years,
respectively, in 1974). Only 15 years ago, there was a difference of 2.8
years. The percentage of black young women enrolled in college in-
creased nearly 3~/2 fold between 1964 and 1974, while that of white
young women a little more than doubled. There is still much to be done,
nevertheless, to assure the equalization of education with respect to
quality.
Despite remaining inequities, there ha.s been a very important gain
made by nonwhite women in recent years which should be stressed. Al-
though, as previously indicated, the gap between the median earnings
of men and women for year-round, full-time work has been widen-
ing, the gap between the earnings of white and nonwhite women work-
ers has been closing rapidly. In 1939, the median year-round, full-time
earnings of nonwhite women were 38 percent those of white women. By
1975, the ratio had risen to 96 percent, reflecting diminishing racial dif-
ferences in the relative occupational opportunities of the two groups
of women. Measured in 1975 dollars, the earnings of nonwhite women
for year-round, full-time work increased nearly sixfold from $1,267
in 1969 to $7,237 in 1975.
V. UNEMPLOYMENT AND TEENAGERS
No group has a larger stake in full employment than teenaged youth.
During 1976, 19 percent of 16-to-19-year-olds were officially recorded
as out of work, or nearly one out of five. The rate was 37 percent for
minority teenagers, with the rate for minority girls being 31/2 per-
centage points higher than for boys. These rates are even more seri-
ously understated than those for adults, beca.use the doors of employ-
ment opportunities are more tightly closed against young people than
others. A large proportion of them see no point in pounding the pave-
ment futilely in search of nonexistent jobs, and hence go uncounted
among the unemployed.
Officially recorded youth unemployment has gTown worse during the
post World War II years. In the 1950's, it averaged 11.3 percent; in
the 1960's, 14.9 percent; during 1970-76, 16.8 percent; in 1q76, teen-
age unemployment was 24 percent higher than in 1970 and 56 Percellt
higher than in 1950.
To be a minority teenager and female has added areatiy to the
hazards of unemployment during the past 25 years. Their recorded
unemployment rose from 15 percent in 1950 to 31.2 percent in 1965. and
to 39 percent in 1976. During the past 26 years as a whole. the. unem-
ployrnent rate for minority girls averaged 25 percent higher than for
minority boys aged 16 to 19, and was more than double that for white
girls in that age group.
Including those no longer actively searching for a job. at least one
out of every two nonwhite teenage girls who need and want jobs re-
mains out of work at the present time. This is a miserable way ~o enter
PAGENO="0043"
35
into adult life in this the richest Nation in the world, a country fully
capable of providing jobs for all. The consequences of years of idle-
ness are appalling to consider, not only for young women, but for
society as a whole. Rising teenage unemployment is closely associated
with rising juvenile crime rates and higher rates of teenage pregnancy
and illegitimate births. To deprive these young people of the chance to
use their abilities, `to earn income, to get a toehold on the ladder of eco-
nomic opportunity, and to feel needed, is a tragic and unconscionable
human waste our Nation can no longer afford nor continue to tolerate.
It will take years for many young people to recover from this current
period of intensive job deprivation. Many may never do so.
VI. SOME CHALLENGES TO ACTION
If national economic policies were adopted to reduce unemployment
to 4 percent by mid-1981, (3 percent for adults aged 20 and over) about
9 million jobholders would be added to the labor force, over and above
the number employed in 1976.
Based on trends.during the post-'World War II years, an estimated
60 to 65 percent of these jobs would be available to women, for women
represent a very large part of the reservoir of potential workers on
which a fully growing `economy could draw. Unemployment among
women, both as recorded officially and hidden, would be reduced far
more percentagewise than among men. Welfare outlays would diminish
sharply, for many women now on public assistance would want em-
ployment and would be able to obtain it. Healthy rates of ecOnomic
growth would also encourage wage gains for those now earning sub-
sistence wages, the majority of whom are women.
Women would benefit by increased employment not only for them-
selves, but also for unemployed husbands and secondary members of
their families. Higher gains in real wages would also occur in a fuller
employment economy, as distinguished from a highly unemployed one.
Optimum real economic growth (about 6 percent annual average,
1976-80), would sharply reduce unemployment, and higher real
wages would 80011 bring a large proportion of those now living in
poverty well above the poverty line.
When workers are in growing demand, women will have far better
opportunities to compete for promotion and for entry into the labor
force at higher levels. While the achievement of full employment
would help greatly to redress current inequities, strong nondiscrimi-
natory employment policies would need to be written into whatever
job development programs were to be enacted to achieve recovery
goals.
Improvement in a number of specific areas would do much to ad-
vance women's employment-_both qualitatively aild quantitatively__
whether or not we achieve full employment. The most important areas
include anticliscrimination measures, child care, part-time work,
changes in social security laws and the equal rights amendment.
A good start would be to implement more effectively the antidis-
crimination legislation and orders which already exist. This includes
title VII of the Civil Right~s Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 as
amended by Executive Order 11375 to eliminate employment discrim-
PAGENO="0044"
36
ination by Government contractors, the Age Discrimination Act of
1967, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which requires nondiscriminatory
employment policy for qualified handicapped individuals, and other
measures against job discrimination in specific occupations and in-
dustries. Amendments to title VII in 1972 created an Equal Employ-
ment Opportunities Council to develop agreements and consistent
policies for the large number of Federal agencies involved. Some sig-
nificant gains resulted, but there is still cause for concern about con-
tinuing functional overlap and inadequate implementation.
The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission which admin-
isters title VII has fallen far behind in processing complaints of dis-
crimination. It is reported that a backlog of more than 150,000 cases
has piled up, with the avei~age complaint pending for more than 2
years.
Numerous investigations of alleged irregularities and mismanage-
ment are in process. It might be more useful to appoint a special
Presidential Commission to make an all-inclusive review of the pres-
ent practices under title VII and other anticliscrimination laws and
regulations with a view to recommending consolidation of responsi-
bilities and elimination of overlapping functions.
The U.S. Civil Rights Commission, it should be noted, has recom-
mended the consolidation of all Federal equal employment enforce-
ment organizations into a single new agency to be called the National
Employment Rights Board. It would have both litigative and admin-
istrative authority to enforce one law banning job discrimination in
the private sector on the basis of sex, color, religion, age and handi-
cap. Since legislative review and rewrite is clearly essential, this
should be given a high order of congressional priority.
The elimination of employment discrimination should be far more
vigorously pursued in both the private and public sectors. There are
many agencies in the Federal Government which have poor records
regarding the hiring and promotion of women. Monitoring of current
practices, whicli has become lax. should be improved. The Congress
itself should examine equality for women employed within its own
jurisdiction and should take early corrective action. Strong and effec-
tively monitored guidelines to eliminate sex discrimination in connec-
tion with revenue sharing are also needed.
Child care is a second area of importance in lowering barriers which
limit the work opportunities of women. An increase in Federal ap-
propriations could improve and expand day care services for the chil-
dren of working mothers; subsidies would help bring these services
within the reach of women in the lower and moderate income brackets.
The Federal Government has an obligation to children and their
families to improve standards of both federally funded and non-
funded day care facilities. Every child has a right to be protected
against the hazards inherent in seriously substandard out-of-home
care.
Greater availability of part-time jobs and flexible work hours is a
third area of importance to women workers. This would expand em-
ployment opportunities for many women who are presently full-time
homemakers, as well as for the elderly and the handicapped. It is
vital that the Federal Government itself serve as a pace setter and
provide an example to private employers in these areas.
PAGENO="0045"
37
A fourth challenge to action is the need to amend the social security
system to assure equity for women and men. One existing inequity
affects working wives who contribute to the social security system
and earn their own benefit rights. On retirement, they are entitled to
those benefits, or to half their husbands', whichever is larger. Often
the earned benefits are smaller. In such cases, women's contributions
to the system give them no greater entitlement than wives who have
never been employed. Women workers have reason to feel they are en-
titled to more because of the contributions they have paid. Further-
more, even if a working wife's earnings entitled her to a benefit some-
what larger than she would have received as a dependent, she will have
paid a disproportionately high tax for that extra amount.
Another type of social security inequity concerns a retired man and
wife, both of whom have worked. They may receive less in benefits
than a single earner family in which the breadwinner had the same
total earnings and paid no more in social security taxes. Still another
example is a retired man and wife, both of whom have worked, but
who may have paid more in social security taxes; nevertheless, they
receive less in benefits than a single earner family which had lower
total earnings.
Early passage of the Equal Rights Amendment in the three addi-
tional States, necessary to write the amendment into the Constitution,
would greatly assist in lowering remaining discriminatory barriers,
and is a major national goal.
Reference was made earlier to the fact that women workers in a
severely slack economy become the subject of conflicting pressures be-
tween the seniority system on the one hand and equal employment
rights on the other. The seniority system provides very essential pro-
tection to all workers. It should not be weakened, although affirmative
employment action must be vigorously pursued. It has become in-
creasingly clear that the full reconcilia.tion of seniority protection and
affirmative employment action can only be achieved when there are
sufficient jobs for everyone. There is no adequate solution in rationing
scarce jobs, but only in achieving jobs in abundance. Full employ-
ment is thus vital.
Other targets for action include education and training, vocational
guidance, the rights of homemakers and credit and insurance practices.
Continuing high levels of economic activity would enlarge our na-
tional capacity to meet human needs. If measures are enacted to assure
the achievement of close to full employment by mid-1981, more peo-
ple will have jobs, more people will earn more money, workers,
businessmen, farmers, all people will prosper. Accordingly, our gov-
ernments, Federal, State and local, will take in more in revenues
without increased tax rates. If we achieve the needed rate of growth
in the economy averaging annually about 6 percent during the 4 years
1977 through 1980, GNP over this period would be about 440 billion
1976 dollars higher, and total man- and woman-years of employment
would be about 9 million higher. Consequently, Federal receipts at
existing tax rates would be about $150 to $180 billion higher during
the same 4-year period. Coupling this with the reductions in Federat
outlays for unemployment insurance and other unemployment-related
costs, it is easy to see how much more would be available for the great
PAGENO="0046"
38
national priority programs which mean so much to women, among
others.
Women especially have a tremendous stake in translating this
Fotential into actuality. A small part of a gain of this magnitude
would finance a large part of the national health insurance program
we so urgently need. It would make possible significant increases in
social security. It would go far toward improving housing and com-
munity development. Polluted land, air and water could be im-
proved; increased outlays for education, day care and income supports
for those in need and unable to work would be possible. All this and
much more would be feasible-including hal ancing the Federal budget
by 1980 or 1981.
One final point should be made. Unfortunately, a number of people
appear to have taken the position that women entering the labor
force should be regarded as "different" from men. Instead of focus-
ing on how to provide more and better jobs for women, they argue
that women-and teenagers too-are less in need of jobs than men,
less serious about obtaining them, and less constant in holding them
when attained. Consequently, these people argue that we should ac-
cept a higher percentage of overall unemployment than years ago,
when the ratio of women to men holding jobs was much lower than
today.
This position is demeaning to women. Whether women need jobs
less than men, or relate differently to the labor force, is not demon-
strable and is entirely beside the point. On social, moral and civil
grounds, anyone able, willing, and seeking to work has the right to
work. This is good for the individual and good for our society. On
purely economic grounds, we should overcome all objections to and
fear of genuine full employment. The need of our economy and our
people for goods and services will far exceed even our great capa-
bilities for the foreseeable future. Desirable increases in income and
living standards through private economic expansion have no ar-
bitrary limitations. Public goods and services in high priority areas are
woefully short of pressing needs. Our international obligations con-
tinue to demand a large share of our total national product. For many
years.to come, we will continue at best to have less than we legitimately
aspire to. The theory that contrived scarcity is the way to restrain
inflation or to balance the Federal budget has been tried and has failed.
We must commit ourselves, and especially our national policies, to a
new era of abundance, justly shared.
We have the means and the knowledge to assure jobs for all who
need and want them, to end recurrent recessions, and to eliminate dis~
crimination and inequities in employment, as well as in other aspects
of our national life. We need only the will and the galvanizing of the
national conscience toward these ends.
MAJoR SOtTRCES OF STATISTICAL DATA USED
1. "Employment and Earnings," December 1976 and earlier issues, (Washington,
D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics).
2. "Monthly Labor Review," December 1976 and earlier issues, (Washington,
D.C.: US. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics).
3. "Handbook of Labor Statistics," 1974, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of
Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics).
PAGENO="0047"
39
4. "1975 Handbook on Women Workers," (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department
of Labor, Employment Standards Administration, Women's Bureau), bul-
letin 297.
5. "Money Income in 1974 of Families and Persons in the United States," current
population reports-consumer income, series P-GO, No. 101, January 1970,
(Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census).
6. "Money Income and Poverty Status of Families and Persons in the United
States": 1975 and 1974 Revisions (Advance Report), current population
reports-consumer income, series P-GO, No. 100, September 1976, (Wash-
ington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census).
7. "Female Family Heads," current population reports-special studies, series
P-23, No. 50, July 1974, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce,
Bureau of the Census).
8. Current population reports, series P-50, Nos. 22 and 29, (Washington, D.C.:
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census).
9. Special labor force reports, Nos. 13, 130, 173, 183, (Washington, D.C.: U.S.
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics).
10. Economic indicators, monthly issues, prepared for the Joint Economic Com-
mittee by Council of Economic Advisers, Washington, D.C.
PAGENO="0048"
ON THE WAY TO FULL EQUALITY
B~ IsABEL V. SAWHILL°
CONTENTS
Page
I. Employment policies 41
A. Macroeconomic policy 42
1. Effect of fear of inflation 44
2. Impact of rate of economic recovery on women's em-
ployment prospects 45
B. Microeconomic policy 46
1. Transition programs for inexperienced workers 46
2. Job segregation and price stability 47
3. Job seniority 48
II. Why employment policies are not enough 49
A. Coping with dual responsibilities at home and at work 50
B. Modifying existing policies which are based on outmoded as-
sumptions about sex roles 51
C. Protecting the homemaker 52
D. Creating options for younger women 54
III. Conclusions 56
Bibliography 57
Women have a long way to go before they achieve equality with men.
Nevertheless, they are on the way, and it is quite certain that the tide
will not be turned. Motivated by a. new set of aspirations and needs.
they are seeking a more favorable position in the social structure. often
challenging or modifying the fundamental nature. of that structure in
the process. Society cannot help but respond. It is the nature of the
response that is in question.
Perhaps the major prerequisite to equality is economic independence.
With economic independence comes the power to influence events,
greater self-reliance, and the satisfaction of contributing one's talents
or resources to the world at large. These are the psychological rewards
which are pulling women toward more autonomous roles. At the same
time, a new set of social and economic realities is also pushing them
toward greater economic independence. These realities include a rising
divorce rate which means that women cannot. necessarily rely on mar-
riage to provide lifelong economic security, an increasing lifespan be-
yond the childrearing years which leaves older women underemployed
at home, and the increasing pressure to have two earners in the family
in order to achieve a more adequate standard of living.
* These developments have profound implications for both indivici-
uals and social institutions, especially the institution of the family.
Public policies need to be shaped with these fundamental aiid far-
reaching changes in mind. In what follows, I have attempted to lay out
a variety of the policy issues which need to be addressed. The discus-
*Senior research associate, Urban Institute, Washington. D.C.
(40)
PAGENO="0049"
41
sion draws heavily on work recently completed by a group of my
Urban Institute colleagues who are studying the issues.' It centers first
on employment policies. But since women's role in the labor market
cannot be viewed in isolation from their role within the family or the
polity, it then goes on to ask what role policy should play, if any, in
meeting a number of other challenges. These challenges include (1) the
need to find new ways of dealing with the pressures facing the two-
earner family, (2) the need to redesign a variety of existing laws and
practices which assume women are men's dependents-laws which have
been rendered obsolete by women's new commitment to work outside
the home, (3) the need to simultaneously provide dignity and financial
security for homemakers and (4) the need to help younger men and
women make more informed choices about marriage, childbearing, and
careers-choices which will greatly affect not only their own lives, but
also tile kind of society which emerges in the next century.
I. EMPLOYMENT POLICIES
It is, of course, possible that women's steady march out of the
home and into the labor force is a short-lived or reversible phe-
nomenon. How much momentum is there to this trend? When will it
level off-as eventually it must? While no one can say with any pre-
cision what the future will hold, there are reasons for believing that
the rate at which women participate in the labor force will continue
its upward trend. First, there has been a remarkable shift in attitudes
about women's roles. To take just one example, the proportion of
female high school graduates who agreed with the statement "it is
much better for everyone involved if the man is the achiever outside
the home and the woman takes care of the home and the family" fell
from 75 percent in 1970 to 55 percent in 1974. Among female college
graduates, this proportion fell from 46 percent in 1970 to 21 percent
in 1974.2 In addition to such shifts in ideology, there have been a
number of longer run demographic and economic changes which are
also likely to affect the number of women seeking to enter the labor
market. One such shift is in the timing of births an.d deaths. Women
born in the 1880's could expect the marriage of their last child to
coincide with their own or their spouse's death around age 56 or 57.
Women born in the 1940's can expect their last child to marry before
they are 50 and their own lifespan to extend well into their seventies.~
Thus, the "empty nest" is a relatively new phenomenon, but if fertility
rates continue to decline, tile nests of the future will be still smaller
and could empty out even faster than at present.
In addition, approximately 1 out of every 3 members of this more
recent generation (i.e., women currently in their thirties) can be
expected to end their first marriage in divorce.~ And, even if they
remain married, the pressure to contribute their own earnings to fam-
1 These colleagues Include Ralph Smith, Nancy Gordon, Kristin Moore, and Carol A.
Jones, who are the "hidden authors" of this paper. The views expressed here, however,
are my own and do not represent the opinions of the Urban Institute or Its sponsors.
2 Karen Oppenheim Mason, John Czojka, and Sara Arber, "Change in U.S. Women's
Sex-Role Attitudes, 1964-74" (University of MichIgan, August 1975).
`Karl E. Taeuber and James A. Sweet, "Family and Work-: The Social Life Cycle of
Women," in "Women and the American Economy," Juanita M. Kreps, ed. (Englewood
Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1976).
Paul Glick and Arthur Norton, "Perspectives on the Recent Upturn in Divorce and
Remarriage," Demography, vol. 10, No. 3 (August 1973).
91-6S6--77----4
PAGENO="0050"
42
ily income will increase as the standard of living which a two-earner
family can enjoy becomes more common and invites greater emulation.
By March 1975, 49 percent of all husband-wife families had both
spouses in the labor force.5 In short, the old assumptions that every
male job can support a family and that every female can count on
being a wife and mother for a lifetime have weakened. Thus, even
where women have not been touched by the promises of feminist
ideals-and many have not-they are increasingly faced with the
challenge of earning their own living or of contributing to family
income. Once in the work force, many may find the psychological as
well as the financial rewards of working compelling. When a sample
of 443 employed women was asked if they would continue to work for
pay even if they had enough money to live as comfortably as they'd
like for the rest of their lives, 59 percent said they would remain in
the labor force.6
Given these trends, the question facing policymakers is whether the
increasing number of women who need or want to work out.side the
home will be able to find employment. The answer depends on both the
overall level of demand in the economy and the extent to which the
composition of that demand meshes with the composition of the avail-
able labor force. Employment policies have a major role to play in
determining the outcome.
A. Macroeconomic Policy
Looking first at the overall level of demand, what are the chances
that it will be sufficient to absorb a growing labor force ~ One idea,
which appears to be an article of faith among much of the public, is
that there are a fixed number of j ohs in the economy and that if women
get these jobs, men will suffer. This concern is reminiscent of the debate
in the early 1960's about technological unemployment. It was argued
then that machines were replacing human labor and that this would
lead to chronic unemployment. Similarly, the new popular wisdom
argues that as women move from home to marketplace, there will be a
glut of workers competing for a limited number of jobs. How much
truth is there to such contentions ~
Unless one has lost all fa.ith in the ability of monetary and fiscal
policy to generate a growing number of jobs to match the needs of a
growing labor force, then, at a general level, such fears seem to be mis-
placed. At the same time, there is some basis for these concerns. First,
it is true that rapid changes in the number of people seeking jobs are
likely to overtax the short-run capacity of labor markets to absorb
them. Even when there is a sufficient number of jobs in the aggregate,
the difficult process of matching existing vacancies with the charac-
teristics of job seekers is bound to leave some workers unemployed
and some employers with unfilled vacancies. One cannot use an English
This statistic excludes families in which the husband was not employed. 75.5. Denart-
mont of Labor. Employment and Training Administration, "Emuloyment and Training
Report of the President" (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 197d1. table
B-P Howard Hayge, "Families and the Rise of Working Wives-An Overview." Snecial
Labor Force Report 1S9. ILS. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (Wash-
in~ton. D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1976).
6 Angus Campbell, Philip B. Converse, and Willard L. Rodgers, "The Quality of Ameri-
can Life: Perceptions, Evaluations, and Satisfactions" (New York: Russell Sage Founda-
lion, 1976).
PAGENO="0051"
43
teacher as a computer programer, or vice versa. Second, future in-
creases in the rate at which women participate in the labor force may
not be correctly anticipated, and if underestimated, the result may be
inadequate macroeconomic stimulus and a shortfall in aggregate
demand.
Full employment is a moving target; it takes a growing number of
jobs to provide for a growing labor force, and women are currently
the prime movers of the target. If past trends can be used as a guide,
then 6 out of every 10 net additions to the labor force over the next
decade will be female. But this is a conservative estimate. The rate at
which women have been entering the labor force has been accelerating.
Between 1947 and 1965, their participation rate rose from 32 percent
to 39 percent. During the past decade alone, their participation rate
has risen another 7 points, to 46 percent~ or as much as in the preceding
18 years.7 And, during the recent recession and recovery, participation
rates remained higher than would have been predicted on the basis of
behavior during past downturns, catching most economics and macro-
economic planners by surprise. In fact, the unexpected. rate at which
women have continued to enter the labor force appears to have been
partly responsible for the failure of the unemployment rate to fall
more quickly during the recovery from the 1974-75 recession.8 One
thin~ which is clearly needed, then, is better forecasts of the size of
the female labor force in order to prevent costly mistakes in macro-
economic policy. That need is currently not being met. The main source
of labor force projections is the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These
nrojections have consistently underestimated the growth in the female
labor forbe. For example, in 1973 BLS published a set of projections
that includes a participation rate for women in 1980 that was ex-
ceeded in 1974.~
As an example of what could happen, suppose that policy planners
were to extrapolate the growth of the female labor force on the basis
of trends observed during the late sixties and early seventies.'° Under
these condit.ions, the female participation rate is predicted to be 51.5
percent by 1980, and a 6 percent rate of growth in real GNP would
bring the aggregate unemployment rate down to 4.5 percent by the
end of the decade. If, however, there were a million additional women
wishing to work (bringing their participation rate up to 52.7 percent
by 1980), with the same growth in aggregate demand, the unemploy-
ment rate would be 4.9 percent instead of 4.5 percent by 1980. Our
research suggests that the "extra" unemployment generated by this
unexpected labor market participation would probably be more or less
equally shared between men and women since many men would be
displaced by the availability of a much larger supply of female work-
ers. The lesson to be learned from this hypotheticaT calculation is
"Employment and training report of the President," 1976. table A-i.
8 Ralph Smith, "Unemployment and Labor Force Growth" (Washington, D.C.: Urban
Institute, October 1976).
D. F. Johnson, "The U.S. Labor Force: Projections to 1990," Special Labor Force
Pen~rt 156 (Wasliinrton. D.C.: U.S. Denartment of Labor. 19731. cccl C. T. fl~ivp~n~ ~nc1
T. H. Morland, "Revised Projections for the U.S. Economy to 1980 and 1985," Monthly
Labor Review, vol. 99 (March 1976), up. 9-21.
10 The hypothetical set of calculations reported here were worked out by Ralph Smith,
using the Urban Institute's labor market model. For details see Ralph Smith, "The Impact
of Macroeconomic Conditions on Employment Opportunities for Women," nrenared for
the U.S. Congress, Joint Economic Committee. series on "Achieving the Goals of the
Employment Act of 1946-30th Anniversary Review" (Washington, D.C.: Government
Printing Office, Jan. 3, 1977).
PAGENO="0052"
44
clear; more accurate forecasts of the size of the female labor force is
one prerequisite to the effective implementation of macroeconomic
policy.
1. EFFECT OF FEAR OF INFLATION
But let us assume that the growth in the potential female labor
force (that is, the number of women who would want to work if the
economy were at full employment) will be anticipated with some
success and turn our attention instead to the adequacy of aggregate
demand. It is, of course, the fear of inflation which largely inhibits
the full utilization of macroeconomic measures to achieve or maintain
full employment. While inflation can impose hardships on certain
groups and lead to economic distortions, the costs of a sluggish or
depressed economy may be even higher-both in terms of the lost out-
put which idle workers could be producing, or in terms of the human
costs associated with loss of income, impaired self-esteem, and disap-
pointed aspirations. We Imow that these latter costs are unevenly
distributed. What portion of the costs is borne by women? Some an-
swers have been provided by my colleague, Ralph Smith.11 His find-
ings can be summarized as follows. During the 1974-75 recession, the
number of people unemployed rose by 3.6 million; of these 38 percent
were women a.nd 62 percent were men. In addition, it is estimated that
another 0.9 million people would have been looking for work had job
prospects been more encouraging. Adding these discouraged workers
to the unemployed gives an estimate of 4.5 million people left jobless
by the recession. Of these, 40 percent were women and 60 percent were
men. Since women held 39 percent of the total jobs in the economy
at the start of the recession, it does not appear that they suffered dis-
proportionately. Rather, one could conclude from these figures that
the recession was an equal opportunity disemployer.
Smith's analysis indicates that the main reason women did not do
worse is because the recession struck hardest at industries and occupa-
tions in which few women are employed. Jobs in the construction and
durable goods industries declined substantially; neither industry had
many women on their payrolls. The major sources of jobs for women-
retail trade and services-were least affected by the recession. Had the
recession struck all industries with equal force, about 500,000 more
women would have lost jobs. So a more pessimistic interpretation is
that the recession was an equal opportunity disemployer only because
of the occupational segregation of the labor force. In terms of main-
taining their share `of jobs in each industry or occupation, women
failed to do so. Our research suggests that this was more because women
entering the labor force had difficulty finding jobs rather than because
women already employed were laid off in large numbers.
Women's employment share rose~ of course, in some industries, but
declined in others. The most notable decline occurred in the durable
goods manufacturing sector. In that industry-where massive layoffs
occurred and where seniority rules prevailed-women lost about 100,-
000 more jobs in 1975 than they would have if `the employment losses
had been proportionate to previous employment.
~1 Smith, "The Impact of Macroeconomic Conditions."
PAGENO="0053"
45
2. IMPACT OF RATE OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY ON WOMEN'S EMPLOYMENT
PROSPECTS
Smith h-as also looked at the likely impact of the rate at which the
economy recovers from the recession on women's employment pros-
pects for the rest of the decade. He compares two alternative recovery
paths, which correspond to the two sets of macroeconomic assumptions
used by the Congressional Budget Office to make budget estimates
through fiscal year 1981.12 Under path A, which assumes a 6-percent
growth rate in real GNP, the unemployment rate would fall from 8.5
percent in 1975 to 4.5 percent in 1980; under path B, which assumes a
5-percent growth rate in real GNP, the unemployment rate would still
be above 6 percent in 1980.
As indicated in table 1, -a relatively sluggish recovery would have
more impact on the male than on the female unemployment rate.13
Under path B the male unemployment rate would be ~.1 percentage
points higher and the female unemployment rate only 1.4 percentage
points higher than under path A. But a comparison of their )obless
rates-which measure both discouragement and unemployment-leads
one to quite a different conclusion. Under path B, the male jobless rate
would be 2.3 percentage 1~oints higher and the female jobless rate
3.3 percentage points higher than under path A. What these numbers
mean, in short, is that if fears of inflation or other factors lead to a
timid application of macroeconomic policy and if this retards the
recovery, many women who would have otherwise worked will not
have the opportunity to do so. Some, but by no means all, of these
women will join the ranks of the unemployed. The rest will join the
ranks of discouraged housewives, students, welfare recipients, early
retirees, and just plain dropouts from the system. For the individuals
involved, the financial and emotional toil entailed is difficult to esti-
mate, but likely would be considerable. For society as a whole, there
would be a loss of output and of the tax revenues which additional
growth produces.
TABLE 1.-EFFECTS OF ALTERNATIVE MACROECONOMIC SCENARIOS ON MEN AND WOMEN
[Effects of rapid (6 percent) versus slow growth (5 percent) in real GNP; assuming past trends in the labor force
participation rates of women continue in the futurel
Percentage
Path A rapid Path B slow point
growth growth difference
-- *~_._ -- .___
Estimated unemployment rate for 1980:
Female 5.4 6.8 1.4
Male 3.8 5.9 2.1
Total 4.5 6.3 1.8
Estimated jobless rate for 1980:
Female 6.2 9.5 3.1
Male 4.1 6.4 2.3
Total 5.0 7.7 2.7
Ia "Five-Year Budget Projections, Fiscal Years 1977-81" (Washington. D.C.: Concres-
sionsl Budget Office, Jan. 20, 1970). These are not predictions of future economic
conditions.
13 Working women's share of the gains from the recovery wlll depend. as already Indi-
cated, on the extent to which the proportion of women seeking to participate in the paid
labor force continues to rise. It will also depend on their success in entering new fields, as
discussed in the next section of this paper. The estimates presented in table 1 abstract from
these two kinds of changes; they are based on a labor market model which implicitly
assumes that past trends and patterns In the employment of men and women will continue.
PAGENO="0054"
46
B. Mici'oeconornic Policy
Even assuming a more healthy recovery along growth path A, the
overall unemployment rate would still be 4.5 percent by 1980 and con-
siderably higher than this among women and other disadvantaged
groups. However, any attempt to push the unemployment rate still
lower by macroeconomic means alone would probably involve an un-
acceptable degree of inflation. In fact, these inflationary pressures may
well reassert themselves long before even this low level of Tmemploy-
ment is achieved. It will be important, then, to supplement fiscal and
monetary policy with a more selective set of employment or income
(wage-price) policies. One can more successfully navigate between
the Scylla and Charybdis of inflation and unemployment if an ap-
propriate set of structural measures can be designed and implemented.
On the employment side, these measures need to be targeted at groups
with above-average unemployment rates: Teenagers, women, and
minorities. With the possible exception of minorities, one characteristic
these groups have in common is a lack of recent labor market experi-
ence. Rather than moving from one job to another, these groups must
make the more difficult transition from school to work or from work
in the home to work in the market. That this is a much more im-
portant reason for female than for male unemployment is indicated
in table 2. Moreover, during periods of relatively full employment,
people attempting these transitions usually account for about half
of those who are out of work. In 1973, for example, when the total
unemployment rate was 4.9 percent, the proportion of the unem-
ployed who were new entrants or reentrants to the labor force was 46
percent.14 Granted that this transition is difficult, that it affects
women more than men, and that it becomes an increasingly important
factor for unemployment as economic conditions improve, what can
be done about the problem?
TABLE 2-1975 UNEMPLOYMENT RATES BY REASON FOR UNEMPLOYMENT
Adult male
Adult female
Total unemployment rate
Lost last job
6.7
8. 0
Left last job
5. 1
4.0
Reentered labor force
.6
1.1
Never worked before
1.0
. 1
2.6
.3
Source: "Employment and Training Report of the President," 1976, table A-25.
1. TRANSITiON PROGRAMS FOR INEXPERIENCED WORKERS
One approach would be to establish special employment programs
for inexperienced workers-programs designed to ease the transition
into the labor force. For example, special apprenticeships at below--
market wage rates might be established in a wide variety of fields. The
lower wages would provide an incentive for employers to hire and
train thexperienced workers. The Government's role could be confined
to certifying the training component and duration of the programs,
encouraging their development (perhaps through demonstration pro-
14 "Employment and Training Report of the President," 1976. table A-20.
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47
grams or modest subsidy of development costs), and removing possible
barriers to the payment of below-market wages, including in some
cases, wages below the legal minimum. This proposal has much in com-
mon with the idea of creating a youth differential in the minimum
wage, except that it incorporates a more explicit training component
and is targeted at all inexperienced workers, not just teenagers. Older
women entering the labor force after a lengthy absence might be prime
beneficiaries, for example. As with the minimum wage proposal. how-
ever, some concern would undoubtedly be voiced about. the possible dis-
placement effects for experienced workers and more thought would
need to be given to the eligibility requirements for entry into the pio-
gram and its possible direct and indirect effects.
If properly structured, special apprenticeship programs could also
help women to acquire the necessary on-the-job training to break into
new fields. Certainly, women's future employment prospects are likely
to depend as much on the composition of demand as on the overall rate
of growth in economic activity. Thus, we need to know which occlTpa-
tions are likely to expand most rapidly, and whether women will be
ready to move into nontraditional fields. The existing occupational
segregation of the male and female work force has been well docu-
mented. It is the primary reason for women's lower pay and may also
increase their unemployment. Although some of the segregation may
be related to women's less continuous work history, a great deal of it
appears to be a direct result of cultural stereotypes which affect both
employers' and women's attitudes in a mutually reinforcing fashion.
2. JOB SEGREGATION AND PRICE STABILITY
To understand the importance of this issue for the future, assume
for simplicity that the economy is divided into just two occupations;
one (which we can call M) is reserved for men and the other (which
we can call F) is reserved for women. Now assume that 5 out of every
10 new job openings are in M and 5 in F, but that 6 out of every 10
new workers coming into the labor force is female. Clearly, this would
lead to an upward pressure on male employment and wage rates and
a corresponding downward pressure on female employment and wage
rates-a-unless women seek jobs and are permitted or encouraged to
work in the male sector. Moreover, since the upward pressure on male
wage rates is likely to be greater than the downward pressure on
female wage rates (because of institutional rigidities which inhibit
employers from cutting wages), such imbalances are likely to increase
wages and prices, even before all resources are fully employed. Thus,
occupational segregation makes it more difficult to simultaneously
achieve full employment and price stability through macroeconomic
measures.
The above scenario assumes that female jobs will not expand as
rapidly as the female labor force. The reverse is also quite possible, but
since the great majority of new workers will almost certainly be
women, the demand-supply balance is likely to favor men unless there
is rapid growth in the female sector of the job market or significant
new job opportunities for women in nontraditional fields. Whatever
the case, both a well-functioning economy and greater equality for
PAGENO="0056"
48
women require breaking down the sex-typing of occupations. There
will be debate about whether this is best accomplished through affirma-
tive action programs, through counseling adolescent women, or
through a general shift in socialization practices which affect. even
very young children, but probably all three will need to play a. role.
The time frames in which they will be effective are, of course, very
different.
Affirmative action programs may have the smallest direct impact
but one which is a.t least immediate. IJnfortuna.tely, the effectiveness
of these programs has been undermined by administrative inefficiency.
the inadequacy of resource.s committed to enforcement, and a misal-
location of these limited resources to the processing of individual cases
rather than to rooting' out endemic patterns and practices of disc.rirni-
nation.15 If implemented properly, the longer i-un effects of these equal
opportunity programs are potentially great. The kind of incremental
progress which is currently taking place under their auspices becomes
the basis for a cumulative and more fundamental change in attitudes.
3. JOB SENIORITy
Finally, it is important. to note that. the leve.l of overall demand and
the composition of employment interact in a. number of important
ways. We have already seen that women did not fare too badly during
the recent recession because of their occupational and industrial dis-
tribution. As they move into male-dominated industries which are
more cyclically sensitive, the operation of seniority systems in these
industries will put a much la.rge.r fraction of the female labor force
in the unenviable position of being the first to be laid off. One way to
reconcile the current conflict between seniority and equal opportunity
goals is to find `alternatives to the use of seniority systems. such as
staggered layoffs or across-the-board reductions in hours and pay for
all employees. This has been tried quite successfully in a. number of
companies or loca.l government agencies.16
Such arrangements not oniy seem fairer from an equal opportunity
perspective but offer a number of other possible advantages as well.
Employers may find that reductions in time worked enhance. hourly
productivity, and unless offset by higher costs for mandated fringe
benefits, or the lower productivity of less experience.d workers, this
could even reduce unit labor costs. Employees, for their part. may find
that shorter hours, even at less pay, dovetail well with their own
preferences for leisure over income or with competing demands on
their time, such as child care responsibilit.ies or continuing education.
In the past, cyclically induced declines in hours worked have been
a principal catalyst for a secular decline in the length of the standard
workweek.1T The recent UAW settlement with the Ford Motor Co.,
points up the growing demand for a shorter workweek. In this case,
shorter hours are being' demanded with no cut in pay. Over the long
run, such settlements ultimately mean less total output, `and thus, less
17 Barbara R. Bergmann, "Rer1ucin~ the Pervasiveness of Discrimination" in "Jobs for
Americans", Eli Ginsberg. ccl. (Englewoocl Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. 1976).
~° U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, "Last Hired, First Fired: Layoffs and Civil Rights,"
draft report, October 1976.
17 Juanita M. Kreps. "Some Time Dimensions of Manpower Policy." in "Jobs for Ameri-
cans", Eli Gin~berg, ed. (Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall, 1076).
PAGENO="0057"
49
real income for the workers involved. But workers do not lose their
jobs in the process, and this is an important point, because there is
growing evidence that it is one's employment status rather than one's
income which is most highly correlated with such things as a positive
outlook on life, social integration, good health, and family stabil~ty.'8
One reason there is a critical need to find new strategies for deal-
ing with the equal opportuiiity implications of seniority based lay-
ofFs in periods of high unemployment is because relatively little new
hiring takes place when the economy is depressed. And, since affir-
mative action has traditionally operated through the hiring process,
progress for women and minorities is likely to be slowed, halted, or
even reversed if few or no new hires are taking place. In short, even
the best enforced affirmative action programs will not be terribly
successful in a no-growth economy.
To summarize, women's move toward greater economic independ-
ence depends on the simultaneous pursuit of two goals. First., there
must be a commitment to full employment and a growth rate ade-
quate to absorb all those who wish jobs. And second, there must be
a commitment to eliminate occupational barriers which lower wom-
en's earnings and employment opportunities and contribute to infla-
tionary pressures. Pursuit of either of these goals in isolation from
the other is likely to frustrate women's progress toward equality in
the labor market. Their progress toward equality will also depend
on the extent to which needed adjustments in, and redefinitions of,
traditional sex roles occur and on the wisdom with which public
policies impacting this broader area are designed. It is these policy
issues to which I now turn.
II. Wmr EMPLOYMENT PoLiciEs ARE NOT ENoUGH
Although more employment opportunities are a necessary pre-
requisite if women are to achieve greater economic independence,
they are not sufficient. Public policy must deal with the continuing
reality of an uneven division of responsibilities between men and
women for home and family life. It must also cope with the disloca-
tions which a rapid change in the actual or perceived status of worn-
eu imposes on individuals, laws, and social institutions. More specifi-
cally. the attention of the Congress and others might usefully be
directed to four areas.
First, we could develop policies which might help the growing
number of two-earner families cope with their dual responsibilities
at home and at work. Second, we could modify existing laws and
policies which are obsolete because they assume female dependency
as the norm. Third, we might simultaneously retain or design new
policies which would protect those individuals (mostly older wom-
en) who disproportionately bear the costs of past discrimination or
of having earlier adopted a socially approved pattern of depend-
ency. Finally, we cannot ignore those younger women, especially
among the poor and less well educated, whose life chances continue
18U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, op. cit.; M. Harvey Brenner. "Estimating the
Social Costs of National Economic Policy: Implications for Mental and Physical Health,
and Criminal Aggression," U.S. Congress, Joint Economic Committee (washington, D.C.:
Government Printing Office, 1976).
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50
to be constrained by their own often unrntencled or uninformed
investments in more traditional roles, including very early child-
bearing, early marriage, or choice of an overcrowded "woman's" field,
including "occupation housewife." Some discussion of these issues is
an essential part of the policy debate surrounding the increased
commitment of women to work outside the home. This commitment,
and our evaluation of it, hinges on the ability of individuals and
institutions, especially the institution of t.he family, to make the
needed adjustments.
A. Coping With Dual Responsibilities at Home and at Work
As long as women have two jobs-one at home and one in the
market-while men have only one, it will be impossible for women
to compete on an equal basis with men in the labor market. A great
deal of research has been devoted to showing the impact of women's
more discontinuous and limited work experience, their constrained
geographic mobility, and the shorter hours they work on their earn-
ings and occupational status. Moreover, time budget studies suggest
that women have less leisure, on the average, than men because of
their dual responsibilities. And, Perhaps most importantly of all,
we need to be concerned about what will happen to children as fewer
and fewer of them can count on the full-time care of one parent.
There are a number of possible solutions to the problems engendered
by the double burden of job and family which so many women now
face. One is greater male-female sharing of housework and child care,
with the division of responsibilities reflecting the true preferences and
abilities of the individuals involved rather than being culturally pre-
determined. A second is a trend toward smaller families, increased
childlessness, and a general deemphasizing of home-centered activities.
A third solution involves delegating the care of children and other
household tasks to more specialized institutions: schools, day-care cen-
ters, commercial cleaning establishments, restaurants, and so forth.
A fourth possibility would be to monetize the work which presently
takes place within the family, perhaps providing salaries to all those
who care for young children, as is currently done in Hungary, or pro-
viding vouchers which can be used for child care within or outside of
the home. Finally, new ways of organizing work in the market-such
as more flexible or shorter hours, more conveniently located workplaces,
and less emphasis on transferring employees to new geographic loca-
tions-could help to meet the needs of two-earner families. In the
confines of this paper it is not possible to even begiii to lay out all the
alternative policies which might be developed in these areas. their
costs and benefits, and their ultimate impact on social institutions and
people's behavior. Much more thought needs to be devoted to these
questions. But it is important that all possible alternatives be looked
at before social policy coalesces around any single approach or fails
to recognize the need for multipronged strategies. One alternative, of
course, is to do nothing new on the policy front. This alternative has
its own set of implications-neglected children? declining fertility?
lower female labor force participation? greater responsiveness of
private markets ?-which also need to be explored.
PAGENO="0059"
51
B. Modifying Existing Policies Which Are Based on Outnwded
Assumptions About Sex Roles
The number of policies and practices that have fallen into this cate-
gory are legion, although many are currently under attack or have
been recently changed in response to feminist demands, new legisla-
tion, or challenges in the courts. Examples include fringe benefit and
pension policies, child custody and support decisions in contested di-
vorces, jury and military service, protective labor laws, credit granting
practices, and so forth. Of particular significance, however, because
they dii~ectly affect the economic position of all individuals and fam-
ilies, are our social security and income tax laws. Although these laws
do not discriminate against women per se (except in the case of a few
minor provisions) they are structured in a way which favors families
in which there is a homemaking spouse over those with husband/wife
earners. Thus, individuals who do not pursue a lifetime of marriage to
one person, with each spouse performing his/her traditional roles, are
generally penalized.
More specifically, the social security system is plagued by two major
problems. First, since the Social Security Act was initially intro-
duced in the mid-thirties, the labor force participation of wives has
increased threefold, with the result that more and more women are
paying social security taxes. Yet most face the prospect of receiving
benefits no larger or only slightly larger than had they stayed home
and contributed nothing to the system. As the number of two-earner
couples increases, it is likely that they will eventually gain sufficient
political strength to rebel against what is essentially a subsidization of
households with dependent adults by those without them.
A second problem stems from the fact that women who devote their
lives to homemaking are not insured as individuals, but only as their
husbands' dependents, putting them in a vulnerable position should
their marriage end in divorce. If the traditional marriage is viewed
as an equal partnership to which each spouse contributes valuable
goods and services over some period of time, then they should both
share equally in the retirement benefits provided by the husband's earn-
ings over the same period. These retirement benefits need to be vested
in the individual rather than being conditional on continued "employ-
ment" as one man's wife.19
On the income tax front, the principal issue is whether two couples,
one consisting of two earners who receive $5,000 per year and one con-
sisting of one earner who receives $10,000 per year, are equivalent for
tax purposes. Currently, the tax system treats them as having equal
ability to pay, ignoring differences in their work-related expenses or
in their leisure time. It also tends to discourage wives from choosing
market over nonmarket work, since only the former is taxed. Finally,
because single individuals a.re eligible for lower tax rates than married
individuals, two individuals who each have a career and thus benefit
little from the income-splitting provisions of the current system, gen-
erally find that marriage increases their total tax bill.
A system of individually based income and payroll taxes-with no
dependents' benefits-would go a long way toward removing the cur-
19 Some alternative mechanisms for achieving needed reform in the social security sys-
tem are currently being explored by my colleague Nancy Gordon.
PAGENO="0060"
52
rent inequities between one- and two-earner families. It would, of
course, create incentives for people to marry or live together to the
extent that such living arrangements are economically more efficient
(that is, to the extent that two or more people can live together more
cheaply than they can live apart). Such incentives may be entirely ap-
propriate. Just as the tax system should encourage efficient forms of
business organization, so too it would encourage efficient living
arrangements. We do not give tax breaks to people who have pref-
erences for more expensive cars. Why then give tax breaks to people
who, for reasons of privacy or autonomy, wish to live in the more
expensive single person household?
On the other hand, an individually based social security and income
tax system would remove some of the advantages now afforded fam-
ilies with a nonemployed spouse: dependents' benefits under social Se-
curity and the partial subsidization of homemaker services which in-
come splitting currently provides. In effect, income splitting means
that the Government shares in the costs of supporting a dependent
wife, as any affluent bachelor who takes on a nonemployed wife Irnows.
Unless one wishes to encourage such dependency (perhaps because it is
sometimes associated with the provision of child care services), then
this subsidization is not appropriate. However, some grandfathering
in of current benefits and some mechanism to insure the dignity and
financial independence of the homemakers of the future-although iiot
necessarily at public expense-_deserves further exploration.
In conclusion, one of the challenges in reforming social security and
income tax laws is to eliminate current. inequities betweeii one- and
two-earner families while simultaneously maintaining some protec-
tions for those who have devoted some or all of their lives to home-
making. We turn now to a~ more extended discussion of tl~e relationship
between public policy and the status of the homemaker.
U. Protecting the Hon~emaker
Full-time homemaking is the ultimate form of occupational segrega-
tion; very few men have ever chosen this career. Perhaps if it were not
such an overcrowded and sex-linked field, it would have greater value
and prestige. In the meantime, one cannot ignore the needs of women
who have chosen this occupation as their life's work.
As long as a homemaker remains married she presumably contributes
her services to the family and shares in the standard of living wluch
her unpaid work and her husband's earnings provide. The financial
support which she receives is compensation for services rendered. In
this sense she is being "paid," although her "salary" may be largely de-
termineci by the success of her husband and Only loosely related to her
own efforts. The relationship between the two will depend on the extent
to which her own home-based efforts contribute to her husband's suc-
cess and on the extent to which competition in the marriage market
matches higher-earning husbands with more accomplished wives. Both
spouses may agree that it is best for the wife to devote her time to child
care arni other home-based activities while the husband specializes in
earning ~he family income. Normally, this arrangement works well, but
problems can occur for a number of reasons. First, because the arrange-
ments are informal rather than contractual, each spouse must depend
PAGENO="0061"
53
on voluntary compliance with the terms of the agreement. There is no
legal recourse, except divorces should either party be negligent in per-
forming his or her assigned duties. This informality also tends to
undermine the dignity and financial independence of the wife. Second,
some husbands are not able to afford homemaking wives. As Carolyn
Bell has reminded us, not every job can, or should, support a family.2°
And, as long as we have inequalities in earnings, this will continue
to be the case. Where one income is insufficient, then it may be neces-
sary for both spouses to work outside the home, leading to all the
problems already discussed in connection with the two-earner family.
A third and final problem occurs when women who have specialized
in being wives and mothers find themselves "unemployed" in mid-
career due to a husband's death, or more likely, as the result of a divorce
or separation.
The climb in the divorce rate has been proceeding at an unprece-
dented rate. One result has been an enormous increase in single-parent
families, especially those headed by women.2' Between 1970 and 1975
alone, the proportion of all children under 18 living in single-parent
homes rose from 12 to 17 percent and most of this increase can be traced
back to rising marital instability. Nine out of every ten of these chil-
dren live with their mother, and 44 percent of these female-headed
families are poor.22
Policies are needed then to protect women and children from the
financial consequences of divorce. Most women who have devoted them-
selves to a homemaking career will not be able to earn enough to sup-
port their families. The least fortunate may be forced to turn to public
assistance, while the more fortunate may receive help from relatives or
from their former husbands. But such support is not always forthcom-
ing and it may be small in amount.
Based on new data from a national probability sample. we estimate
that about 40 percent of the divorced~ separated, and single women eli-
gible to receive child support or alimony from the fathers of their
children never receive such assistance. In addition, those who have ex-
perienced a history of some support, often receive payments irregularly
or for a limited period of time.
Looking at just those women who have received support in a given
year, the mean amount of child support and alimony income is about
$2,000 per family per year in 1973 dollars. Typically, this amount goes
to suppor~t several children and meets about half of the family's sub-
sistence (that is, poverty level) needs. In a given year, only about 3 per-
cent of all eligible female-headed families receive enough in child sup-
port and alimony alone to put them above the official poverty level for a
family of their size and composition.23
Many women who have chosen to be full-time homemakers believe
that divorce is unlikely (or always happens to someone else) and that
20 Carolyn Shaw Bell, "Should Every Job Support a Family," The Public Interest, No. 40
(summer 1975).
"Heather L. Ross and Isabel V. Sawhill, "Time of Transition: The Growth of Families
Headed by Women" (Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute, 1975).
22 "Marital Status and Living Arrangements: March 1975," Current Population Reports,
Series P-20, No. 287 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the
Census, December 1975). "Household Money Income In 1974 and Selected Social cud
Economic Characteristics of Households." Current Population Reports, P-GO. No. 100
(Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1975).
23 Carol A. Jones, Nancy M. Gordon, and Isabel V. Sawhill, "Child Support Payments in
the United States" (Washington, U.C. : The Urban Institute, Oct. 1, 1976).
PAGENO="0062"
54
when it does occur, child support or alimony will be paid. The facts
cited here suggest that the risks are higher ~tlian commonly believed.
As in the case of social security benefits, there may be a need'to develop
new pol~icies and mechanisms which insure that homenmkers receive
their fair share of the return on an earlier investment in marriage and
a husband's career. In principle, life insurance, social security, and ali-
mony or child support all help to protect the homemaker from the "un-
employment" which divorce or death are likely to bring. Perhaps in
the future, husbands who have homemaking wives will be asked
to contribute to State unemployment compensation funds as well.
Combined with education~ retraining, counselling, and other services
for the displaced homemaker, such protection could be a valuable buf-
fer against the poverty faced by many female-headed families.
Not all women who head families are the victims of a death or a
divorce. Many are younger women whose economic plight is the conse-
quence of unwanted childbearing at an early age. In general, younger
women who have not yet decided whether to be homemakers, to have
careers, or to combine both, face a very different set of circumstances
than older women and their situation calls for a different kind of
policy response.
D. Creating Options for Younger Women
Although traditional roles and occupations are not to be disparaged
if freely chosen, we know that young women often enter them with
little preparation, and with almost no knowledge of the alternatives or
of the consequences of their decisions. Far more easily than in the past,
young women can choose a variety of lifestyles. They have greater
freedom to engage in sexual activity before marriage; they also can
continue their education to relatively advanced levels. They have more
control over the size of their families and a much wider range of
occupational choices. If they seize on some of these new opportunities,
new options will be created for men as well. But with these new options
come the need to make harder decisions about sex. marriage, childbear-
ing, and careers, and to have better information about the consequences
of various choices. Educators, the research community, Government
agencies and others have special responsibility to make sure tha.t the
choices are both available and their implications understood. Further-
more, Government programs themselves should be scrutinized with a
view to determining whether they bias people's decisions in particular
directions and whether these biases are desirable. A young woman, for
example, who receives a Government subsidy if she has a child out of
wedlock but not if she marries, or has an abortion, faces what most
people would consider an inappropriate set of incentives.
In general, the point is that one's life chances are often determined,
or at least severely constrained, by decisions and events occurring at an
early age. One of the most critical events in the life of a young woman
is the birth of her first child. Depending on when and under what
circumstances this birth occurs, she may drop out of school, leave the
labor force, go on welfare, or abandon a career.
Because we believe these consequences are important, we are taking
a close look at this whole area in research currently underway at the
Urban Institute. Some useful information has already been compiled
PAGENO="0063"
55
by Kristin Moore and Steven Caldwell. One of their ftudings is that
adolescent sexual activity is on the rise. Whereas about 64 percent of
females born in 1950 engaged in sexual intercourse before age 20, 90
percent of those born in 1962 are expected to do so.24 Unless offset by
the increased availability and utilization of contraception and abor-
tion, this will lead to more adolescent pregnancy and childbearing,
much of it out of wedlock, with possible adverse consequences for the
mothers, their children, and society. For example, pregnancy is the
most frequent single reason that girls drop out of school. Data for
1972 indicate that 80 percent of the school-age girls who become preg-
nant leave school and never return to formal education. Although
title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 forbids schools re-
ceiving Federal money from excluding pregnant students, the heavy
financial and personal demands of child care often result in school-
age mothers never completing their education. Naturally, the lack
of education reduces the mother's earning potential and leads to
greater welfare dependency. According to our best estimates, at least
60 percent of the children born out of wedlock between 1954 and 1972
and not given up for adoption were on AFDC (aid to families with
dependent children) in 1973.25
Contraceptive use among young and unmarried people is distress-
ingly inadequate. Among teenagers surveyed in a 1971 study, fewer
than half used a contraceptive the last time that they had sex.26 Per-
haps the recent Supreme Court decision that nñnors do not need paren-
tal consent to obtain contraceptives will change this situation. Our
research does indicate that the availability of subsidized family
planning services reduces the number of premarital pregnancies.27 Un-
fortunately, only about 40 percent of the U.S. women estimated to be
in need of subsidized family planning services actually obtained them
in 1974.28
All this implies that the public and policymakers need to acknowl-
edge that teenagers are sexually active and in need of birth control
services. Given the inadequate use of contraception, legal abortion
may represent the best available option open to a woman with an
unwanted pregnancy. For low-income women, financing of such abor-
tions through medicaid is essential. Recent court rulings suggesting
that such financial assistance is their constitutional right are a welcome
antidote to congressional backsliding in this important area.
Family planning and abortion are important not only because of
their direct effects in preventing unwanted childbearing and its im-
mediate consequences, but also because they preserve so many othef
options. Economic independence for a young woman means a chance
to delay childbearing until she has acquired sufficient education and
experience to make an informed and conscious choice and has the
resources to support a child either with or without the help of a male
a~ Kristin A. Moore and Steven B. Caidwell, "Out-of-Wedlock Pregnancy and Childbear-
ing" (Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute, September 1970).
25 Ibid.
26 John Kantner and Melvin Zelnick, "Sexual Experience of Young Unmarried Women
in the United States," Family Planning Perspectives, vol. 4, No. 4 (October 1972), p. 8.
~ Moore and Caidwell, op. cit.
Alan Gutmacher Institute, New York, N.Y.
PAGENO="0064"
56
partner. It also means the right to know about the pros and cons of
other alternatives, including careers in areas not open to women in the
past. Whether such alternatives are available depends, in part, on the
success of the employment policies discussed earlier. In this sense, we
have now come full circle.
III. CONCLUSIONS
Without job opportunities, everyone's options are limited. As I write
this concluding section, the overall unemployment rate is hovering
around 7 percent. This is not a full employment economy by anyone's
definition. We have seen that in the absence of a strong recovery we
can expect a slower rate of female entry into the labor force in the
future and continued high unemployment rates for both men and
women as they compete for a limited number of jobs.
I can think of only two reasons for accepting these consequences.
One is fear of inflation; but this is more an argument for developing
selective employment policies than for doing nothing at all. The crea-
tive design and implementation of such policies should be high on the
public agenda.
A second reason for tolerance of high rates of unemployment may
stem from assumptions about the welfare implications of this unem-
ployment. People do not view the unemployment of a~ married
woman in as serious a light as the unemployment of a male bread-
winner, or the plight of a teenager unable to find his or her first job as
equivalent to that of an experienced worker who has lost a job. I do
not believe we know as much about these welfare implications as
most people assume. We do not have very good data on the income
available to the unemployed, nor is income the only measure of hard-
ship or of longer term debilitating effects, some of which are non-
economic in nature. The result has been a tendency to look at unem-
ployment rates by demographic categories and to assume that these
categories provide good proxies for economic need. The discussion
would be more useful if we had a better understanding of why some
groups have higher unemployment rates than others and of the serious-
ness of these various types of unemployment for human welfare.
Finally, whatever their effects on the distribution of income and
welfare, high unemployment rates and the discouragement of labor
force participation which accompanies them, imply a loss of real
output to the economy, with a corresponding reduction in the standard
of living. Many women, especially, are underemployed within the
home. They have some valuable domestic tasks to perform, but these
tasks may not fully occupy their time or energies once their children
are grown or in school. If there were more jobs a.vailable-especiallv
jobs with flexible schedules-many of these women would work. No
one knows the exact size of this pool of available resources. The
women involved do not get picked up in the unemployment statistics,
but they are underemployed. Such hidden underemployment represents
a lost opportunity and thus imposes a burden on our entire society.
We can conclude that a full employment economy would make a.va~l-
able more JObS ~or women, with a corresponding higher standard of
living for all Americans.
PAGENO="0065"
57
BIBLIoGRAPHY
Bell, Carolyn Shaw, "Should Every Job Support a Family?" The Public Interest,
No. 40 (Summer 1975).
Bergmann, Barbara R., "Reducing the Pervasiveness of Discrimination," in Jobs
for Americans, Eli Ginzberg, ed. (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1976).
Bowman, C. T., and T. H. Morland, "Revised Projections of the U.S. Economy to
1980 and 1985," Monthly Labor Review, Vol. 99 (March 1976), pp. 9-21.
Brenner, M. 1-larvey, "Estimating the Social Costs of National Economic Policy;
Implications for Mental and Physical I-lealth, and Criminal Aggression"
(Washington, D.C.: TJ.S. Congress, Joint Economic Committee, 1976).
Campbell, Angus, Philip E. Converse, and Willard L. Rodgers, "The Quality of
American Life: Perceptions, Evaluations, and Satisfactions" (New York: Rus-
sell Sage Foundation, 1976).
Glick, Paul, and Arthur Norton, "Perspectives on the Recent Upturn in Divorce
and Remarriage," Demography, Vol. 10, No. 3 (August 1973).
Hayge, Howard, "Families and the Rise of Working Wives-An Overview,"
Special Labor Force Report 189 (Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1976).
Johnson, D. F., "The U.S. Labor Force: Projections to 1990," Special Labor Force
Report 156 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 1973).
Jones, Carol A., Nancy M. Gordon, and Isabel V. Sawhill, "Child Support Pay-
ments in the United States" (Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute, Oct. 1,
1976).
Kantner, John, and Melvin Zelnik, "Sexual Experience of Young Unmarried
Women in time United States," Family Planning Perspectives, Vol. 4, No. 4
(October 1972), p. 8.
Kreps, Juanita M., "Some Time Dimensions of Manpower Policy," in Jobs for
Americans, Eli Ginzberg, ed. (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1976).
Mason, Karen Oppenheim, John Czojka, and Sara Arber, "Change in U.S. Wom-
en's Sex-Role Attitudes, 1964-74" (University of Michigan, August 1975).
Moore, Kristin A., and Steven B. Caldwell, "Out-of-Wedlock Pregnancy and Child-
bearing" (Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute, September 1976).
Ross, Heather, and Isabel V. Sawhill, "Time of Transition: The Growth of
Families Headed by Women" (Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute, 1975).
Smith, Ralph E., "The Impact of Macroeconomic Conditions on Employment
Opportunities for Women," prepared for the U.S. Congress, Joint Economic
Committee, Series on "Achieving the Goals of the Employment Act of 1946-~30th
Anniversary Review" (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, Jan. 3,
1977).
Smith, Ralph E., "Unemployment and Labor Force Growth" (Washington, D.C.:
Urban Institute, October 1976).
Taeuber, Karl E., and James A. Sweet, "Family and Work: The Social Life Cycle
of Women," in Women and the American Economy, Juanita M. Kreps, ed.
(Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-I-Iall, Inc., 1976).
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, "Last Hired, First Fired: Layoffs and Civil
Rights," draft report (October 1976).
U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, "Household Money Income
in 1974 and Selected Social and Economic Characteristics of Households," Cur-
rent Population Reports, P-20, No. 100 (Washington, D.C.: Government Print-
ing Office, 1975) ; and "Marital Status and Living Arrangements: March 1975,"
Current Population Reports, Series P-20, No. 287 (Washington, D.C.: Govern-
ment Printing Office, 1975).
91-GSG----77------5
PAGENO="0066"
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Part II. OVERCOMING BARRIERS
(59)
PAGENO="0068"
PAGENO="0069"
THE LEGAL ROAD TO EQUAL EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITY: A CRITICAL VIEW
Br MARY C. DUNLAP *
CONTENTS
Page
I. Sex discrimination in employment goes to court 62
A. The Supreme Court's role: Long rather silent and now spoken 63
B. Federal district and circuit courts: A critical look at title Vii's
application to sex discrimination cases 66
II. In fulfillment of the title VII mandate: A proposal for improvement__ 70
A. Need for administrative resources 70
B. Need for counsel 71
C. Need for judicial resources 72
D. Need for change in judicial appointments policies 72
This article has a single aim: it proposes to assess the extent to
which the Federal courts have implemented title VII of the Civil
Rights Act, as applied to sex-based discrimination in employment, and
through a critical eye it seeks to recommend ways by which the Na-
tion may be brought `closer to affording and enjoying equal employ-
ment opportunity without regard to sex.
Only the most uninformed or partisan observer of Federal legal
developments in the area of employment discrimination over the past
10 years would venture to term the entire process either a stunning
success or an abysmal failure. Instead, an accurate description of
the outcomes of this process, centering upon legally initiated change
in the direction of equal employment opportunity, must range the
spectrum between these extreme characterizations of success and fail-
ure. We must look to the hazy middle, where the realities-landmark
judicial decisions concerning discrimination in employment; thousands
of discrimination claimants without the means of bringing their cases
to court; overburdened bureaucracies charged with policing affirma-
tive action; responsive institutions and recalcitrant ones-play across
a screen of evaluative description.
At the center of our screen stand certain persistent patterns:
Women workers remain disparately undercompensated, underutilized
and underemployed. Simultaneously, a greater and greater percentage
of women are seeking to join the labor force, and an increasing number
of women work for necessities. Ethnic minority women continue to
face double discrimination, resulting in the intensification of patterns
of discrimination for these women workers. Changes wrought `by anti-
discrimination laws are virtually invisible in comparative studies of
the gross statistical measures of sex-based discrimination.
Attorney and teacher employed by Ermal Rights Advocates, Inc.. in San Francisco,
Calif. A plaintiffs' counsel in several title VII cases, challenging a variety of employment
practices for sex and racial discriminal ion.
(61)
PAGENO="0070"
62
Yet it is the view of this author that the consequences of anti-
~discrimination laws in general, and of title VII of the U.S. Civil
Rights Act of 1964 in particular, have been formidable. Title VII
phenomena will be the focus of this article's descriptive section, be-
~cause these phenomena are so highly relevant to the issue: where
does the female worker stand in the U.S. economy in 1976~ insofar
as her congressionally created legal right to be free from sex-based
discrimination in employment is concerned?
I. SEX DIscRIMINATIoN IN EMPLOYMENT GOES TO COURT
Discrimination on account of sex appears in myriad forms, from
overt exclusion of women from particular types of work and manage-
ment levels, through somewhat subtler deprivations of equal oppor-
tunity purportedly or actually connected to pregnancy, child rearing,
"averages" of size, strength and physical ability, and norms of pre-
employment experience and conditioning, to employer retaliation
against activist women who object to discrimination in employment.
The vast majority of female white-collar workers are tracked into
office and clerical work, and the vast majority of female blue-collar
workers are tracked into the lowest paid and least responsible posi-
tions, often as unskilled laborers. After more than a decade of title
VII litigation involving sex discrimination in employment, these pat-
terns of stratification, underutilization and disparate compensation
remain generally unchanged in the Nation's workforce.1
One factor to `be considered in any explanation of the great clis-
tance between the antidiscriminatory theory of title VII and socio-
economic reality for women workers consists of the actual results of
title VII litigation involving sex-based discrimination. Let us take,
for example, the frequency of class relief in discrimination cases
brought under title VII. Case decisions reported 2 for the years 1965
through mid-1975 indicate that in only 13 percent of all sex discrimina-
tion cases have courts ordered any class relief, to wit, injunctions
benefiting groups of workers, back pay awards to groups, and related
remedies. (See table 1, below.) By contrast, 24 percent of all race-
discrimination cases reported ~ for this period resulted in court-
ordered relief to classes. Nor has the rate of court-ordered class relief
shown an increase in recent years, in either race or sex discrimination
cases. (See table 1, below.)
Awards of class relief may well be the most accurate quantifiable
indicator of the applied strength of title VII in the courts. This is
because class relief is supposed to `be awarded under title VII when-
ever a policy or practice of an employer, employment agency or labor
organization has harmed a protected group by discrimination, necessi-
tating relief to the class to make it whole. Reality differs sharply
from this principle: class relief has been hard-won under title VII,
and it is not frequent.
1 "A Statistical Portrait of women in the United States," Current Population Report,
Series P-23, No. 58, PP. 26-46 (U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census,
April 1976).
2 Volumes 1 through 9 of Commerce Clearinghouse's "Employment Practices Decisions"
constitute the data base of tables 1 and 2 of this article. There is no publication that
reports all title VII decisions.
See footnote 2, supra.
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63
Table 1 illustrates this proportion about the relative infrequency
of court-ordered class relief in sex discrimination cases, and about the
general infrequency of class relief in both race and sex discrimination
cases.
TABLE 1.-A DECADE OF TITLE VII LITIGATION: CLASS RELIEF 1 WON BY COURT ORDER 2
By type o
f case
By sex of plaintiff(s)
Plaintiff(s) Plaintiff(s)
male female
Race discrimi-
nation cases
Sex discrimi-
nation cases
Num- Per-
Period of decisions 3 ber cent
Num- Per-
ber cent
Num- Per-
ber cent
Num- Per-
ber cent
1965to early 1968 11 20 1 6 11 22 1 5
Mid 1968 to early 1970 20 31 3 12 16 31 3 12
Mid 1970 to mid 1971 14 30 4 24 15 31 3 19
Late 1971 to mid-1972 13 27 1 4 14 36 1 3
Late 1972 to mid-1973 11 20 6 18 13 24 4 11
Late l973toendof 1973 20 39 3 12 20 42 3 10
End of 1973 to mid-1974 8 17 8 19 8 20 8 17
Mid-1974 to late 1974 6 10 3 7 7 14 2 4
End of 1974 to mid-1975 8 25 6 14 8 22 6 16
Overall: 1965 to mid-1975 111 24 35 13 112 27 31 10
I `Class relief" quantified in table 1 includes every order containing an award of back pay to a group, or injunctive
relief to a group, or goals and/or timetables or any combination of these remedies. 42 U.S.C., sec. 2000e-5(g) governs dis-
pensation of these remedies.
2 Because settlements made prior to trial are only reported on a sporadic basis, these figures cannot and do not include
settlements made prior to trial. It must be emphasized that most title VII cases do not go to triol; the adequacy and effec-
tiveness of consent decrees in sex discrimination cases is a subject worthy of thorough and separate review.
3These dates in table 1 roughlycorrespondtothe decisionmaking periodsencompassed byvol. lthrough9.Seefootnote
2, supra.
Perhaps in the first decade of title VII cases, Federal judges pri-
marily have been engaged in defining "sex-based discrimination in
employment," rather than in remedying it. It does seem that the first
10 years of this type of litigation have been absorbed in laying the
basic boundaries of judicial interpretation of title VII where claims
of sex-based discrimination in employment have been at issue. To
assess the futuristic utility of title VII litigation as a means of a~hiev-
ing equal economic opportunity for women, an examination of these
basic judicially laid boundaries and their legal and societal signif-
icance is required. In this assessment, let us begin with the first decade
of title VII decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court.
A. The Supreme Court's Role: Long Rather Silent and Now Spoken
While deciding numerous cases concerning racial discrimination
claims under title VII between 1965 and 1975, until 1976 the U.S.
Supreme Court had offered its views in but one case concerning a sex
discrimination claim under title VII, entitled Phillips v. Martin-
Marietta Corp., 400 U.S. 542 (1971) .~ The title VII race discrimina-
tion decisions of the Supreme Court cover a wide array of significant
issues, such as: When will a prima fade neutral employment practice
be found to violate title VII's prohibition against racial discrimina-
tion? ° What must an individual denied employment show to prove
4 Phillips was decided in a per curiam opinion, remanding the case for a determination
of the validity of the employer's claim that sex was a "bona fide occupational qualifica-
tion" (b.foq.) justifying exclusion of mothers of preschool children from its employ.
Justice Thurgood Marshal] wrote a concurring opinion, which endorsed a narrow view of
the "b.f.o.q," exemption in Phillips.
Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424 (1971).
PAGENO="0072"
64
race discrimination? ~ When must back pay be awarded in title VII
race cases? ~ Will an arbitrator's decision bar a race claim under title
VII? 8 When may or must a court order an award of retroactive senior-
ity to a class of minority persons under title VII? ° What is the rela-
tionship of title Vii's 1972 amendments to the Federal employment
system? 10
Toward the end of the first decade of title VII sex discrimination
cases presented to the Supreme Court, a group of cases" reached the
Court, culminating in the decision of General Electric Go. v. Gilbert.
45 TJ.S.L.W. 4031 (12/7/76) (hereinbelow, "GE v. Gilbert"). This
group of cases raised essential1y~ one issue: Does an employer's exclu-
sion of its employees' disabilities arising from pregnancy, from the
benefits of its disability insurance or sick pay progTam, constitute sex
discrimination in violation of title VII? By a 6-3 majority, the Court
in GE v. Gilbert held that General Electric's exclusion of pregnancy-
related disabilities from its disability compensation scheme did not
violate title VII, upon the reasoning that this exclusion does not
discriminate against women, either overtly or in effect.
in a dissenting opinion, Justice John Paul Stevens observed in
pertinent part:
[Tihe rule at issue places the risk of absence caused by pregnancy in a
class by itself [footnote omitted] . . . By definition, such a rule discriminates on
account of sex; for it is the capacity to become pregnant which primarily
differentiates the female from the male.
45 ILS.L.W. at 4041.
Also in dissent, Justices William Brennan and Thur ood Marshal]
noted that, in order to reach its result, the majority had Pusled aside
the reasoning of six U.S. courts of appeals and of the Equal Employ-
ment.Opportunity Commission (E.E.O.C.) aiid that the majority had
"studiously ignore[d]" those parts of the factual record in GE v.
Gilbert that contradicted its conclusion. Id. 45 IJ.S.L.W. at 4037-4039.
In order to comprehend the tremendous bearing of Gilbert upon
the status of the female worker in the United States, two areas of the
case's impact must be explored. The first area is specific to the central
issue raised by the case-now that pregnancy and childbearing may
provide legally respected bases for differential treatment of the female
employee, whether because of the cost of equal treatment. because of
the notion that pregnancy is a personal or family choice for which
employers or male employees should not have to bear expenses, or
for any other reason, a great loophole has been built into the founda-
tion of title VII'S prohibition against sex-based discrimination in
0 McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 11.5. 807 (1973).
7Aibeniarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 11.5. 405 (1975).
0Alexanderv. Gardner-Denver Co., 41511.5.36 (1974).
0Franks v. Bowman Transportation Co., 44 IJ.S.L.W. 4356 (1976).
10 Chandler v. Roudehush, 44 U.S.L.W. 4709 (1976) ; Brown v. General Services Admin-
istration, 44 TT.S.L.W. 4704 (1976).
~ GE v. Gilbert, discussed infra; American Telephone f Telegraph Co. v. Communication
Workers of America, docket No. 74-1601, 44 ILS.L.W. 3067; Lake Oswego School District
v. Hutchison, docket No. 75-568, 44 U.S.L.W. 3285; L4berty Mutual Insurance Co. v.
Wetcel, remanded on procedural ground, 44 U.S.L.W. 4350 (1976) : 2caslivi!le Gas Co. v.
Satty, docket No. 75-536, 44 IJ.S.L.W. 3254; Richmond Unified School District v. Berg,
docket No. 75-1069, 44 11.S.L.W. 3459. After deciding GE v. Gilbert, the Supreme Court
granted certiorari to review the decisions in Satty and Berg, supra. which involve issues
of compulsory pregnancy leave and of employers' refusals to permit disabled pregnant
employees to draw accrued sick leave benefits. 45 U.S.L.W. 3508 (Jan. 25. 1977). Thus, the
full implications of GE v. Gilbert for other claims of sex-based discrimination in the
pregnancy context presently remain unresolved.
PAGENO="0073"
65
employment. Pregnancy and childbearing historically have generated,
or served to rationalize, a host of discriminatory policies and attitudes
that burden the female worker.12 Indeed, one of the deepest roots of
sex discrimination is planted he.re: Since some women (and no men)
become mothers, all women (and no men) may be reasonably viewed
as temporary, economically unreliable and even whimsical partici-
pants in the world of nonclomestic work; they are worthwhile as
workers only until pregnancy (or even, only until marriage); the
costs of equal training, promotions, and other employer investments
are therefore wasted on them.
It is sensible to observe that this disparaging socioeconomic per-
spective upon the role of the female worker in this country's economy,
given the force of law in the context of the Supreme Court's deter-
mination in GE v. Gilbert as to what constitutes sex discrimination
under title VII, threatens to reverse every advance in the struggle
of millions of women workers for equal employment opportunity
through law. To give employers the legal option of minimizing the
costs of their operations, on the circular ground that pregnancy
renders all women a risky or expensive labor resource, legally reen-
franchises and reinforces the cycle of economic instability arising
from employment discrimination against women.
If the Court had rejected the invitation offered by the employer in
GE v. Gilbert, and if the Court had refused to return ~yomen to a legal
position of presumed unreliability in the work force, then future uses
of title VII would offer strength in the process of uprooting sex dis-
crimination in employment of a magnitude comparable to title Vii's
strength in the process of uprooting racial discrimination in employ-
ment.13 If Gilbert had been decided in favor of those discriminated
against, lower courts that have waffled or wavered from the straight-
forward purpose of title VII in sex discrimination cases would have
received an unambiguous prescription and direction from the Supreme
Court: Sex discrimination in employment can no more be legally de-
fended by arguments about the expensiveness or hazardousness of af-
fording equal opportunity than can racial discrimination in employ~
ment. Under GE v. Gilbert, the lower courts have received no such
direction.
Examination of the second area of impact of Gilbert, closely related
to the first, assures that the importance of the Supreme Court's decision
in Gilbert has not been overstated so far. In Gilbert, the Supreme Court
was called upon to determine whether the action of the Equal Employ-
ment Opportunity Commission, in promulgating a strong, decisive
guideline mandating equal treatment of pregnancy-related disabilities
by employers, should be given great deference by the Federal courts.
12 A thorough account of the multiform nature of pregnancy-based discrimination
against women was rendered to the Court in the brief amid curiae of National Organization
of Women et al. on behalf of petitioner in the case of I~iberty Mutual Insurance Co. v.
Wetzel. see footnote 13, supra, in 1975.
`~ This article contains several references to the stringently anticliscriminatory inter-
pretations of title VII made by courts deciding race discrimination cases. These refer-
ences go to decisions such as those cited in footnotes 7-11, supra. The author surely does
not seek to imply by these references that all courts at all times have followed those
strict principles in race discrimination cases, but only that those strict principles have
received considerable articulation in judicial precedents, including a line of Supreme
Court decisions in title VII cases. This line of decisions has been menaced by the shadow
of Washington v. Davis, 44 TJ.S.L.W. 4789 (1976), but the basic rule of Griggs v. Duke
Power Co. (see footnote 7, supra) still appears to hold a majority upon the Supreme
Court. Cf. GE v. Gilbert, 45 U.S.L.W. 4037 (concurring opinions of Blackmun, J. and
Stewart, J.).
PAGENO="0074"
66
The Supreme Court's declaration that great deference is due to the
EEOC's guidelines, presented in its decision of Griggs v. Duke Power
Co., 401 U.S. 424 (1971), was tested for the applicability of this prin-
ciple to sex discrimination cases in GE v. Gilbert. Now that the Su-
preme Court has invalidated the EEOC guideline that was at issue in
Gilbert, the authority of other guidelines of the EEOC as to sex dis-
criminati on-guidelines that condemn sex stereotyping, narrow the
"b.f.o.q." (bona fide occupational qualification) exception, prohibit
marital status-related sex discrimination, and so forth `4-has been
severely undercut.
The necessary generality of the language of title VII itself, which
provides little, if any, particularized guidance to courts in the process
of defining discrimination, often has been given specific meaning in
sex dscrimination cases through judicial respect for and application
of these EEOC guidelines. Yet the majority opinion in GE v. Gilbert
points courts away from these guidelines, leaving Federal judges (and
employers, employment agencies and labor organizations governed by
title VII) with the highly troublesome historical standard of equity,
to wit., "the length of their own feet," by which to determine what con-
stitutes sex discrimination in employment.
Worse, the majority opinion points judges deciding sex discrimina-
tion cases under title VII into a labyrinth: Under GE v. Gilbert, these
judges are instructed to look to equal protection decisions in order to
ascertain what constitutes unlawful discrimination on account of sex,
under 42 U.S.C. 2000e at seq. Since the Supreme Court's equal pro-
tection decisions concerning sex discrimination have been so marked by
expediency, weakness, and lack of commitment to the principle of legal
equality, a great majority of Federal legislators in 1972 saw the need
for passage of the equal rights amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The court majority's gesture in GE v. Gilbert toward equal protection
decisions as a touchstone for defining sex discrimination in employment
must be viewed as a predominantly political and nonlegal message to
Federal judges. This unsubtle signal reads: "If you want to find your
way through (around) the forest of title VII cases, go lose yourselves
in the thicket of equal protection precedents." 15
B. Federal District and Circuit Courts: A Critical Look at Title
Vii's Application to Sex Discrimination Cases
The crucial implications of the Supreme Court's decision in Gil-
bert must not be permitted to overshadow a full assessment of lower
court dispositions of sex discrimination cases litigated under title VII
during the past decade. For it is Federal district and appellate court
decisions that chiefly have written the chapters concerning sex dis-
crimination in the book of title VII, since 1965.
Generally, where employment discrimination on account of sex has
appeared to these courts in the form of expressly exclusionary poll-
`4The EEOC's "Guidelines on Discrimination Because of Sex' are published at 20 CFR
sec. [004.01 et seq. (1972).
`5 Specifically, prior to the passage of title VII in 1964, the Supreme Court had not
determined that any of the Instances of sex discrimination against women in the employ-
ment sphere which were presented to it violated the U.S. Constitution. Bradweli v. Illinois,
83 U.S. (16 Wall.) 130 (1873) ; Miller v. Oregon, 208 U.S. 412, 28 S. Ct. 324. 52 D. Ed.
551 (1908) ; Goesart v. Cleary, 335 U.S. 464, 69 5. Ct. 198, 93 L. Ed. 103 (1948).
PAGENO="0075"
67
cies-e.g. Leah Rosenfeld and other women shall not be agent-teleg-
raphers for Southern Pacific because most women are physically in-
capable of performing this job 28; Celio Diaz and other men shall not.
be flight attendants for Pan Am because customers prefer women
such policies have been found to violate title VII. Likewise, where
employment discrimination on account of sex has appeared to these
courts in the form of overt reliance upon expressly sex-discriminatory
State laws, title VII has been held to have been violated.18
Subtler, more implicit and more individualized forms of sex dis-
crimination in employment, as well as situations in which the proof
of discrimination derives from statistical demonstrations of dis-
parate treatment of women, have received far more uneven treatment
by Federal courts. While plaintiffs in sex discrimination cases con-
sistently rely upon the strict rules that have been developed in race
discrimination cases under title VII, courts do not necessarily follow.
A few major examples should suffice to illustrate this overall pattern
of judicial ambivalence toward nonobvious sex discrimination cases.
In a rare title VII decision ordering affirmative action in hiring
and promotion on behalf of a class of female employees, the district
court made findings that the employer's discrimination against wom-
en had been conscious, and that it had resulted in total exclusion of
women from particular jobs.1° In 1976, the court of appeals vacated
this trial court's order of goals and timetables for hiring and promo-
tion of women, declaring that the trial court had not specifically
found that enough women were qualified to justify the goals, and
further proposing that there are differences between sex discrimina-
tion and race discrimination under title VII, such that:
precedents from one area may not be freely interchangeable with those
of the other.
Ostapowicz v. Johnson Bronze Co., 12 E.P.D. ¶11, 166 (3rd Cir. 1976).
The reasoning of the court of appeals in Ostapowiez is tautological,
in that it does not say why this case should not be governed by race
discrimination precedents. But, more important, for purposes of this
inquiry, is the candor of this appellate court about its view of title
VII as applied to sex discrimination.
Relative to comparable race discrimination cases involving discrim-
ination in hiring, placement and promotions, the plaintiff females'
case in Ostapowic~ was compelling and strongly proved, by both
quantitative and qualitative evidence.20 Missing, at the level of the
court of appeals that vacated the order of goals in Ostapowicz, was
a sense of the absolute priority of eliminating sex discrimination in
employment that courts of appeals have repeatedly 21 recognized in
race discrimination cases.
In another recent and illustrative decision, a district court was
presented with statistical showings that the State of Wisconsin had
distributed merit and incentive pay in a manner that greatly dis-
16 Rosenfeld v. Sout hera Pacific Go., 444 F. 2c1 1219 (9th dr. 1971).
17 Diaz v. Pan American Airways, 442 F. 2d 385 (5th dir. 1971).
18 See, for example, LeBlanc v. Southern Bell Tel. ci Tel. Go., 333 F. Supp. 002 (ED.
La., 1971) ; Hays v. Potlatch Forests, Inc., 405 F. 2d 1081 (8th dir. 1972) ; Krause v.
Sacramento Inn, 479 F. 2d 988 (9th dir. 1973).
19 Ostapowicz v. Johnson Bronze Go., 309 F. Supp. 522 (D. Pa. 1973).
20 compare, for example, Rios v. Local 638, 320 F. Supp. 198 (S.D.N.Y. 1971) ; Rowe V.
General Motors Corp., 457 F. 2d 348 (5th dIr. 1972).
~` See footnotes 7-12 and 15, supra.
PAGENO="0076"
68
favored female employees. Despite the strength of the numerical
showings of present discrimination against women employees by the
State, the district court granted summary judgment to the State,
holding that the plaintiffs must prove, and had not proved, that the
State overtly had discriminated against women in the past. Wisconsin
N.O.TV. v. State of Wisconsin-F. Supp.-12 E.P.D. ¶11, 140 (W. D.
1,~Tis 1976).
From these and other similar decisions in sex discrimination cases.22
it is fair to conclude that judicial standards governing disposition of
sex discrimination cases have diverged substantially from standards
developed in race discrimination cases under title VII.
At least one other 1976 decision brings this reality about judicial
treatment of sex discrimination cases out into the open. In Cramer v.
Virginia Commonwealth University,-F. Supp.-, 12 E.P.D. ¶ 10~968
(E.D. Va. 1976), the plaintiff was a male who sued under title VII
because he had been denied employment as a professor because of his
sex. The University's defense 23 claimed that it had hired two equally
qualified women pursuant to an affirmative action program. Despite. the
plaintiff male's concession that the University had no improper motive
in its action 24 and despite his failure to prove that his qualifications ex-
ceeded those of the women hired, the district court held in his favor,
and declared that affirmative action "only perpetuates discrimination."
By contrast, women who have brought title VII claims against univer-
sities and colleges for sex discrimination in academic hiring have al-
most universally seen their claims rejected,25 no matter how strong, on
theories such as the subjective sensitivity of decisiomualdng in aca-
demic hiring,26 and even upon the women's inability to show conscious
or overt bias against them.21 In short, whereas women have won virtu-
ally nothing in the academic discrimination arena through title VII,
because of the express willingness of courts to give extraordinary de-
ference to academic decisionmakers where women candidates have been
rejected or passed over, the plaintiff male in the Commonwealth Uni-
versity case readily won, without having to meet the heavy burden of
proof of discrimination laid down in title VII cases brought by women
in academe.
This author urges that part of the answer to the question, "Why has
title VII not been consistently applied to all types of discrimination
made unlawful by this statute?" lies in the matter of militancy, and
in the prevalence among many judges of a different gut feelmg about
sex discrimination than these judges have, or at least display, about
~ See. for example. Cansey v. Ford Motor Co., 382 F. Supp. 1221 (M.D. Fin. 10741.
reversed in part, 516 F. 2d 416 (5th Cir. 1075) Jnrinho v. Wiegand Co., 407 F. 2d 403 (3d
Cir. 1974).
~ it should he emphasized that colleges and universities generally, which have widely
resisted affirmative action, certainly are not the best defenders of such programs when
challenged by white males such as plaintiff Cramer.
24 Of course, the university's motive Is not dispositive: an employer in good faith may
still violate title VII. But the discrepancy between judicial treatment of this auestion in
Cr'ner and in cases brought by women is noteworthy. See cases cited in footnotes 28
and 29, infra.
25 The chief exception to this pattern of denials of redress apnears in the granting of a
preliminary injunction to a female professor bringing a title VII sex discrimination case
in Tolinson. v. University of Pittsburgh, 359 F. Supp. 1002 (W.D. Pa. 1973). This case is
still in trial, as of 1976.
~° See Fare v. New Yorh University, 502 F. 2d 1229 (2d Cir. 19741 : Green v. Boarr7 of
Regents of Texas Tech Univ., 335 F. Supp. 249 (ND. Tex. 1071), affirmed 474 F. 2d 504
(5th Cir. 1973) Sime v. Board of Trustees, 526 F. 2d 1112 (9th Cir. 197~).
27 See cases cited in footnote 28, supra.
PAGENO="0077"
69
racial discrimination. Women are not ghetto-ized geographically or
residentially. Women have not rioted and died in the streets of the
United States, except as members of other groups. Women as women
have not been the subjects, objects, and sometimes victims of voter
registration drives, bus-burnings or school desegregation battles in
and out of Federal courts. To deny that these events and processes
concerning racism have had effects on the seriousness with which
judges, including bigoted ones, view race discrimination in employ-
ment is to pretend that courts are run by machines, and not by human
beings. This past seems, in this respect, at the very least a prolog to
the obduracy of some courts being called upon to order an end to sex
discrimination in employment.
The difference in majority judicial attitudes toward sex discrimina-
tion vis-a-vis race discrimination is well-illustrated by another set of
title VII case developments; namely, decisions concerning the protest-
ing worker.
Percy Green engaged in unlawful protests, including a lock-in of em-
ployees and a stall-in of cars, at a McDonnell Douglas plant. McDon-
nell Douglas refused to rehire Mr. Green.28 The court of appeals, in
deciding Mr. Green's title VII action for race `discrimination `and re-
taliatory treatment, declared:
". . . if McDonnell's refusal to rehire Green rests upon management's personal
dislike for Green or personal distaste for his conduct in the civil rights field,
Green is entitled to some relief." (4 E.P.D. § 7742 (8th Cir. 1972)).
Percy Green's plight then reached the Supreme Court, and the
Supreme Court held that Mr. Green must be afforded the opportunity
in his title VII litigation to prove that the company's defense, that he
was not rehired because of his unlawful protest activities, was a pre-
text for racial discrimination against him.
Protesting women certainly have not fared as well as Mr. Green in
title VII cases, even when it js considered that `he lost upon remand.29
In several cases where female employees have spoken out against dis-
crimination (in no case by stalling-in or locking-in) , they have received
a rude awakening in bringing their title VII cases. For example, there
is Stella Fogg, who began work at New England Telephone in a de-
partment where all males were supervisors, and all females were under-
lings. Defendants' agents repeatedly told Ms. Fogg that the promotion
she sought was to a position that could only be filled by a man.2° The
district couit denied Ms Fogg relief, stating in relevant part
Mrs. Fogg had a knack for stepping on her supervisors' toes if they got in
her way. She was an aggressive, ambitious employee determined to push her way
ahead. She went over the heads of her supervisors in Boston ~y writing directly
to the President of the Company . . . JJ'ogg v. iY~w England Telephone c~ Tele-
graph Co., (5 E.P.D. § 8010 (D.N.H. 1972).)
Other title VII decisions that have adopted the legally circular but
realistically devastating approach, that the plaintiff was not unlaw-
fully discriminated against because she was too aggressive, teach an
adcfitional lesson. Some of these decisions, showing an injudicious
2S Grecnv.MeDonflefl Douglas Corp., 463 F. 2d 337 (8th Cir. 1972).
"Green v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 390 F. Supp. 501 (1975).
`° Fogg v. New England Bell Telephone ~ Eelegraph Co., 346 F. Supp. 645 (D.N.~E1.
1972).
PAGENO="0078"
70
~preoccupation with what constitutes a desirable personality on the
~part of a female rather than an attention to the issues of law and fact
before them, have gone not against women claiming sex discrimina-
tion, but, instead, against black women claiming racial discrimination
under title VII. See, e.g., Thomas v. J. 0. Penritey, - F.Supp. -, 9
E.P.D. ¶ 10, 130 (P. Tex. 1975) (Ms. Thomas, the first black sales clerk
in the Beaumont, Tex., store, was found by the trial court to be "over
sensitive, over aggressive in demanding what she considered to be her
rights and thus demonstrat[ing] an attitude not conducive to har-
mony"); S'irtith v. St. Louis Railway, - F.Supp. -, 10 E.P.D. ¶ 10,
277 (N.D. Ala. 1975). (A plaintiff black female lost her race discrimi-
nation claim; the district judge noted that one of the facts against her
was that she emphatically believed she had been discriminated against).
Thus, the double standard in judicial disposition of title VII cases
is not solely explicable in the terms candidly offered by the court of
appeals in Ostapowic~, to wit., that proof sufficient in a race discrimina-
tion case may be insufficient in a sex discrimination case. The factor of
the sex of the plaintiff, whether or not the title VII claim is actually
based upon that factor, must be taken into account in understanding
why title VII actions involving women often have not resulted in
principled outcomes.
Emphatically, not all sex discrimination cases brought under title
VII have been handled in the fashion demonstrated by the above dis-
cussion. A few courts have adamantly refused to apply different stand-
ards to sex discrimination cases under title VII than those developed
in race discrimination cases.31 However, for purposes of this article,
it is sufficient to point out the fact that this double standard has some-
times been utilized, and that vindication of legal rights of women
workers is therefore a quite chancy venture.
If title VII is to become a reliable means of attack upon each of the
many kinds of discrimination in employment against women that
prevent women from receiving a full share of employment opportu-
nities, the causes of this disparity in judicial application of title VII
must be found and removed.
II. IN FtTLFIIJLMENT OF THE TImE VII IAxr)A'rE: A PROPOSAL
FOR IMPROvEMENT
There are many changes that need to be made if equal employment
opportunity in the United States, without regard to sex, is to become
a reality for all persons, and for women in particular. Congress can
initiate and sustain prerogatives as to only some of these changes.32
The proposal of this author urges only those changes that Congress,
and no other authority, can accomplish.
A. Need fo~ Athministrative Resou'ices
The year 1976 saw the closing of Government-funded title VII proj-
ects across the Nation.33 The problems of the Equal Employment Op-
portunity Commission amount to nothing less than a vicious cycle. In-
ii See, for example, East V. Romine, Inc., 518 F. 2d 332 (5th Cir. 1975).
~ For example, Congress has done much to commence and catalyze legal change toward
nondiscrimination against women by passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. while
Congress formally can do little to affect the State ratification process, it must prepare to
construct the legislative means of enforcement of the ERA's guarantee.
~ For example, the title VII project of the Lawyer's Committee in San Francisco,
Calif., was forced by withdrawal of funds to close in August 1976. Other projects were
closed before the end of 1976.
PAGENO="0079"
71
adequate resources in the EEOC have led to an inadequate work prod-
uct, cited in justification of continuing legislative actions aimed at
diminution of financial support to the EEOC. It appears that attor-
neys for EEOC and other governmental agencies have not been
particularly successful in `litigation where sex discrimination in em-
ployment is at issue. Table 2 shows this pattern.
TABLE 2--RESULTS OF TITLE VII CASES LITIGATED BY GOVERNMENT ATTORNEY, 1965 TO MID-1975 a
Plaintiff(s) Type of case
Male Female Race Sex
Total number 58 17 62 13
Procedural dismissal 2 granted (percent) 10. 34 64. 71 11. 29 69. 23
Procedural dismissal reversed on appeal (percent) 8.62 5.88 8.06 0
Class certification denied (percent) 1. 72 0 1. 61 0
Class certification denial reversed on appeal 0 0 0 0
Individual relief denied (percent) 5. 17 5. 88 6. 45 0
Class relief denied (percent) 10. 34 5. 88 9. 68 7. 69
Denial of relief reversed on appeal (percent) 18. 97 0 17. 74 0
Class certification granted (percent) 60. 34 0 56. 45 0
Individual backpay granted (Fercent)~__.... 0 5. E8 0 7. 69
Class backpay granted (percent) 10. 34 0 9. 68 0
Individual injunction granted (percent) 0 5.88 0 7.69
Class injunction granted (percent) 63.79 0 59.68 0
Goal and timetables ordered (percent) 20. 69 0 19. 35 0
Settlement with class relief approved (percent) 8. 62 5. 88 8. 06 7. 69
Award of relief reversed on appeal 0 0 0 0
I See footnotes 2 and 6, supra.
2 The category `procedural dismissal" as used herein includes all premeritn dismissals of actions on FRCP rule 12
grounds, except dismissals of parties defendant based upon failure to name them in the EEOC charge.
Of course, funding is not necessarily the fall answer to changing
the pattern of losses shown in table 2. It is highly likely that the
same simple lack of priority of ending sex discrimination that has
impaired judicial forces (see section I, above) has rendered the EEOC
and other supposed enforcers of legal prohibitions against sex dis-
crimination in employment less than adequately dedicated lo this
cause.
B. Need for Counsel
Title VII provides that a court may appoint counsel to claimants
of discrimination in appropriate cases. 42 United States Code, section
2000e-5 (f) (1). This judicial power is useless without a budget. The
worker who is impoverished by reason of discrimination is usually
unable to secure counsel; this group of people, many thousands of
whom are women, actually have no rights under title VII until they
have lawyers to represent them. Furthermore, even the middle-income
claimant often cannot afford the tremendous litigation costs (attor-
neys, court reporters, statistical experts, production of documents)
necessary to fight against discriminating institutions and corporations.
Also, as long as the likelihood of success on the merits of a sex discrim-
ination case is made unpredictable by the phenomenon of judicial rein-
forcement of discrimination (see section I, above), the discerning law-
yer cannot afford to take these important, difficult cases of sex
discrimination in employment upon the contingency that attorney's
fees might be awarded to him/her under 42 United States Code, section
PAGENO="0080"
72
2000e-5 (k). Finally, the amounts of such awards are nothing short of
erratic, as much reflecting the variation in judicial dedication to the
importance of title VII litigation as reflecting the uniqueness of this
casework.
C. Need for Judicial Resources
Title VII litigation appears to constitute an increasing proportion
of the Federal judicial workload. Reactions to this growth have in-
cluded efforts to curtail the availability of class actions,'4 to impose
new procedural barrjers upon title VII claimants,'5 to restrict certain
groups' access under title VII altogether,'6 and even to characterize
discriminatory policies and practices as not legally actionable in order
to prevent the hypothesized deluge of similar cases.'7 These judicial
reactions become the beginning of a vicious cycle, as appellate courts
must increasingly bear the escalating responsibility of reviewing such
judicially engrafted inhibitions upon the force of title VII. Increases
of human and financial resources to the Federal judiciary must be
designed by Congress to match the court's title VII workload, if the
law is to be enforced.
D. Need for Change in Judicial Appointments Policies
As a constitutional matter, Congress retains the power and respon-
sibility of screening, and of acdepting or rejecting, every appointee to
the Federal bench. As a practical matter, this author is informed that
these judicial appointments involve big-time wheeling, dealing, trade-
offs, 2-for-i's, partisan bargains, and an array of other political stra-
tegies, between interested Senators and the President in particular.
This progress is objectionable insofar as the focus of this article is
concerned because of its result: female and minority candidates are
disproportionately excluded from consideration in this process of
divvying up the Federal bench.
As of 1975, to the best of this author's knowledge, there were five (5)
female district judges ançl one (1) female Federal appellate court
judge, out of over 600 on the Federal bench. Of these six (6), one was
a black female. As four members of the U.S. Supreme Court observed,
in.Frontiero v. Richardson in 1973: 38
It is true, of course, that when viewed in the abstract, women do not constitute
asmall and powerless minority. Nevertheless, in part because of past disCrimina-
tion, women are vastly underrepresented in this Nation's decisionmaking cbun-
cils. There has never been a female President, nor a female member of this Court.
Not a single woman presently sits in the U.S. Senate, and only 14 women hold
seats in the House of Representatives. And, as appellants point out, this under-
representation is present throughout all levels of our* State and Federal
Government.
a~ See, for example, Rich v. Martin-Marietta Corp., 522 F. 2d 333, 341 (10th Cir. 1975).
("If classes were always limited as they were In this case, it would effectively make
rule 23 a nullity. It is understandable that hard pressed trial courts would not consider
this too unfavorable a result * *
~5 See, for example, McDonald v. General Mills, Inc., 387 F. Supp. 24 (E.D. Calif. 1974),
vacated in part, - F. Supp. -, 9 E.P.D. para. 9808 (ED. Cal. 1974).
~° See Hackley V. Johnson, 300 F. Supp. 1247, 1249 (at footnote 2) (D.D.C. 1973),
reversed and remanded. 520 F. 2d 108 (D.C. Cir. 1975).
~` See, for example, Miller v. BanP of America, 418 F. Supp. 233, 236 (N.D. Calif. 1976).
"* * * it would not be difficult to foresee a Federal challenge based on alleged sex-
motivated considerations of the complaintant's supervisor in every case of a lost promo-
tion, transfer, demotion, or dismissal * 3 {sjuch being the case, it would seem wise
for the courts to refrain from delving into these matters * *
`°411 U.S. 677 (1973).
PAGENO="0081"
73
Whatever the details of the Federal judicial appointive process may
be at any given time, qualified women overwhelmingly have been ex-
cluded at all stages. This author proposes that there is one and only
one way to achieve full and fair inclusion of women on the Federal
bench. Affirmative action, which should be understood as a series of
sustained and concrete efforts at every stage toward the goal of a repre-
sentative Federal bench, must be engaged in by those legislators having
actual authority and influence over judicial appointments. In this
regard, a relentlessly hard look must be taken at traditional evaluative
sources of candidates, such as the American Bar Association, which is
an organization that has only just begun to make efforts to overcome
its own profound, systemic sex and racial discrimination. These indis-
pensable steps toward overcoming the long history of discrimination
against females and minorities in Federal judicial appointments can-
not be effectively taken by any group save our Federal legislators.
There are few if any valid alternatives to the approach of express
congressional intervention to achieve inclusion of women and minority
persons in the Federal judiciary. Because jury trials generally are
unavailable in title VII actions,39 the litigative option of a jury trial
for avoiding a biased Federal judge is essentially foreclosed in these
cases; and, of course, the effectiveness of jury trials as a strategy of
avoiding bias in court trials turns upon the debatable premise that a
number of jurors will be likelier than a given judge to treat a title VII
action without sex-based or other classificatory biases of their own.
Nor do proceedings to disqualify sexist or racist judges from hearing
title VII actions generally offer a feasible alternative for avoiding
biased triers, both because of the political delicacy of such proceed-
ings 40 and because of the sheer difficulty of proving bias in the event
of a refusal by the court to disqualify itself.4'
To the extent that judicial prejudice toward women, minorities, and
other discriminated-against groups constitutes a psychologically deep-
rooted phenomenon, surely the approach of affirmative action in judi-
cial appointments can be criticized for its nonresponsiveness to some
of those dimensions. The strongest of such criticisms is that those Fed-
eral judges already appointed will at best be encouraged indirectly to
reconsider their biases, through contact with female and minority
judges, and that even this ameliorative effect is neither certain 42 nor
controllable. As a related matter, the extraordinary and paradoxical ~
~ Cwrtis v. Loather, 415 U.S. 189 (1974) ; but see AThemarle Paper Co. v. Moody,
cited at footnote 9, supra. (dissenting opinion of Rehnquist, J.).
40 The author believes that a motion to disqualify a Federal judge on the ground of bias
is almost universally unwelcome, not only to the judge concerned, but to those who
would have to hear that judge's title VII docket if bias were admitted.
41 If a judge refuses to disqualify himself (herself) for bias under 18 U.S.C. 144, another
judge of the court may hear the evidence of bias. See, for example, U.s. v. Garramone, 374 F.
Supp. 256, 258 (ED. Pa. 1974), stating: "Sec. 144 contemplates a bias or prejudice
stemming from religious, ethnic, sociological, or other similar extrajudicial grounds."
One experienced Federal trial attorney, who will remain anonymous, reports: "To dis-
qualify a Federal judge for bias against your client, you must prove that the judge burned
your client in effigy for each of 30 days in a row." Perhaps the danger of forum-shopping
via disqualification proceedings under sec. 144 accounts for this result; nonetheless, the
implication for the problem at hand Is inescapable.
42 The opposite effect may occur, to the degree that contact with the targets of bias can
inflame or exaggerate that bins.
~ Quite ironically, the only title VII action In which a motion for refusal has resulted
in a written opinion, denying said motion, Blank v. ~nllivan G Cromwell, - F. Supp. -, 19
E.P.D. par. 10,365 (S.D.N.Y. 1975), Is before Judge Constance Baker Motley of the
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York; counsel for defendants therein
grounded his motion to disqualify Judge Motley in part upon the fact that Judge Motley
is a black female.
91-686-77-6
PAGENO="0082"
74
pressure upon some female and minority judges to resist any appear-
ance of "compensatory" bias may stalemate the transition from cate-
gorical bias to individualized fairness for some time.
Finally, the criticism is well taken that the part of affirmative action
in judicial appointments which goes directly to consideration of a
candidate's personal biases is the most difficult part to achieve, and
may be far more crucial to the realization of change than the "easier"
part of goals and timetables.
Nonetheless, the proposal of affirmative action in Federal judicial
appointments embodies a value that transcends all such pragmatic
criticisms as to its mechanical difficulties and political feasibility. Were
the United States judiciary made subject in its composition to the
affirmative action principle, there is no question that Federal enforce-
ment of antidiscrimination law, particularly through the judiciary,
would be given the incomparable credibility and strength that arises
from the authority doing unto itself that which it is doing unto others.
PAGENO="0083"
LEGAL REMEDIES BEYOND TITLE VII TO COMBAT
SEX DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT
By MARCIA GREENBERGER* AND DIANE GUTMANN**
CONTENTS
Page
A. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act 75
B. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 76
1. Legal interpretation of the act 80
2. Effectiveness of the Equal Pay Act 82
C. Executive Order 11246 84
1. Enforcement of the Executive order 85
2. Effectiveness of the order 87
D. Title IX 87
E. Effect of the equal rights amendment 88
F. Conclusion 89
That sex discrimination in employment has been a widespread prac-
tice is beyond dispute. That pervasive sex discrimination in the work-
place is still a critical problem also cannot be questioned.1 It is impor-
tant, therefore, to assess the effectiveness of the existing legal remedies
available to combat sex discrimination in employment in order to deter-
mine whether they adequately serve their intended purposes.
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act 2 has played a leading role as
the vehicle through which courts have defined employment practices
that are considered sex discriminatory, and through which courts
have provided relief to those discriminated against. 1-lowever, there are
other Federal laws which prohibit sex discrimination in employment,
and which provide alternate or supplementary options to title VII.
In certain respects, these laws have advantages over title VII, either
because of the sanctions they provide or because of the agencies charged
with their enforcement. However, in order to review the effectiveness
of these alternatives, it would be useful to describe these laws and their
relationship to title VII.
A. TITLE VII OP THE 1964 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT
Title VII prohibits discrimination by employers in their employ-
ment practices on the basis of sex. It is interprdted and enforced by the
Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC).
5An attorney with the Women's Rights Project of the Center for Law and Social Policy
in Washington, D.C., and a 1970 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
**A 2d year student at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a student intern
at the Center for Law and Social Policy.
1 Women who worked at year-round full-time jobs In 1974 earned only 57 cents for
every dollar earned by men. Just as startling, in 1974 women with 4 years of college
education had lower incomes than men who had completed only the eighth grade. U.S.
Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration, Women's Bureau. "The
Earnings Gap Between Women and Men" (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing
Office, 1976).
2 42 U.S.C. sec. 2000e. A paper In this compendium prepared by Mary C. Dunlap, "The
Legal Road to Equal Employment Opportunity: A Critical View," discusses the effective-
ness of title VII as a remedy to sex discrimination.
(75)
PAGENO="0084"
76
The EEOC has the authority to investigate complaints, make a find-
ing as to whether unlawful discrimination occurred, and if so, to seek
a remedy in court. If after a specified time period EEOC has not in-
vestigated a complaint, a complainant may seek a "right to sue letter"
from the agency, go to court directly and sue the employer. If success-
ful, the individual discriminated against can receive relief for the dis-
crimination suffered as well as reimbursement of the costs of the suit,
including attorneys' fees. This right to court redress as individuals or
through class actions, including the possibility of recovery of attorneys'
fees if successful, has been the critical reason why title VII has been one
of the most effective tools available.
However, title VII has had only limited success. In part, the effec-
tiveness of the VII is hampered because EEOC has been unable to
shoulder the maj or burden of securing compliance with the law. A.n in-
sufficient budget and administrative ineptitude have been responsible
for EEOC's inability to mount an aggressive enforcement campaign.
Instead, enforcement has been left to the private individuals who have
been discriminated against, through private lawsuits in courts. The
provision of an award of attorneys' fees to successful plaintiffs has
facilitated access to courts, at least to some degree.
However, private groups and individuals are ill-equipped to shoulder
the enforcement burden alone. Those discriminated against are often
unable, for financial and other reasons, to secure lawyers and to press
their claims in court. In addition, the harrassment and intimidation
suffered by complainants is a further hindrance to their willingness
and ability to go to court. Therefore, since EEOC plays such a limited
role, and those discriminated against face serious obstacles in going to
court for redress, very few instances of discrimination are ever exposed
and remedied.
Moreover, because of the design of title VII, little incentive is given
to employers to eliminate discriminatory practices before they are
sued. In large part, this, is because title VII remedies are mainly
prospective in nature, with back pay as the major exception. There are
no penalties available under the act. An employer therefore has little
to lose by waiting to change discriminatory practices until forced to
do so by a `court. Back salary would have been paid by a nondiscrimi-
nating employer in any event, and any future changes ordered by a
court presumably' also would have been instituted by an employer
seeking voluntarily to eliminate discriminatory practices. By waiting
for a court to order back pay, the company has the use of the funds in
the meantime. And, of course, there are good possibilities of settling
a case on a compromise basis, or of a company's winning even if it has
discriminated. This virtual absence of any sanction for noncompliance,
coupled with relatively few cases ever brought to court, accounts for
the relative ineffectiveness of title VII.
B. `THE EQUAL PAY ACT OF 1963
The Equal Pay Act (EPA)3 passed in 1963, was the first Federal
law to prohibit wage discrimination by sex, despite the fact that many
such bills had been introduced prior to that time. Unlike title VII
passed the following year, the EPA does not touch upon any area of
employment discrimination outside the realm of compensation. Its
enactment was deemed necessary in light of the fact that women, who
~29 U.S.C. sec. 206(6).
PAGENO="0085"
77
then constituted one-third of the labor force, were earning an average
of only 60 percent of the average wage of men.4 It is, of course, a sad
commentary that 14 years after the passage of the act, women now earn
only 57 percent of the average wages for men.
The EPA mandates equal pay for equal work on j ohs requinng
equal skill, effort and responsibility that are performed under similar
working conditions within any establishment. Such differentials are
permissible, however, if based upon seniority, merit or incentive sys-
tems or any factor other than sex. Employers may not bring their
establishments into compliance by means of lowering the wages earned
by any group of employees.
EPA does not cover as large a number of employees as does title
VIL However, the exemptions to coverage have been narrowed in
recent years.5 Originally, 11 categories of employees were not subject
to the act.6 Taking 1972 as a sample year, there were an estimated 2
mil]ion enterprises covered with more than 46 million employees
affected.~ The EPA was amended by the Education Amendments
Act of 1972 to include executive, administrative, and profession-
al employee.s and outside salespersons.8 Moreover, in 1974, further
amendments included additional State and local government em-
ployees, most Federal employees and others.°
Employees who feel they have a claim under the EPA may opt to
bring suit for back wages,1° liquidated damages including double dam-
ages for willful violations,11 attorney fees and court costs through a
4 Statement made by President Kennedy upon signing the EPA on June 10, 1963. cited
in Albert A. Ross and Frank V. McDermott, Jr., "The Equal Protection Act of 1963: A
Decade of Enforcement." 16 Boston Collere Industrial and Commercial Law Rev. 1-73
(November 1974) (hereinafter "Ross and McDermott article").
Tt has been estimated that three-fourths of the employed nonsupervisorv workforce,
excluding outside sales workers, and almost seven-eighths of the nonsupervisory employees,
excluding outside sales workers in the private sector, were covered by the act. See "Mini-
mum Wage and Maximum Hours Standards tinder the Fair Labor Standards Act." an
economic effects study submitted to Congress, 1977 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department
of Labor. Employment Standards Administration, 1977), p. 55.
Sec. 213. supp. 1975. enumerates 11 categories of employees who are exemut if they are
emplove~ "in a bonn tide e~eeutive. administrative, or professional capacity"; "in the
capacity of outside salesman": by any retail or service establishment if more than 50
percent of the annual dollar volume for sales of such goods and services is made within
the State; by an amusement or recreational establishment: by certain manufacturing
retailers: in certain fishing and seafood operations; In certain types of agricultural
activities; by a local newspaper; by a small independently owned public telephone com-
pany; as a seaman on a vessel other than an American vessel; or on a casual basis in
domestic service to provide babysitting or companionship services for Individuals unable
to care for themselves.
7 John F. Burns and Catherine G. Burns, "An Analysis of the Equal Pay Act," 24 Labor
Law Journal 92, February 1973.
Since 1972, investigations of tile Wage and Hour Division showed higher education
institutions owed some 8,000 employees, many professional, about $10 million in hack pay.
Several institutions have paid more than $100,000 in back wages to employees. However.
not all of the hack wages found d"e have yet been paid. "Equal Opnortunity in Higher
Education." biweekly newsletter, Washington, D.C., Education News Services Division of
Capitol Publications. Inc. (Feb. 4, 1977). p. 8.
i 1974 amendments to Fair Labor Standards Act of Apr. 8. 1974. Public Law 93-259,
SR Stat. 55. amending 29 U.S.C. sec. 201 et see. (1970) ; in Brown V. (Yitij of tionta Bar7~arq,
45 tJ.S.L.W. 2351, Jan. 14, 1977, U.S. district court, California. the court held that the
1974 amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act (which applied the ecual pay provi-
sions to Federal and State employees) constituted a valid exercise of congressional Power,
notwithstanding the Supreme Court's earlier decision in Nationo7 Leeqne of Cities v.
TTseru,44 U.S.L.W. 474 (1976). In Useri~ it was found that the amendments' extension
of minimum wage and hour protection to State and local government employees constituted
invalid Federal rerulation of State governmental activities. The Court decided that the
1974 extension of the Ecual Pay Act would not impinge on the States' sovereirntv since
the argument that decision to discriminate In pay on the basis of sex is an essential and
integral State function is both asinine and an affront to human dirnitv." 45 U.S.L.W. at
2352. See also (Thristensen v. Iowa, 45 U.S.L.W. 2086, Aug. 14. 1976 (TT.S.D.C. N. lowal,
and Userit v. Afleqlieny City Institution fist., 45 U.S.L.W. 2251 (3d Cir.L Oct. 29. 1976.
1~ It is important to note that back pay may be recovered for 2 years for nonwiliful
violations and 3 years for willful. In tItle VII, the limit is 2 years.
~ Prior to the enactment of the 1974 amendments, see. 16 (c) Prevented the Secretary
from hriaging an action to recover hack wages in a case involving a question of first
Impression, essentially rendering the remedy of see. 16(c) totally ineffective. Ross and
McDermott, op. cit., p. 11.
PAGENO="0086"
78
private attorney. However, unlike title VII, no class actions may he
brought. Alternatively, the employee may seek the assistance of the
Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor by filing a com-
plaint with the Division. If merit is found, the Labor Department
itself may go to court to seek an injunction to restrain continued viola-
tions and prevent withholding of back wages legally due.~
Moreover, the Wage and Hour Division is empowered to conduct
investigations of employers' compliance with the Act, whether or not
complaints were received. In contrast, the EEOC acts on the basis of
complaints. There are currently approximately 1,000 compliance offi-
cers across the country, but it has been estimated that only 15-20 per
cent of their time is devoted to enforcement of the EPA.12
Most of the compliance investigations conducted are not made in
response to a complaint filed by an employee.'3 These general, routine
compliance investigations are key in allowing for an overall strategy
for enforcement. In addition, they facilitate the ability of the investiga-
tor to keep complaints confidential, for an employer does not know
whether or not the investigation stemmed from a complaint. As a
result, harassment and retaliation are kept to a minimum.
Upon a finding by the Wage and Hour Division of a violation of the
EPA, voluntary compliance is usually obtained, including an agree-
ment to pay back wages. It has been estimated that more than 95 per
cent of equal pay cases are settled out of the courts.'4
Table I indicates the amounts foirnd due by the Labor Department
in 1969-1972.
As can be seen from this chart, as a result of the 1,115 establishments
TABLE I-TOTAL NUMBER OF EQUAL PAY INVESTIGATIONS CONDUCTED BY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Establishments
Fiscal year:
1969
1970
1971
1972
385
736
1,203
1,115
Number of
employees
underpaid
under the
EPA
Amounts
found due
Fiscal year:
1965 960
1966 6,633
1967 5,931
1968 6,622
1969 16, 100
1970 17,719
1971 29, 992
1972 29,022
1973 29, 619
1974 (6 me) 16, 507
$156, 202
2,097, 600
3,252,319
2,488,405
4, 585, 344
6,119,265
14, 842, 994
14,030,889
18, 005, 582
11,043, 833
Sosrce: Memorandum of Morag Simchak, Chief, Branch of Equal Pay Discrimination, U.S. Department of Labor (Jan-
uary 1974). Ross and McDermott, op. cit. p. 10.
Ua Prior to the enactment of the 1974 amendments, section 16(c) prevented the Secretary
from bringing an action to recover back wages in a case involving a question of first im-
pression, essentially rendering the reanedy of section 16 (c) totally ineffective. Ross &
McDermott, op. cit., p. 11.
~° Telephone conversation with Mr. Michael Mccarthy of the Department of Labor
Standards Office of Equal Pay and Employment Standards, Apr. 20, 1977.
13 Burns, op. cit., p. 92.
14 Burns, op. cit., p. 95.
PAGENO="0087"
79
investigated in 1972, more than 29,000 employees were found to have
been underpaid under the EPA.15
A well-publicized settlement leading to substantial wage adjust-
ments in part under the EPA was that entered into with American
Telephone & Telegraph. In 1970, the EEOC conducted an investiga-
tion of the employment practices of A.T. & T., and found race and sex
discrimination in their nonmanagement employee programs. Because
at the time the EEOC did not have the power to go to court, the agency
petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to order
the elimination of these sex and race discriminatory practices pursu-
ant to A.T. & T. `s request for a rate increase. An extensive hearing
was conducted by the FCC, and the Department of Labor joined the
effort. In January, 1973 a settlement with A.T. & T. was reached
whereby $15 million in adjustments was to be paid to 15,000 employees
discriminated against on the basis of race and sex. Moreover, an ad-
justment in wage rates estimated at $23 million each year was agreed
to. Finally, A.T. & T. agreed to adopt an affirmative action plan re-
quiring serious modifications in their policies and practices.~° Ques-
tions have been raised, however, about whether A.T. & T. has been
meeting the goals set forth in the plan.
A second aspect of the settlement took the form of a consent decree
entered in U.S. District Court on May 30, 1974, covering management
employees. The decree involved changing the wage structure for pro-
motions, and it was estimated that approximately 17,000 employees
(10,000 women) would receive wage adjustments of $14.9 million
under the change. Moreover, 7,000 employees (4,200 women) would
receive $7 million in back pay awards. This was the first major settle-
ment reached under the 1972 amendments to the Equal Pay Act which
extended coverage to professional and managerial employees.1T
The large sums found due resulting from these investigations
strongly indicate the pervasive nature of sex discrimination in wage
rates and the need to reach all of the other establishments with a much
more widespread campaign than the Wage and Hour Division has thus
far waged. One distressing fact is that as of February 22, 1976, the
Wage and Hour Division had a backlog of 1,800 complaints received
under EPA but unresolved, as indicated in table II. It is hoped that a
more vigorous enforcement effort will be undertaken in the future.
Total
New
coverage
Old
coverage
Complaint
backlog
Fiscal year:
1969
385
NA
NA
NA
1970
738
NA
NA
NA
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976.......
1976 1
1, 203
1, 122
2,095
2, 864
2, 727
2, 311
4~7
NA
NA
NA
NA
375
253
77
NP
NA
NA
NA
2, 352
2, 058
370
456
432
1,201
1,487
1,790
1,860
1,798
Sept. 21, 1976-Jan. 20, 1977
454
77
377
1, 800
1 Transition quarter, June 21-Sept. 20, 1976.
Note: Litigation-Over 1,024 cases have been fled since the act's effective date.
15 There have been amounts recovered under the Equal Pay Act pursuant to private
suits as well. For example, in 1973 a settlement was reached pursuant to a case filed in the
northern district of Indiana, Burry V. General Electric, whereby the company paid $300,000
in back pay and agreed to a $1 million increase in wages. Winn Newman, "Policy Issues,"
1 Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 270, table 2 (spring, 1976).
16 Significantly, no changes in the employment policies related to pregnancy were adopted.
17The Spokeswoman (July 15, 1974), p. 1.
PAGENO="0088"
80
1. Legal Interpretation of the Act
In order to establish a violation of EPA, a showing must be made
that the "employer pays different wages to employees of opposite
sexes `for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal
skill, effort, and responsibility and which are performed under similar
conditions.' ~~18 Failure to prove each of these elements results in dis-
missal since the act is brought into play only when the jobs in question
are equal. That is to say, the EPA is not relevant to determine rea-
sonable differentials for unequal work.
A significant amount of litigation has dealt with the meaning of
"equal work." Equality does not require that the jobs be identical, but
they must be "substantially equal," 19 even if the nature of the iobs
makes it impractical for both sexes to work interchangeably.20 The
doctrine of substantial equality was discussed by the Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit in Hodgson v. Brookhaven Hospital:
As the doctrine is emerging, jobs do not entail equal effort, [and skill and re-
sponsibility] even though they entail most of the same routine duties, if the
more highly paid job involves additional tasks which (1) require extra effort
[skill and responsibility], (2) consume a significant amount of the time of all
those whose pay differentials are to be justified in terms of them, and (3) are
of an economic value commensurate with the pay differential.~'
It is important to note that the skill, effort and responsibility involved
are to be determined by the actual demands of the position and not
from the job classification or description. For example, where the
employer justifies a higher male salary because he has some special
ability which the female in the comparable job does not, a showing
that the job does not in reality require that skill will result in a finding
of an EPA violation. Following this reasoning the t.hird circuit in
User~j v. Allegheny Count7j Hospital. supra. recently held that beau-
ticians and barbers held equal jobs for purposes of EPA and were
entitled to equal wages.
Many employers arbitrarily try to accord greater weight to physical
effort required on the job than to skill, job responsibility and working
conditions, hut the court in Hodgson v. Dais~j i1Ifg. 00.22 struck down
that reasoning as a means of characterizing jobs as unequal. That
court also made it clear that "effort" entails both physical and mental
labor, with neither automatically commanding higher wages if the
degree of effort expended is comparable.
Another issue ofteu raised concerns additional tasks performed by
male employees and whether such tasks justify a. higher salary. In
order to justify the differential wa.ge imder such circumstances. the
employer must demonstrate that every employee receiving the higher
wage is performing the extra task and that everyone performing the
extra task is receiving the higher wage. Further, the employer must
show that the primary job functions of the two groups are somehow
18 Corning Glass Works v. Brennan, 417 U.S. 188. 195 (i974). Johnson, Janet A.. "The
Ecmal Pay Act of i963: A Practical Analysis," 24 Drake Law Rev. 570, p. 591 (1975).
19 Ficlsultz v. Wbeaton Glass Co., 421 F. 26 25~ (3d Cir.), certiorari denied, 398 U.S. 905
(1970).
20 IloCgson v. Robert Hail Clothes, Inc., 473 F. 26 589 (3d Cir. 1973) certiorari denied,
4i4 ITS. 866 (i973).
201Todqson V. Brookhaven General Hospital, 436 F. 2d 7i9, 725 (5th Cir. 1970).
2-Hoclgson v. Daisy .l1'fg. Co., 3i7 F. Supp. 53S. 544 (w.D. Ark. i970). affirmed in part,
reversed in part, and remanded per curiam, 445 F. 2d 823 (Sth Cir. i97i).
PAGENO="0089"
81
made qualitatively different by the presence of the additional duty.
Differential wages have been struck down when based upon extra jobs
which do not in fact exist 23 or which consume minimal time and are
of little significance.24
In examinii~g the employee's responsibilities (described as the
"degree of accountability required in the performance of the job. with
emphasis on the importance of the job obligation" 25), higher wages
have been deemed justified for employees in supervisory roles or in
positions requiring that they make decisions materially affecting the
employer's business operations.26 The EPA has also been held inapph-
cable where a group of higher paid employees had accident prevention
duties 27 or security responsibilities.28
However, even if unequal pay for an "equal" job is shown, the em-
ployer may still justify wage differentials if they result from a system
of seniority, merit or incentive, or any other factor other than sex,
provided the system is "a systematic normal system" based upon
"objective, written standards." 29 The ascertainable criteria for these
systems must be known, available and equally applied to all em-
ployees.30
An employer must justify paying even one member of one sex at
a different rate than members of the opposite sex performing equal
work by showing that sex factors provided no pa.rt of the differential
basis. For example, night shift workers might legally receive higher
wages because of the undesirability of the work, even if the shift is
comprised solely of one sex. However, if that shift also receives a
higher base rate than the shift staffed by the opposite sex performing
the same work or the sex-differentiated shift employees are the only
ones on those shifts earning more than their corresponding day
workers, a violation of EPA would occur.31
"Red circle" rates (higher rates legitimately paid to one set of
employees because of some special circumstances which are not sex-
related), may be permissible in recognition of prior achievement and
experience if relevant to the job requirements and evenhandedly ap-
l?lied to both sexes. For example, they may be allowable for a bona
fide training program, in which case the court will look for the ex-
istence of several factors:
In summary, the cases suggest that the courts look to the following factors as
tests for the legitimacy of such programs: whether the trainee is aware of the
program's existence; whether the employee is actually hired as a trainee;
whether the work performed by the trainee and the regular employees is sub-
stantially the same; whether the program entails any instruction, courses or
23 Brennan v. Goose Creek Consolidated md. Sch. Dist., 519 F. 2c1 53 (5th Cir. 1975)
Brennan v. Woodbridge School District, 8 CCH Empi. Prac. Dec. 5719 (D. Del. 1974).
2~ Brennan v. Bd. of Ed., 374 F. Supp. 817 (D.N.J. 1974). In Brennan v. Owensboro-
Davies flty. Hosp. (6th CIr. 1975), No. 73-1261, 10 EPD para. 10, 404, the court struck
down a wage differential between nurses aides and orderlies upon finding that they per-
formed much the same work. Although generally only orderlies set up traction and
assisted in removing casts, these duties were found to have been performed "so infre-
quently that they did not render the jobs of aides and orderlies substantially different.
The average additional portmortem work done by orderlies was deemed to constitute a
`modest difference" which did not justify the existing wage differential. 10 EPD, p. 5709.
29 CFR 800.129 (1974).
26 Brennan v. Victoria Bank and Trust Co., 493 F. 2d 896, 899 (5th Cir. 1974).
27Hodgson V. Daisy Mfg. Co., supra.
28 Schulz V. Ky. Baptist Hospital, 62 CCH Lab. Cas. 44 (W.D. Ky., 1969).
~ Brennan v. Victoria Bank and Trust Co. supra.
30 29 CFR 800.144 (1974).
n Corning Glass Works v. Brennan, supra at 204-205.
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supervision; whether there is a written, formalized program; whether trainees
are actually rotated through various jobs to get a better comprehension of the
employer's business operations; whether rotation occurs due to completion of
the training program rather than the employer's personnel needs; and whether
the program is available to members of both sexes.'2
Temporary assignments may also serve as a permissible reason to
pay an employee at a different rate than others performing the work,
as is true for temporary or part-time employees, as long as the practice
is applied without discrimination against either sex.33
Differential wage treatment cannot be justified by claiming that it is
costlier to employ women,34 nor may employers rely on the "market
force" theory that women will work for less money than men,35 since
it is just this sort of discrimination that the EPA was designed to
remedy. It is not clear, however, whether an employer may, because
of some "economic benefit," pay higher wages to one group of em-
ployees. In Hodgson v. Robert Hall, supra, the Court of Appeals for
the Third Circuit allowed higher wages for all the male employee
group in the men's department tha.n were being paid to the female
employees who worked in the women's department, in part because of
the greater profits realized in the men's department and the fact that
the court found the sex segregation was justifiable. The court held
that under those circumstances wage differentials not related to actual
job performance could be maintained for the economic benefit of the
employer. The fifth circuit held differently, finding in a similar ~itua-
tion that the differential was based on sex, although there was no proof
in that case that the men's department was more profitable for the
employer.36
The implications of the Robert Hall case are quite disturbing. If
employers can look to profitability as a basis for wage rates, the effec-
tiveness of the EPA in many circumstances might be seriously under-
mined.
~. Effectiveness of the Equal Pay Act
As can be seei~ by the. number and size of back pay awards made
under the EPA, the statute has had a significant impact on remedying
discrimination in wage rates. However, the fact should be noted that
as of January 1977 the Wage and Hour Division has found $135,590,752
due but only $29,562,135 has been restored, as indicated in table III.3T
"Janet A. Johnson, op. cit., pp. 570, 596.
"29 CFR 800.147 (1974).
`~ See ITS. Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration, women's
Bureau, "The Myth and the Rea1ity'~ (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office,
April 1973) for discussion of absentee rates, work-life expectancy, and job rates.
`~ Brennan v. Victoria Bank and Trust Co., 493 F. 2d 896 (5th Cir. 1974).
`6Hodgson v. City Stores, Inc., 332 F. Supp. 942 (M.D. Ala. 1971), affirmed sub nom.
Brennan v. City Stores, Inc., 479 F. 2d 235 (5th Cir. 1973).
`7 Although the moneys found due are only estimates of what Is owed, and may, there-
fore, be inflated, the large disparity with the amounts actually restored is disturbing.
PAGENO="0091"
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TABLE Ill-EQUAL PAY FINDINGS
Number of
employees
underpaid
under the
Equal Pay
~ Act
Amounts
Income restored
-
found due
Employees
Amount
Fiscal year:
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
19763
Sept. 21, 1976-Jan. 20, 1977.
Total
Sept. 21, 1975-Jan. 20, 1976
960
6, 633
5, 931
6,622
16 100
17 719
29 992
29 022
1 29 619
32, 792
31 843
24 610
2 402
4, 930
$156 202
2, 097, 600
3, 252, 319
2 448,405
4,585 344
6 119 265
14 842 994
14 030 889
118 005 582
2 20, 623 830
26 484 860
17 952 212
1,487,464
3, 503, 786
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
117, 331
2 16, 768
17 889
16 728
1,765
4, 297
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
1 $4, 626, 251
2 6,841,443
7, 474, 163
7,881,502
650,217
2, 088, 559
239, 175
135, 590, 752
74, 778
29, 562, 135
9, 182
7, 963, 667
5, 777
3, 074, 046
iNot included in these figures is $6,300,000 paid under the Equal Pay Act by Amnrican Telephone & Telegraph to 6,100
of its employees. While the violative practice was originally disclosed by several wage-hour investigations, the resolution
of the problem throughout the entire American Telephone & Telegraph operating system was secured through litigation by
the Solicitors Office but was not based on indaidual compliance actions. This amount is thus not included in vage-hour
compliance action statistics.
2 Not included in these figures is $7,000,000 which the company agreed to restore to 7,OCO emplcyees. This is the2d
consent decree which was entered into with A.T. & T. covering equal pay violations at management level.
3 Transition quarter, June 21-Sept. 20, 1976.
Several explanations have been advanced concerning the mounting
backlog of complaints. The answer lies in part in the fact that investi-
gators have been given additional responsibilities, including age dis-
crimination and the expanded coverage of the EPA and Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA), yet the number of investigators has not been
expanded accordingly. Moreover, the professional employment cases
are more complex and more difficult for investigators to understand
and resolve. Finally, there are those who raise the question that the
commitment to enforce EPA may not be as strong as it should be.
Even if more vigorous enforcement were secured, the effectiveness
of EPA will continue to be limited. A serious drawback of EPA is that
even where virtually identical jobs are at issue, there are exceptions in
the act which allow differences in wage rates if they are based on fac-
tors other than sex. Decisions such as that in Robert Hall underscore
the limitations of EPA because of these exceptions.
Further, the EPA has no effect on the critical problem of women
clustered in low-status, low-paying jobs where there are no male
counterparts. And it should be noted that most women working out-
side the home work in such jobs. EPA does not provide a vehicle for
moving women into nontraditional jobs, nor does it address the need
to upgrade the status and pay of jobs traditionally held by women. For
example, it has long been suggested that traditionally female jobs such
as nurse or secretary have been undervalued in relationship to jobs such
as "salesmen." as The EPA cannot be used to address this issue. It is
28 In the State of California, a clerk-typist II must have a high school education, knowl-
edge of office machines and equipment, grammar, spelling, and so forth. A warehouse
worker must have the ability to read and write English; there are no educational or
specialized skills required. Warehouse workers, virtually always male, make $109 more
per month than clerk-typists, a 97-percent female class. 7 "The Spokeswoman" 4 (Mar. 15,
1977).
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precisely because the great bulk of women in paid employment work
in "women's jobs" ~ that the Equal Pay Act, even if enfOrced to its full
potential, is of important but limited utility.
C. EXECUTIVE ORDER 11246
In 1964, the President issued Executive Order 11246 (32 Fed. Reg.
12319), which prohibits Federal contract funds from going to em-
ployers who discriminate in their employment policies or practices on
the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin. In 1968, the order
was amended to include sex. Executive Order 11375 (32 Fed. Reg.
14303). For the most part, the employment practices prohibited by
title VII are also prohibited by Executive Order 11246. Therefore its
scope is broader than the Equal Pay Act. However, the employers
covered are limited to those receiving Federal contracts.
ihe Executive order is enforced by the Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs (OFCCP) within the Labor Department.
OFCCP has in turn delegated enforcement responsibilities to Federal
agencies which each focus on different industries.40 The program is
divided into construction and nonconstruction contractors.
The approach of this Executive order differs from that of the Equal
Pay Act or title VII, in that the major remedy is not direct relief to
the individuals discriminated against in the form of back pay, promo-
tion, reinstatement or the like. Instead the sanction is termination of
Federal contract funds 41 if the discrimination is not remedied. Of
course. back pay, promotion, et cetera can be secured by OFCCP in
order that the fund cutoff remedy not be used.
Moreover. Executive Order 11246 has a~ unique and critical aspect
which could be its greatest strength. Pursuant to regulations issued
under the Executive order,. contractors must develop affirmative action
plans in order to remain eligible for Federal contracts. With the de-
velopment of and adherence to good affirmative action plans. enormous
progress could be made in the eradication of sex discrimination in
employment.42
In addition, unlike title VII or the Equal Pay Act. there is no ex-
press provision under Executive Order 11246 for a. private right of ac-
tion. and t.here has vet to be established a clear right of individuals to
go to court directly and sue the Federal contractor if it has sex-
~ "Although the future may hold more options, the largest proportion of women with
paid employment currently work in clerical/sales occupations. These typists. clerks. secre-
tories, and office machine operators comprise * * * 38 percent of those in the paid
labor force.
`Twelve percent of all women are in professional, technical. and managerial JOi)S. lint
half of this group work in education or health fields, principally in teaching and nursinv.
Only 9 percent of women are members of labor unions." Barbara Bryant. "Anwricon
Women Today and Tomorrow" (Washington, D.C.: National Commission on floe Oh-
servonce of International Women's Year, March 1977).
4° The 11 compliance agencies are the Atomic Energy Commission, Department of Agr~-
culture, Department of Commerce. Department of Defense. Department of H~nltlo. Rim-
cation, and Welfare, Department of the Interior. Department of the Treasury. Department
of Transportation, General Services Administration, U.S. Postal Service, Veterans'
Administration.
41 A further sanction is referral of the case to the Justice Department for suit.
42 The whole operation of affirmative action plans is now being reviewed liv tim co"rts.
in light of charges of "reverse discrimination." See, for example, Cramer v. Virginia Cons-
mon.wealth University, 415 P. Supp. 673 (ED. Va. 1976) for a case involving Eaecutive
Order ii246, presently on appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
PAGENO="0093"
85
discriminatory employment practices. As a result, individuals discrimi..
nated against have tended to rely upon the OFCCP and delegated Fed-
eral contract compliance agencies to enforce the Executive order and
to investigate complaints filed by the aggrieved individuals or groups.43
The agencies can conduct investigations either pursuant to a com-
plaint or their own plan of spot checks of contractors for compliance
with the provisions of the Executive order.~~ It is expected that em-
ployers will agree to remedy discrimination under the threat of fund-
termination.
Unfortunately, on the whole this reliance upon OFCCP for enforce-
ment has been misplaced. Most of the compliance agencies have yet
to develop vigorous enforcement efforts, and OFCOP has failed to
exercise its authority to require that such efforts be made. Moreover,
since there have been so few enforcement efforts, there has been very
little case law interpreting the Executive order.
1. Enforcement of the Executive Order
A series of reports by the General Accounting Office (GAO) have
reviewed the enforcement efforts under Executive Order 11246 and
found those efforts to be seriously wanting.45 Moreover, enforcement
has been particularly inadequate in the area of sex discrimination
For example, GAO `has found that `compliance agencies often did not
investigate to see if `discrimination was systemic and affected a class
of employees. Similarly, they did not review whether there was a need
for back pay.46 It was n'ot until March 1975 that OFOCP published
proposed guidelines on `back pay for affected class employees. Yet it is
through `back pay and class relief that the most effective remedies to
discrimination can be achieved.
In addition, GAO has found that during fiscal year 1972-74, vir-
tually all efforts of the OFCCP regional staffs were `devoted to moni-
toring the construction program. Yet, the construction program is not
geared to the problems of sex discrimination, and still only requires
affirmative action through goals and timetables to be developed for
race and national origin, not for sex.47
~ In a recent change In its regulations, OFCCP will not retain any responsibility for
investigating complaints.
~ Unfortunately, compliance agencies responsible for enforcing Executive Order 1 1246
do not have the same record of success in keeping the identity of complainants conficlen-
tial as the Wage and Hours Division under the EPA.
~ "EEO Program for Federal Nonconstruction Contractors Can Be Improved," MWD-
75-63 (Washington, D.C.: General Accounting Office, Apr. 29, 1975).
"Colleges and Universities With Government Contracts Provide Equal Employment
Opportunity," MWD-75-72 (Washington, D.C.: General Accounting Office, Aug. 25. 1975).
"Report to Congressman Jones on the Federal Equal Employment Program for North-
east Oklahoma Construction Projects Is Weak," MWD-76-56 (Washington, D.C.: Gen-
eral Accounting Office, May 28, 1976).
"More Action Needed To Insure `That Financial Institutions Provide Equal Employment
Opportunity," MWD-76-95 (Washington, D.C.: General Accounting Office Jure 24
1976).
~° Gregory J. Ahart, testimony and prepared statement on the evaluation of the contract
compliance program in' nonconstruction industry, hearings, U.S. Congress, Subcommittee
on Fiscal Policy, Joint Economic Committee, 93d Cong., 2d sess. (Washington, D.C.
Government Printing Office, Sept. 11, 12, 1974). The Ahart article summarizes the findings
of the GAO report, "EEO Programs for Federal Nonconstruction Contractó~s' "Can Be
Improved," prepared for the U.S. Congress, Subcommittee on Fiscal Policy of' the Joint
Economic Committee, Apr. 29, 1975.
~` Advocates for Women V. Marshall, Civ. Action No. 76-0862, presently pending D.D.C.
challenges this omission.
PAGENO="0094"
86
The weaknesses in the enforcement program were summarized as
follows:
At least two compliance agencies were approving affirmative action programs
that did not meet department guidelines. Some agencies were reluctant to initiate
enforcement actions and therefore they extended conciliation efforts with con-
tractors beyond department time limits. Some compliance agencies did not always
conduct the required preaward reviews. Of the 13 compliance agencies, 12 had
not identified all contractors for which they were responsible, and most agencies
were not reviewing an adequate portion of the contractors for which they were
responsible. Ahart, op. cit., p. 568.
Moreover, enforcement of Executive Order 11246 has not im-
proved dramatically since the Ahart article and the GAO report dated
May 5, 1975. A GAO report dated August 25, 1975, dealt with enforce-
ment of the order by the Department of Health, Education, and Wel-
fare (HEW) and was entitled "More Assurances Needed That Col-
leges and Universities With Government Contracts Provide Equal
Employment Opportunity." The report concluded, for example, that
sanctions for noncompliance were not initiated and affirmative action
plans not approved. Significantly, in its published annual operating
plan for fiscal year 1977, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in HEW-
the Office charged with the responsibility of enforcing the Executive
order-announced it would investigate virtually no new sex discrimi-
nation complaints filed under Executive Order 11246 and would con-
duct no general reviews of compliance with this order. 41 Fed. Reg.
41776 and the following (September 23, 1976). in short, OCR an-
nounced its enforcement of the order had come to a standstill.48 And
OFCCP had not secured any change in this policy. At the present time,
there is a backlog of over 500 Executive order complaints. Finally,
GAO prepared a report dated March 30, 1977, concerning the Office for
Civil Rights in HEW. This report repeated the distressing conclusions
of the earlier reports prepared.
There are several possible explanations for this total lack of en-
forcement of Executive Order 11246. OCR itself claims that it lacks
sufficient resources to do a better job, an explanation which appears to
lack credibility. Women's groups have been shocked to learn that
during the last several years OCR has returned, unspent, millions of
dollars to the Treasury. As of May 1977, there were over 200 author-
ized slots in OCR which were unfilled. These unfilled positions repre-
sented more than one-fourth of all OCR positions. Given these hard
facts, coupled with lack of training of the personnel which OCR does
have and the absence of established routine procedures for enforce-
ment, it is clear that OCR has been either unwilling or unable to de-
velop a serious enforcement effort of the Executive order.
GAO has also prepared a report on the enforcement of Executive
Order 11246 by the Treasury Department against financial institu-
tions dated ,hme 24, 1976, and entitled "More Action Needed To In-
sure That Financial Institutions Provide Equal Employment Oppor-
tunity." The summary on the cover page of the report stated:
48A suit was filed and is currently pending against HEW and the Labor Department for
failure to enforce the sex discrimination provisions of the Executive order against univer-
sities. Wonven'8 Equity Action League et ci. v. Califano ci a?., D.D.C. (Civ. Action No.
74-1720).
PAGENO="0095"
87
Treasury has made limited progress in insuring that financial institutions
follow equal employment opportunity practices. The program's credibility ha~
been seriously impaired by Treasury's record of nonenforcement-even in in-
stances of financial institutions' deliberate refusal to comply with requirements.49
2. Effectiveness of the Order
The unique aspect of Executive Order 11246 is its sanction of Fed-
eral fund cutoff and requirement of the development of affirmative
action plans.5° However, because individual lawsuits are not encour-
aged by the structure of the Executive order, enforcement of its provi-
sions has depended upon the efforts of the OFCCP and the compliance
agencies. As discussed above, Government agencies to date have been
unwilling or unable to provide effective enforcement of this order.
Since the Executive order was amended to include sex in 1968, vir-
tually no Federal funds have ever been terminated or contractors de-
barred because of their sex-discriminatory practices. And because the
sanction of the Executive order is for practical purposes never in-
voked, there is little compliance with it on the part of employers re-
ceiving Federal contracts.
That is not to say, however, that the Executive order has secured no
gains for women at all. Some employers have been willing to develop
effective affirmative action plans or enter into settlements providing
some remedies for past discrimination. For example, under the Execu-
tive order in a settlement with the Veterans' Administration, McNeil
Laboratories, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, has adopted a mater-
nity leave policy guaranteeing workers reinstatement without loss of
pay, job status and seniority after childbirth, miscarriage, and abor-
tion.5' However, until the Government indicates its willingness to im-
pose sanctions when necessary, recalcitrant employers can continue to
refuse to change sex-discriminatory employment practices without
fear of losing Government contracts.
D. TImE IX
Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 52 prohibits sex
discrimination in employment or student programs or policies of edu-
cational institutions receiving Federal funds. The title IX regulations
dealing with employment are very similar to those guidelines issued
by the EEOC under title Vu.53 The sanction under title IX is simi-
lar to that of the Executive order-fund cutoff to institutions which
discriminate.~~ Moreover, the problems with title IX are similar to the
Executive order as well.
~ See also report on the "Treasury Department's Contract Compliance Program for
Financial Institutions," 1J.S. Senate, Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs,
94th Cong., 2d sess. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1976).
5° In the area of construction contracts, the failure to require goals and timetables for
sex severely impairs this effectiveness.
~1 Spokeswoman, Mar. 15, 1977, p. `3.
52 20 U.S.C. sec. 1681 et seq.
~` In fact, the title IX regulations dealing with pregnancy-related disabilities are mod-
eled after the guidelines struck down by the Supreme Court in Gilbert V. General Electric,
45 U.S.L.W. 4031 (1976). However, HEW has taken the position that the title IX regula-
tions are valid, despite the G~lZbert ruling.
~ Its coverage with regard to educational institutions Is broader in that It Includes
institutions receiving Federal funds of grants, loans, and so forth, In addition to contracts.
PAGENO="0096"
88
The agency charged with the primary enforcement responsibility
for title IX is also the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in IE[EW. Al-
though title IX was passed in 1972, regulations implementing the
statute were not promulgated until 1975. Until that time, virtually no
enforcement of title IX took place.55 Moreover, the most recent GAO
report on OCR dated March 30, 1977, concerns the enforcement of title
IX and indicates that the situation has improved little since 19Th. And
the GAO states:
* In short, OCR does not have a comprehensive and reliable management infor-
mation system which provides top-level officials with the basic data needed for
snaking management decisions and improving the Agency's efficiency and effec-
tiveness in carrying out its civil rights enforcement responsibilities. Ibid. at 6.
In short, although title IX prohibits schools from using sex dis-
crimination in employment, little practical change has come from
this prohibition. Moreover, a recent court case challenged the intent
of title IX and whether its purpose was to prohibit sex discriinina-
tion in employment at all. In Romeo School District v. Calilano,
W.D. Mich. (April 6, 1977), the court held that title IX was in-
tended to cover student programs, but not employment. HEW has indi-
cated that it intends to appeal the case and to continue to apply
title IX to sex discrimination in employment. It is expected that the
Romeo decision would be overturned on appeal.
Given the serious problems of HEW enforcement of title IX, its
effectiveness as a remedy to fight sex discrimination in employment
may well turn upon whether there is a private right of action for
individuals and groups to sue schools directly nuder the a.ct. Attor-
neys' fees are available if such a right is found.56 Courts are just
beginning to consider the question.
In Cannon v. University of Chicago,5T the seventh circuit held
that there was no private right of action if a single individual was
bringing suit rather than a class. However, the seventh circuit has
decided to rehear the case, so that it has come to no final conclusion
on the question. In Piasci/c v. Cleveland Museum of Art, 45 U.S.L.W.
2310 (N.1D. Ohio 1976), the court did find a private right of action.
If such private suits are brought, the effectiveness of title IX might
be improved dramatically.
E. EFFECT OF THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT
The impact of the passage of the equal fights amendment (ERA)
on the elimination of sex discrimination in employment is difficult
to project. Because the ERA applies to governmental action, its real
potential is in the area of Government employment. *~ ** -*** -~
With passage of the ERA, any sex discrimination in public em-
ployment would be subjected to strict scrutiny by the courts.58 As i.s
55 See report of the TJ.S. Cbmmission on Civil Rights, "The Federal Civil Rights Enforce-
ment Effort-1974," vol. III, "To Insure Equal Educational Opportunity," January 1975.
56 Civil Rights Attorneys' Fees Award Act of 1976 (Oct. 19. 1976), Public Law 94-559.
~` Cannon v. University of Chicago at a!., Civil Action No. 76-123S (presently pending)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the. Seventh Circuit.
58 Presently, rather than requiring strict scrutiny and a compelling State interest. clis-
tinctions based on sex can be justified if they serve important governmental objectives and
are substantially related to the achievement of those interest. In contrast, race and national
origin discrimination are subjected to strict scrutiny. See Craig v. Boren, 45 U.S.L.W. 4057
(Dec. 20, 1976).
PAGENO="0097"
89
true with any other issues based on constitutional rights, individuals
would have ~lirect access to courts in which to press their claims.
One important issue limiting women's employment prospects-
veterans' preference programs-might well be affected by the ERA.
Veterans' preference laws are specifically exempted from title VII,
42 U.S.C. § 20003-11 (1970). Because so few women are accepted to
serve in the Armed Forces, on the whole veterans' preferences tend
to give men an advantage. Passage of the ERA might require that
other means less detrimental to women be found to ease veterans'
reentry into civilian life and reward service in the Armed Forces.
For example, the veterans' preference might be extended to the vet-
erans' spouses.
A further impact of ERA might be to press States to take affirma-
tive acts to mitigate the effects of past discriminatory practices. Such
plans could include experiments with more flexible work hours, educa-
tion leave programs and the like.
F. CoNcLusIoN
In sum, there are a variety of Federal laws prohibiting sex discri-
mination in employment. Each has its own advantages and disad-
vantages. However, all of the laws require strengthening. For ex-
ample, more stringent sanctions to correct discriminatory practices
should be available under title VII. Furthermore, it is extremely
important that existing laws either be interpreted by courts or ex-
pressly defined by Congress so as to require review of traditional
female jobs in order to see whether they are rated fairly compared
to traditional men's jobs.
Because most women who work outside the home do so in "women's"
jobs, it is critical that the pay, status, and benefits of these jobs be
assessed according to neutral principles. Should jobs requiring manual
dexterity, often held by women, be paid less than jobs requiring
physical strength, often held by men? Are the tasks performed by
secretaries worth less than those performed by "salesmen?" To date,
existing sex discrimination laws have not been used in any major way
to address these questions. Yet, since most women are employed in
these "women's" jobs, a fair resolution of these questions is essential.
Nevertheless, even with deficiencies in the design of the present
laws, together with the problem of lack of resources to press cases,
mability to find lawyers, and fear of retaliation, important gains have
come from lawsuits of private citizens.
Unfortunately, not as much can be said for Government efforts to
spearhead enforcement. In no case is the responsible Federal agency
fully meeting the expectations of the law; it is not implementing regu-
lations by aggressively bringing suits or seeking far-reaching settle-
ments that will change sex-discriminatory employment policies of
employers across the country. At the moment, we can point only to
isolated Government victories. Yet the private sector cannot carry
the burden alone. It is only with more vigorous, widespread and con-
sistent Government enforcement and a willingness to use available
sanctions that we will see widespread movement which will signifi-
cantly change the employment picture for women.
9i-686-77------7
PAGENO="0098"
DE FACTO JOB SEGREGATION
Bi B~RBAI~ B. REAGAN°
CONTENTS
Page
1. Identification of the problem 90
II. Major changes in the work place 91
III. Documenting job segregation 93
A. Slow movement into male dominated fields 90
B. Vertical mobility 9S
IV. Causes of job segregation
V Conclusion: Economic forces affect segregation 102
I. IDENTIFICATION OF THE PROBLEM
Occupational segregation by sex exists when individual women are
unable to make career choices freely, unfettered by subtle or implicit
societal barriers. Such career choices include whether to work in
unpaid production at home or in the workplace. Occupational segre-
gation by sex also exists when employers have fixed perceptions of
the role potential of women that give priority to women's sexual
attractiveness or their motherhood or wifehood roles. As a result,
employers treat all women working for pay as if they are secondary
workers~ weakly attached to the market.. who only qualify for posi-
tions of lower status that. are subordinate to those held by men.
The results of sexism in occupational segregation are fourfold.
First, women tend to be segregated and crowded into certain "female"
occupations such as primary and secondary teachers, nurses, secretar-
ies, typists, office clerical workers, retail sales clerks, health tech-
nologists, waitresses, sewers, assemblers, and manufacturing checkers.
Women are excluded or discouraged from going into, some other occu-
pations, particularly positions involving administration or supervision
of men, top leadership and power. Second, within a given occupation.
women tend to be concentrated in the lower levels. Third, women's
work is less highly valued than men's. Fourth. the total economic
product of society is lower than it otherwise would be if women with
skills and ability were permitted to prod1uce up to the limits of their
capabilities.
In short, occupational segregation by sex currently results in tile
over-representation of women in the less favorable occupations. Even
if equal pay for equal work is achieved, equality of opportunity will
not occur simultaneously. This pa.per does not deal with the problems
of attaining equal pay for equal work.
Before World War II and even as late as 1950. the world of work
sharply segregated women into jobs that were "helping" posit.ions
for men, nurturing children. tile ill, or the disadvantaged, or working
*Professor of economics, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Tex.
(90)
PAGENO="0099"
91
in other people's homes. Women were expected to stay in the labor
force only a short time or to be part-time or part-year workers. Jobs
thought to be suitable for women were often extremely specific in
job content, with little or no possibility of promotion and that could be
filled by intermittent workers. Continuous job service and career de-
velopment were not expected. Even fathers who aspired to college
educations for their daughters talked about the value of young women
getting some kind of skill certification as insurance against the possi-
bility that something might happen to their future husbands.
TI. MAJOR CHANGES IN THE WORK PLACE
Since World War II and particularly since 1960, we have become
aware of two major changes in the workplace related to women and
their employment. These changes have had ripple effects throughout
society, but many rigidities in the world of work have remainded.
The increased number of women in the American civilian labor
force, which has been well documented,' is clearly one of the most far-
reaching transformations of our history. From 1950 to 1975, the num-
ber of female workers has more than doubled. Since 1940, the number
nearly tripled. Fifty-six percent of all women in the United States
aged 18 to 64 years are now in the civilian labor force. The recent
increase in the number of mothers with children under 6 who are
working in the market place is particularly sharp.2 It is difficult to
imagine what the level of gross national product would be in the
absence of the current rates of labor force participation of women,
even allowing for alternate sources of labor supply, such as younger
workers.
There are those, even today, who like to think of women workers
as a residual labor force, to be called upon when needed on a temporary
basis and sent back to the kitchen and the nursery when not needed.
Such a view does not fit the modern aspirations of a work force with
many women who see themselves as developing careers and working
for much, if not all, of their adult lives.
The young woman of today is concerned about how she is going to
develop as a whole person; whether she should marry and have chil-
dren; how and whether she and her husband are going to fit together
marriage, children, and two careers; how much she should invest in
her own education, and what is the likely pay-off of such an investment.
She has little doubt, however, that at some time in her life she will
be interested in the opportunities available for paid employment.~
She then wonders what her chance to contribute to her family and to
society will be. Will she find a society receptive to her making a con-
tribution in a meaningful way that will permit her to maximize her
potential? Even though she is questioning, her expectations of the
1 "Employment and Training Report of the President" (washington, D.C. : Government
Printing Office, 1976), pp. 143, 213, and 228.
2 The labor force participation rate of wives who had children under 6 years old doubled
from 18 percent in 1960 to 37.4 percent In 1976: at the sam.e time the labor force partici-
pation rate of all women aged 20 to 24 increased from 45 to 65 percent. U.S. Department
of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Jan. 12, 1977, unpublished data: U.S. Department of
Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P-SO, No. 29 (Wash-
Ington, D.C. : Government Printing Office).
The worklife expectancy at birth for a female was 22.9 years in 1970. compared with
40.1 years for the male. Howard N. Fullerton, Jr., and James J. Byrne, "Length of WTork~~
ing Life for Men and Women, 1970," Monthly Labor Review, February 1976, p. 32. (U.S.
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.)
PAGENO="0100"
92
market place are far greater than were those of her older sisters and
her mother and aunts. The increase in women's labor market expecta-
tions is also a major transformation in our history.
The more education a woman has, the more likely she is to want to
work. The increase in women's expectations is shown by t.he proportion
of women going to college, the proportion of woman who are college
graduates, and the shifts in majors of women currently in college. In
1974, the proportion of women 18 to 19 years of age going to college was
33 percent, after a steady rise from about 15 percent in the early
1950's. In 1974, the proportion of men 18 to 19 years of age going to
college was also 33 percent, but that represented a fall from the peak
of 44 percent in 1969. The drop in college enrollment by men occurred
after 1969 because the labor market took a downward turn during
this period after more than 10 years of steady, substantial growth.
Many young men decided to seek alternative career paths in the de-
pressed labor market; in contrast, young women were not deterred
from their desire for upward mobility by means of a college educa-
tion~ despite the depressed labor market.4
Rising expectations of young women are also shown in the changes
in freshman career plans, in spite of declining labor markets. Increas-
ing numbers of women~ upon entering college, plan to major in fields
that have been atypical for women. The proportion of first-year col-
lege women who planned to be business majors increased from 3.3 per-
cent in 1966 to 8.5 percent in 1974. Similarly those young college
women who said they planned to become lawyers increased from 0.7
percent of all women entering college in 1966 to 2.3 percent in 1974.
The percentage of these women hoping to become doctors increased
from 1.7 percent to 3.5 percent. The big changes were (a) the decrease
in the proportion of young women planning to become elementary or
secondary teachers, 34.1 percent in 1966 but only 11.9 percent in 1974
(a realistic view of the expected fall in demand for teachers) ; (b)
the increase in the proportion planning to go into health services (in-
cluding nursing but excluding doctors) from 11.9 percent in 1966 to
22.7 percent in 1974; and (c) the increase in the undecided groupS
from 3.6 percent in 1966 to 12.6 percent in 1974.~
Young women who realize that the market for teachers is depressed
and likely to remain so for some time apparently are moving in large
numbers to health service professions, other than doctors. At least,
this is their first idea. This is not surprising, given the ideas of many
The data are quoted from current population surveys of the U.S. Bureau of the Census
by Dr. Richard Freeman In "The Overeducated Americans" (New York City: Academic
Press, 1976), pp. 33-38. He uses the data as part of the evidence he quotes to show that
the work world is becoming better for women. I suggest this evidence better supports a
finding that young women In the early 1970's have rising expectations that the work world
will be open to permitting them to make maximum contributions in it.
It also should be noted that the proportion of college graduates who are women is slowly
moving upward. It was 40.2 percent in 1963-64 and 44.4 percent in i973-74. For the
increase over the 10-year period, see table 237 in "Statistical Abstract of the United States,
1975" (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census) and
"Earned Degrees Conferred, i972-73 and 1973-74, Summary Data." NCES 76-105 (wash-
ington, D.C. : U.S. Department of Health, Education, and welfare), p. 21.
i Data from the American Council on Education quoted by Freeman, op. cit.. p. 40. The
proportion of women enrolled in medical school increased from 6 percent in 1960 to iS
percent in 1974, with the proportion of women In the first-year class in 1974 up to 22
percent. The proportion of women enrolled in law schools increased from 4 percent In 1961)
to 19 percent in 1974, with the proportion of women in the first-year class Ia 1974 up to 23
percent. See John B. Parrish, "Women in Professional Training-An Update," Monthly
Labor Review (November 1975), p. 50.
PAGENO="0101"
93
of their parents, teachers, and counselors that the realistic vocational
interest of young women should be in supportive roles and in occupa-
tions requiring lower investment in human capital; nor is it surprising,
given previously increasing societal needs for workers in health areas.6
IE[ealth professions other than doctors are a traditional area for em-
ployment of women; 93 percent of the nurses, dieticians, and thera-
pists in 1974 were women. Movement from teaching to nursing or other
health professions (excluding doctors) therefore does little to break
down barriers to occupational segregation by sex.
The desire of women to move into law, medicine, and management
does knock on those barriers.
III. DOCUMENTING JOB SEGREGATION
Given the sharp increase in numbers and proportion of women now
employed outside the home and given the rising aspirations of women,
the question then is whether there have been important shifts in the
occupational distribution by sex. (1) Are women still crowded into
the same "female" occupations? Yes. Sex typing of jobs is still domi-
nant. (2) Is there movement of women into male-dominated fields? Yes,
a little. (3) Do women have vertical mobility; have they moved into
top-level positions of a given occupation and thus been able to demon-
strate their ability to supervise men and to assume leadership roles?
No, there is not much vertical mobility. One must therefore conclude,
based on the above three factors, that occupational segregation is still
very much present, in spite of legislation calling for an end to discrimi-
nation based on sex. As a result, only a limited number of jobs are
available to women, and college trained women tend to be seriously
underemployed.
The 57 occupations in which at least 100,000 women were employed
in 1973 are shown in table 1. About 75 percent of all women workers
were employed in these occupations. The 10 largest occupations in
which more than 40 percent of all women workers were concentrated
were secretary, retail trade salesworker, bookkeeper, private house-
hold worker, elementary schoolteacher, waitress, typist, cashier, sewer
and stitcher, and registered nurse. Of the 10 largest, women comprised
83 to 99 percent of the workers in the particular occupation, except
for retail trade sales workers, where women comprised 69 percent. Of
the 57 largest, women made up more than 75 percent of the employees
in 31 (or more than half) of the occupations. Male employment showed
much less occupational concentration. The 10 largest occupations for
men employed less than 20 percent of all men workers, compared with
the 40 percent noted above for the 10 occupations employing the most
women. The 57 occupations with the largest number of men employed
covered 52 percent of all men workers; whereas the 57 largest occupa-
tions for women, as noted above, employed about 75 percent of the
women.7
The expanding room for women In health service occupations may be diminished in the
late 1970's by health policy developments which will result in a slowdown in hospital
expansion and an improvement in wages and working conditions which will make health
service jobs more attractive to white males. See Rashi Fein and Christine Bishop, "Employ-
ment Impacts of Health Policy Developments, forthcoming in a special report of the
National Commission on Manpower Policy, Washington, D.C.
1975 Handbook on Women Workers, pp. 89-92.
PAGENO="0102"
94
TABLE 1-WOMEN EMPLOYED IN SELECTED OCCUPATIONS, 1973 ANNUAL AVERAGES
Number
Occupation (thousands)
V/omen as per-
cent of total
employment
Percent
distribution
of women
Total
White-collar workers -
Professionol, technical workers
Accountants
Librarians, archivists, and curators
Personnel and labor relations workers
Registered nurses
Health technologists and technicians
Social workers
Teachers, college and university
Teachers, except college and university
Elementary school teachers
Kindergarten and prekisdergarten teachers
Secondary school teachers
Writers, artists, and entertainers
Managers, administrators
Restaurant, cafeteria, and bar managers
Sales workers
Hucksters and peddlers
Real estate agents and brokero
Sales clerks (retail trade)
Clerical workers
Bank tellers
Billing clerks
Bookkeeporo
Cashiers
Counter clerks (except food)
Estimators and investigators (n.e.c.)
File clerks
Keypunch operators
Payroll and timekeeping clerks
Receptionists
Secretaries
Statistical clerks
Stock clerks and storekeepers
Teachers aides (except school monitors)
Telephone operators
Typists
Blue-collar workers
Craft and kindred workers
32,446
100.0
38.4
19, 681
4, 711
162
133
104
805
236
161
133
2, 038
1, 094
185
565
313
1, 590
160
2, 240
169
142
1, 551
11, 140
293
137
1, 466
909
266
164
245
230
143
431
3, 037
204
120
207
372
999
5, 244
463
60.7
14. 5
.5
. 4
. 3
2. 5
.7
.5
.4
6. 3
3. 4
. 6
1.7
1. 0
4.9
. 5
6. 9
. 5
. 4
4. 8
34.3
. 9
. 4
4.5
2.8
. s
. 5
.8
. 7
. 4
1.3
9. 4
.6
.4
. 6
1. 1
3. 1
16. 2
1.4
48.7
40. 0
21. 6
82. 1
33. 7
97. 8
71. 5
60.8
27.1
69. 9
84. 5
97. 9
49. 5
33. 7
18.4
32. 4
41. 4
77.2
36. 4
69. 0
76.6
89. 9
83. 0
88.3
86.7
76. 2
49. 5
86.3
90. 9
72. 2
96.9
99. 1
68.5
25. 3
90. 4
95. 9
96.6
17. 6
4. 1
Blue collar supervisors
Operatives
Assemblers
Checkers, examinero and inspectors (manufacturing)
Clothing ironers and pressers
Dressmakers and seamstresses (except factory)
Laundry and dry cleaning operators (n.e.c.)
Packers and wrappers (n.e.c.)
Sewers and stitchers
Textile operatives
Nonfarm laborers
Stockhandlers
Service workers
Private household workers
Child care workers
Private household cleaners and servants
Service Workers (except private household)
Cleaning service workers
Building interior cleaners
Lodging quarters cleaners
Janitors and sextons
Food service workers
Cooks
Food counter and fountain workers
Waiters, waitresses, and helpers
Health service workers
Dental assistants
Health aides and trainees (excluding nursing)
Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants
Practical nurses
Personal service workers
Child care workers
Hairdressers and cosmetologists
Farm workers
109
4,482
600
377
118
131
112
420
891
240
299
130
7,008
1, 330
532
631
5, 678
707
358
195
153
2, 370
555
254
1, 082
1, 398
112
150
790
345
1, 140
342
458
514
. 3
13.8
1.8
1. 2
. 4
. 4
.3
1.3
2.7
7
.9
. 4
21.6
4. 1
1. 6
1. 9
17. 5
2. 2
1. 1
. 6
. 5
7. 3
1.7
. 8
3.3
4. 3
- 3
. 5
2. 4
1. 1
3.5
1. 1
1. 4
1.6
7.
31.4
49.7
49. 5
77. 1
96. 3
63. 3
61. 5
95. 5
56. 9
6.9
17. 3
63.0
98. 3
98. 3
98. 3
58. 1
34. 1
54. 2
95. 6
12. 6
69. 7
59.8
80. 9
82.9
87. 6
98. 2
82. 4
83. 9
96. 4
73.9
95. 5
91. 8
17.0
Source: Based on U.S. Department of Labor, "1975 Handbook on Women Workers," Bulletin 297 (Washington, D.C.:
Government Printing Office, 1976), pp. 89-91.
PAGENO="0103"
9i5
The above statistics show that women are concentrated in selected
occupations much more than men are. The concentration of women
into these few selected occupations has resulted in these occupa-
tions being relatively crowded, as evidenced by the relatively low
wages paid in them. There is a reserve pooi of qualified women outside
the labor force who would be willing to work in these female jobs
if the wages were increased or conditions of work improved.
Another facet of this question is the growing concentration of
women in "female" jobs during the last 15 years. The 10 occupations
in which most women were employed in 1973 are listed in table 2. In
some oases, summary data for a broader occupational group is also
given in order to permit comparisons when the detail is not avail-
able. Because the data in this table are from different sources with
slightly different definitions and are based on samples which are sub-
ject to normal sampling error, general comparisons should be made,
rather than specific ones. (Dashes are used when data are not avail-
able.) Trends may be meaningful even though differences between
the selected years are small.
TABLE 2.-PROPORTION OF EMPLOYED WORKERS WHO WERE WOMEN IN EACH OF THE SELECTED OCCUPATIONS
FOR SELECTED YEARS SINCE 1960
Occupation 19751 19742 19733 19704 19604
All occupations 39.0 38.9 38.4 37.7 32.8
Nurses, dieticians, therapists 93.1 94.4 96.0
Registered nurses 98.0 97.8 97.3 97.5
Teachers, except college 70. 6 1 69. 2 69. 9 70. 2 72. 6
Elementary school teachers 84.3 84.5 83.6 85.8
Salesworkers, retail trade 61.6 160.9
Sales clerks, retail trade 69. 4 69. 0 64. 6 63. 3
Bookkeepers 89. 2 88. 3 82. 0 83. 4
Cashiers 87.7 86.7 83.5 76.9
Secretaries, typists, and stenographers 98. 4 1 98. 4 96. 6 96. 5
Secretaries 99. 1 97. 6 97. 1
Typists 96.6 94.2 95.1
Operatives except transport 39~ 5 1 40. 4 39. 2 37. 9 35. 5
Sewers and stitchers 95. 5 93.7 94.0
Food service workers 74. 6 1 74* 7 69. 7 68. 0 67. 6
Waiters 82. 9 88. 8 86. 6
Private household workers 98. 0 1 98. 2 98. 3 96. 6 96. 4
I U.S. Dexartment of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Employment and Earnings" (Washington, D.C.: Government
Printing Office, Janaury 1976), table 18, p. 146. Employed persons 20 yr and over; annual averages of monthly data.
2 Unless otherwise specified, 1974 data are from U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Employment
and Earnings" (Washintgon, D.C.: Government Pristing Office, June 1975), table 1, p. 7. Annual average of monthly data.
3 U.S. Department of Labor, "1975 Handbook on Women Workers" (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office,
1976), pp. 89-91. Annual averages of monthly data.
4 U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1970 Census of Population, "Detailed Characteristics of the
Population U.S. Summary" (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973), table 221. Employed,persons l4yrs.
old and over, pp. 718 if.
As the proportion of women increased among all occupations in the
last 15 years, the most numerous jobs for women remained largely,
female jobs. Many of these female jobs have become even more con-
centrated with women as the market expanded, as in the case of retail
sales clerking, bookkeeping, cashiering. secretarial and typing work,
and food service work including that of waiter. In a declining labor
market, private household jobs became more highly concentrated with
women. Registered nursing and elementary school teaching positions
showed little change, remaining highly concentrated with women.
Most of the increase in women in the labor force has been absorbed
through expansion of clerical and service worker jobs, which tradi-
tionally are "female" jobs.
PAGENO="0104"
96
A. Slow ii[ovenwn~ I'rtto Male Do~minatecl Fields
Another aspect of recent changes in occupational segregation is
whether women now are being employed in fields long considered
male preserves; that is, higher paid professional and managerial jobs.
The question arises as to what proportion is suitable to be selected as
the norm for women's participation in an occupation-SO percent, the
same proportion women have of all jobs (41 percent in 1976), or a
looser definition based on free choice without barriers. As long as
women are in low proportions in some fields, all we need to say is that
barriers should. be removed so that more women who wish to do so
may move into the male-dominated fields. As long as the major clirec-
tion for policy is clearly "more," we need not stop now to worry about
how much more.8
Women are beginning to move slowly into male-dominated pro-
fessions as shown in table 3.
TABLE 3.-PROPORTION OF EMPLOYED WORKERS WHO WERE WOMEN IN SPECIFIED MALE-DOMINATED
PROFESSIONS FOR SELECTED YEARS SINCE 1960
Occupation 11974 1973 `1970 `1960
All occupations 38. 9 38. 4 37. 7 32. 8
All professional, technical 40.5 40.0 39.8 38.4
Accountants 23. 7 21. 6 26. 0 16. 4
Architects ~ 2.0
Computer specialists 19. 0 19. 5 19. 6 29. 8
Engineers 1.3 1.6 .8
Engineering and science technicians 10.2 10. 9 9. 0
Lawyers and judges 7.0 4.8 3.4
Physicians, dentists 9.3 8. 5 5. 9
Religious workers 10. 1 10. 3 16. 5
Clergymen 2.9 2.3
Teachers, college and university 30.9 27. 1 28. 4 23. 7
1U5. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Employment and Earnings," (Washington, D.C., Government
Printing Office, June 1975), table 1, p. 7. Annual average of monthly data.
2 U.S. Department of Lnbor, "1975 Handbook on Women Workers," Bulletin 297, (Washington, D.C., Government Print-
ing Office 1976) pp. 89-91. Annual averages of monthly data.
o U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1970 Census of Population, "Detailed Characteristics of the
Population, U.S. Summary," (Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office, 1970), table 221. Employed persons 14 yr.
old and over, pp. 718 ft.
The proportion of women in the total for all professional fields is
highly influenced by the concentration of women in the high employ-
ment areas of primary school teachers and nurses. In the specific pro-
fessional areas that traditionally have been male dominated, more
women are being employed as accountants in 1974 than in 1960. Simi-
larly, the proportion of women employed as college and university
teachers has increased. Smaller gains have been made in law anci medi-
cine since 1960. Extremely small gains have been made in engineering,
with possible regression since 1970.
The proportion of all women college graduates working in profes-
sional occupations fell from 81 percent in 1969 to 69 percent in 1974.
This drop was related to the reduced chance of getting a teaching job
in secondary or elementary schools; this reduced chance fell from 49
percent in 1969 to 43 percent in 1974.°
Women have also been moving slowly in the last 15 years into man-
agement positions, but there is still a long way to go as shown in table 4.
°Kenneth B. Boulding and Barbara B. Reagan, "Guidelines To Obviate Role Prejudice and
Sex Discrimination," American Economic Review (December 1973), p. 1050.
O Richard Freeman, OP. cit., p. 171.
PAGENO="0105"
97
Interpretation of the data on women in management is clouded by the
fact that a higher proportion of women than men counted in the man-
agement category serve as supervisors, rather than true managers.
Furthermore, the earnings and promotion possibilities of managers are
related to the size and market power of their firms. Women managers
may be less likely than men to be with the larger, more powerful firms.
Sharp increases have been made in the employment of women in
such positions as bank officials and financial managers. The market has
expanded from about 24,000 such jobs in 1960 to over 300,000 in 1970
and to over 500,000 in 1974, an increase that is related to the growth
in branch banking. The growth of women's proportion of such em-
ployment from about 9 percent in 1960 to 21 percent in 1974 is one of
the sharpest changes observed. Women also gained in positions such as
sales manager and department head in retail trade a.s the number of
such jobs grew.
TABLE 4.-PERCENT OF EMPLOYED PERSONS WHO ARE WOMEN IN SELECTED MANAGER JOBS BY YEARS
Occupation 1 1974 2 1973 1970 960
All occupations 38.9 38.4 37.7 32.8
Managers and administrators except farm 18. 5 18. 4 16. 5 14. 7
Bank officials, financial managers 21. 4 19. 4 17. 6 8. 7
Buyers and purchasing agents 24. 9 25. 1
Buyers, wholesale and retail trade 36. 3 29. 5 35. 5
Health administrators 44. 6 75. 1
Officials, Administrators; public administration; n.e.c 20. 8 19. 1 17. 4
Restaurant, cafeteria, bar managers 33. 9 32. 4 34. 1 32. 5
Sales managers, department heads, retail trade 32. 4 28. 9 23. 8 23. 4
Sales managers except retail trade 3.5 <.1
School administrators 27. 8 29. 0 26. 5 25. 6
College 23. 5 30. 7
Elementary and secondary 27. 1 25. 0
1 U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Employment and Earnings" (Washington, D.C., Government
Printing Office, June 1975), table 1, p. 7. Annual average of monthly data.
2 U.S. Department of Labor, "1975 Handbook on Women Workers," Bulletin 297 (Washington, D.C., Government
Printing Office, 1976), pp. 89-91. Annual averages of monthly data.
3 U.S. Dopartment of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1970 Census of Population, "Detailed Characteristics of the
Population U.S. Summary," (Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office, 1970), table 221. Employed persons 14 yrs.
old and ov,er, pp. 718 ft.
Health administration is another occupational group with tremen-
dous growth from 1960 to 1970; the number of jobs grew from about
7,000 to 84,000. In this group of jobs, however, men were employed in
such large numbers that the proportion of women managers decreased
from 75 percent of the. health administrators to 45 percent in the 10-
year period. Women also lost ground from 1960 to 1974 as buyers in
wholesale and retail trade, as well as college administrators from 1960
to 1970.
Although not considered a separate occupational category, the num-
ber of women who are on the boards of large corporations is related
to women's role in management. Data on the relative number of board
positions held by women is incomplete. A listing of the women inem-
bers of the boards of directors of 237 corporations in the United States
was made by Business and Society Review in the winter issue of 1975-
76.10 It was noted that appointment of women to boards of directors
was just a trickle in 1972 and prior years, but increased more rapidly
thereafter. Eighty of the women listed were appointed in 1975. Over
10 (No author). "Who Are the Women in the Board Rooms," a survey, Business and
Society Review, No. 16 (winter 1975-76), p. 5.
PAGENO="0106"
98
the years, a few women were appointed to corporate boards because
of family relationships to the men who founded or owned the busi-
nesses. Now additional women are being asked to serve because of their
own accomplishments and knowledge. As company leaders begin to
think about adding women as directors, they have a tendency to select
women who already sit on another board, as indicated in table ~.
TABLE 5.-WOMEN IN CORPORATE BOARDS
Number of
Numbor of
Number cf
women
directors
corpora-
tioss
directors
positrons
Total 207 237 26
Women on more than 1 board 36 91
Women with family affiliation to founder or president 37 34 38
Boards with 2 to 4 women directors 21 46
Boards with 1 or more worsen who do not have family affiliation to
founder or president 203
Women on 1 or more boards and who do not have family affiliation to
founder or president 170
Source: With thanks to Dr. Alva Clutts, School of Business Administration, Southern Methodist University, for making
these counts from the directory listing in Business andSociety Review (Winter, 1975-76), and bringing thom to my attention.
Of the 237 corporations who have a.t least one woman director, only
203 have women who are not related to the founder or president and
only 170 women hold these positions. Obviously there should be more
opportunity in the board rooms of many corporations for women with
skills and experience to make a contribution.
B. Vertical Mobility
Once a woman has trained for a male-dominated field and obtained
employment in an entry level position, occupationai segregation by sex
still exists unless women have vertical mobility comparable to that
of men. In part, this is a function of on-job-training opportunities.
Employers with limited perceptions as to women employees' promot-
ability will be reluctant to make on-job-training opportunities avail-
able to them. Women may be excluded from informal networks. Sex
discrimination can take many subtle forms that slow or deter women's
progress up the professional or managerial ladder.
It is not enough for counsellors to urge a young woman to feel free
to train for entry into a male-dominated field if her interests lie in that
field. Active support systems, and attitudinal changes must also be
made available if she is to have equal opportunity in the male-domi-
nated profession or occupation.
Many of the "female" occupations have extremely limited channels
for promotion. Many occupations have been fragmented into specific.
tasks requiring pre-employment training. Specific training for clerical
or service tasks leads to permanent typecasting. Licensing and accredi-
tation keep work groups separated and without promotional possibili-
ties. For example, nurses' aides do not learn on the job how to be
nurses; they have to attend school to do so.
About two~thirds of all johs in New York City municipal hospitals do not have
educational or training requirements for entry, but neither do they have promo-
tional possibilities.
Even in industries where promotional ladders are common. certain jobs were
traditionally isolated. An example of particular interest involves telephone op-
PAGENO="0107"
99
erators. The American Telephone and Telegraph Co., in agreeing to affirmative
action for enhancing equal employment opportunity, now provides for exit from
this job by removing sex as a barrier to horizontal or vertical mobility. Since the
plan cannot, however, create experience linkages between the operator job and
other jobs, the company has to train the operators who move into craft jobs as
if `they were newly hired.
The point is important because it illustrates how closely the conditions for
market protection are rela;ted to jobs rather than to the people who fill them.
Equal opportunity as a strategy tends to increase the pool of eligibles in compe-
titi'on for the `better j'obs, but i;t does not make good jobs out of poo'r ones."
A study of labor market changes `between 1960 and 1970, from which
the `above quotation was excerpted, arrives at the following conclu-
sion: Among 270 labor market segments in the occupational-industry
matrix, only 38' had a considerable proportion of their jobs so ~or-
ganized as to make possible promotion based on on-job training. The
38 occupation-industry segments were composed primarily of manag-
ers and sales people in finance, insurance, and real estate; professional,
technical, and craft workers in public administration; professional
workers in manufacturing and trade; managers in wholesale manufac-
turing, construction, agriculture, retailing, other consumer services,
education, health, restaurants, and utilities; and craft workers in man-
ufacturing, transportation, utilities, and other consumer services.
These ~occupation-industry groups were among the higher paying
groups. They provided only 11 percent of all jobs in 1960, but cx-
pande~d to cover 16 percent of all jobs in 1970. The increase occurred
primarily in public administration. Manufacturing and utilities had
relatively declining employment from 1960 to 1970. These 38 segments
with strong internal promotion ladders were not occupation-industry
groups with many women employees.12
If the occupational groups in the above.'st.udy were divided into cate-
gories based on average annual earnings, women would be concen-
`tiated in three of the four lowest paid categories, as of 1970. The `pro-
portion of women falling in the three lowest paid categories ranged
from 65 to 76 `percent. T'he earnings ratios for these. low-paid groups
ranged from 43 to 78 percent of the average earnings of all the groups.
Perhaps most discouraging of all, the dominance of women in these
three low-paid categories had increased from 1960 to 1970. The occu-
pati'ons in these groups were primarily office and nonoffice clerical
work in manufacturing, nondurable retailing, finance, insurance,
*real estate and `some service industries; technical work in health
and product services; sales work in nondurable retailing; and serv-
ice work in education, restaurants, and other consumer service
in'dustries.13
Women `are subjected to typecasting in the labor market. The'y have
limited occupational mobility, either horizontal or vertical. Conscious-
ness of their occupational segregation is being raised, but `harriers to
their progress still exist.
IV CAUSES OF JOB SEGREGATION
Why does occupational segregation by sex persist? Why are women
continuing to enter traditional jobs for women instead of being hired
in nontraditional jobs? Clearly, more women entering into traditional
~` Marcia Fredman, "Labor Markets: Segments and Shelters," Landmark Studies (Mont-
clair, N.J. : Allenheld, Orman & Co., 1976), pp. 42 and 43.
12 Ibid., pp. 42 and 72.
13 Ibid., pp. 21, 71-73.
PAGENO="0108"
100
jobs makes it even more difficult to reduce barriers to employment of
women in nontraditional jobs because of the continually larger num-
bers involved. Until sizable numbers of women throughout the econ-
omy-in business, universities, and Government-hold leadership and
executive positions with policymaking responsibilities~ occupational
segregation by sex and sex discrimination will not be eliminated. The
total economy and the society as a whole will be the loser, as well as the
women and families involved. White men gain when they can restrict
entry to their jobs, but women lose more than white men gain; thus
society suffers a net loss.
Part of the explanation for discrimination must lie outside the field
of economics; some employers continue to discriminate against women,
even when it is in their economic interest to hire women for non-tra-
ditional positions. Some employers will not hire women in top-level
positions even when women are "good buys"-that is, a woman who is
currently under-employed in relation to her training and experience
could be hired and her work upgraded with only a reasonable increase
in pay. Economic inentives to the e~nployer have not been enough to
open up opportunities to more than a few highly qualified women.
Recent new laws against sex discrimination in employment are now
on the books. However, lack of enforcement, slowness of judicial proc-
esses, subtle but strong retaliation against people who raise individual
discrimination oases for discussion and judgment, the attitude of those
in power that these issues are not serious all have tended to negate the
effectiveness of antidiscrimination legislation. Only the persistent
pressure of women activists has kept antidiscrimination measures
alive. Recent efforts to end university obligation to enforce antisex
discrimination measures represent a case in point of continuing pres-
sure to undo even limited progress-a negative precedent if these ef-
forts were to prevail.
Until our society finds ways to show that sex discrimination will
not be tolerated, and powerful political leaders do more than make
token appointments of a few women, the waste `of occupational segre-
gation `will `persist.
There are many `reinforcing and interlocking factors ca.using occu-
pationa.l segregation by sex to persist. First., there is the cumulative
effect `of past discrimination. There is outright discrimination against
individual women of skill and ability'. There is also backlash, particu-
larly today, from men who feel very insecure when women in the work
world are in positions that are not subordinate to them. Most impor-
tant numerically is the narrow perception that many men in positions
of power have of the potential of women in the work world. Such men
never think of women for management, executive, and leadership posi-
tions. These narrow attitudes are supported by institutions throughout
our culture which have long `and deep historical roots.14 They are based
on attitudes that (1) woman's Primary role is in the home, (2) her
attachment to the labor force is temporary or secondary to the home,
(3) she is interested only in intermittent work to meet rising costs in
periods of inflation, or to earn just "pin money." The recent expec-
tations of women who have been entering the labor force attest to the
14 For detailed analysis, see Martha Blaxall and Barbara B. Reacan. editors. "Women
in the Workplace. the Implications of Occupational Segrgation' (Chicago: ITniversity of
Chicago Press, 1976).
PAGENO="0109"
101
opposite view. Many women are serious about their careers and their
work role potential. They are interested in making the grcates.t pos-
sible economic contribution to their families 15 as well as to the produc-
tivity of society. Women are dismayed at the negative attitudes,16 the
institutional barriers, the waste involved when they are not permitted
to develop their careers fully after investing in their human capital.
Many top male executives are completely blind to the sex discrimi-
nation involved in occupational segregation. They are so imbued with
the rightness of the view that men should be in all the top positions
that underutilization of women employees is beyond their current un-
derstanding. Even calling the issue to their attention may not result
in immediate awareness. It takes repeated efforts and often personal
involvement through wives and daughters before real insight occurs.
This blindness is not limited to older men, nor to business leaders.
Some political leaders, even relatively young ones, also lack insight,
despite the fact that politicians should be particularly sensitive to cur-
rent trends in women's role potential. Recently, a business executive
was quoted in the press as saying that he asked his secretary if she felt
discriminated against because of her sex. She said, "Of course not."
As a form of proof, this is analogous to the Southern planter in the
early 1930's who asked his black sharecropper if he liked his position.
The answer was, "Yes, sir, Boss, and I appreciate it."
The increased awareness of many men in power positions of the
moral wrong and economic inefficiencies in racial discriminat~~ion has
provided a strong basis for extending and widening their view of the
role potential of women. The surprise to women is the slow rate at
which employers' views have changed and sex discrimination has
ended. Women are also surprised at the strength of the backlash
against women moving into higher positions, even though the move-
ment is so infinitesimal.
Male executives today often fear "reverse discrimination" when in
fact women really are not going anywhere in the top echelons. Exami-
nation of a business, government agency, or university may reveal this.
Unless a male superior supports and pushes a female so as to open op-
portunities for her, she does not go very far up the ladder. Men think
nothing of a male executive supporting and pushing a male protege.
But when the protege is a woman of talent and skill, many men see this
as undue favoritism, instead of a simple normal protege situation.
Some of the resistance against opening opportunities for women to
move up the executive ladder in the world of work comes from men
who themselves feel insecure and indeed are inadequate as managers.
Unfortunately, in our culture there are still men who are unable to
deal with women at work in positions other than subordinate ones.
They are not willing to see women move into positions where in the
future they might conceivably compete with them or their close male
colleagues.
In the world of work, efficiency ratings are commonplace. It is time,
in my opinion, to rate an executive on his ability to work with women
and his willingness to open opportunities for them at top levels. If he
15 This is not a new attitude for women. It is just that the means have changed.
~ A male colleague of mine cuips that the reason occupational segregation by sex persists
is simple-the cost of a sex modification operation is so high.
PAGENO="0110"
102
is unable to handle this, his management ability shouki be appropri-
ately downgraded. As with racial discrimination at work, inner feel-
ings do not have to be monitored; actions do!
V Coxc*r~siox Ecoxo3IIc FORCES AFFECT SEGREGATION
The future effect of efforts to end sex discrimination and reduce sex
role stereotypes in the workplace may well depend on the general health
of the economy and its growth rate, as well as on the strength of agents
of change. Merely opening entry level positions in atypical fields for
women, although useful, will not solve the problem. The policy of
using women only when the economy needs them, and the blindness
to role potential of women can easily block advancement of new en-
trants. Concurrent movement of women in top level executive posi-
tions and into the corporate board rooms is also necessary. At. this
point, the potential competition of women with men for top level jobs
is very threatening to men. It is particularly threatening if the growth
of the eèonomy and thus the increase in the number of executive level
jobs is low. Differing growth rates for the. overall economy suggest
different scenarios.
If labor markets expand .through the second half of the 1970's, the
rising expectations of women and the. movement of women into the
labor market may well shift former patterns and reduce barriers to
women in the workplace. On the other hand~ if labor markets remain
depressed through tile second half of the 1970's, the rising expectations
of women workers may well come into sharp conflict with the realities
of occupational segregation and tile barriers to their occupational mo-
bility. At least two alternate outcomes are possible witii depressed la-
bor markets. The ensuing conflict between women's expectations and
the barriers t.o their occupational mobility may be enough to change
the previously e~ta.blislled equilibrium and to open greater opportu-
nities for women. Such movement may be small. Nevertheless, a small
amount of movement may be large enough t.o ease social tensions, even
though full productivity gains are not realized.
An even more likely scenario in a slow economy with relatively `high
unemployment ra.tes would be increased rigidities in occupational seg-
regation by sex and decreased opportunities for women. This could be
a reaffirmation of the old view that women are secondary workers in
the labor market and male heads of families receive priority in em-
ployment. Economic forces will be a major determinant of the future
opportunities for women.
PAGENO="0111"
WOMEN WORKERS, NONTRADITIONAL OCCUPATIONS
AND FULL EMPLOYMENT
By BEAnUCE G. REUBENSe AND EDWIN P. REUBENS *~
CONTENTS
Page
1. Introduction 103
A. "Reserve" supply of women workers and labor demand.. - - -- 104
B. Some major questions 105
II. Nontraditional jobs: Concepts and measurement.. 106
III. Female penetration into non-traditional occupations since 1960 108
A. Measures used 109
B. Effect of recession 111
C. Substantial female penetration and total employment growth 111
D. Highest degree Of substantial female penetration 114
E. Female growth areas without substantial female penetration.. - 115
F. Women's job growth versus men's job growth - 116
G. Summary of female penetration into male intensive jobs_ - - - 116
H. Men at lower educational/occupational levels 117
IV. The view from the shop floor and the office 117
A. Racial differences in job distribution among women 118
B. Importance of job satisfaction 119
C. Influence of marital and family status 119
D. Effect of working conditions 120
E. Vertical mobility in office settings 120
V. Earnings 121
\TJ* Policy objectives and options 122
I. INTRODUCTION
The concept of full employment embraces the qualitative as well as
the quantitative satisfaction of job needs. A full employment policy
must therefore offer not only more jobs to accommodate all who wish
and `are able to take paid work; it must also offer a wider variety of
jobs and a greater access to the higher level positions in the occupa-
tional hierarchy than are now available to women and other groups
whose opportunities have been limited `by societal factors. Occupa-
tional barriers which thwart the full utilization of capacities are anti-
thetical to a full employment program and costly to individuals and
the Nation.
In turn, progress toward achieving the quantitative and qualitative
goals of full employment is likely to stimulate. the labor force partici-
pation of women, accelerating the long-run upward trend and possibly
establishing higher ultimate participation rates than might prevail
without sustained full employment. Research on tile labor force be-
havior of women, especially married women, has established that ris-
* Senior Research Associate, Conservation of Human Resources, Columbia University,
New York.
**Professor of Economics, City College of the City University of New York, N.Y.
(103)
PAGENO="0112"
104
ing numbers of job opportunities are associated with increases in f e-
male labor force participation rates.'
A. "Reserve" 1S'upply of Women lVorkers and Labor Demand
Beyond the absorption of the discouraged or hidden unemployed
such as occurs in a recovery period of the business cycle.,2 sustained
full employment would draw on the labor reserve of women who cur-
rently regard themselves as outside the labor market.3 Some indication
of the size of the female labor reserve is given in 1970 census data on
labor force participation rates for females aged 16 and over within
each State, subdivided into the urban, rural nonfarm, and rural farm
population. A wide disparity of female participation rates emerges
from this tabulation, and the chief, but not sole, cause appears to be
differences in the local availability of jobs. Support for this interpre-
tation arises from the fact that male participation rates within the
same geographical breakdown. also were widely dispersed in approxi-
mately the same pattern, although male rates were all conisistently
higher than female rates. The latter ranged from a low of 17.3 percent
in the rural farm areas of North Dakota to a. high of 55.9 percent iii
the totally urban District of Columbia. The other low female partici-
pation rates, not exceeding 24 percent, occurred in the rural farm
areas of West Virginia, South Dakota., and Louisiana, while the other
high rates were all in urban areas, and were highest in Alaska, Hawaii,
and North Carolina, where the urban rates were 51.4, 50.3, a.nd 48.8
percent respectively.4
One of the ways to measure the gap in jobs for women, which a
full employment polic~~ would have to fill, is to postulate that the
female labor force participat.ion rates established in the highest areas
would prevail all over the country if a full-employment volume of
jobs were available. For example, a female participation rate of per-
haps 50 percent under full employment in 1970 (instead of the 1970
actual rate of 41.4 percent) would have resulted in a female labor
force (aged 16 and over) 6.4 million larger than the actual 30.5 mil-
lion in 1970, of whom 1.6 million were unemployed at census time.&
The total deficit of female jobs thus would have been 8 million. In
fact, a female labor force participation rate of 50 percent is forecast
by the BLS for 1985 in projections issued in 1976.6 Judging by past
1 G. B. McNally, "Patterns of Female Labor Force Activity," Industrial Relations (May
1967) T. A Finegan, "Participation of Married Women in the Labor Force." in C. B.
Lloyd, ed., "Sex, Discrimination, and the Division of Labor" (New York: Columbia LTniver_
sity Press, 1975) ; J. Mincer, "Labor Force Participation and Unemployment: A Review of
Recent Evidence," in R. A. Gordon and M. S. Gordon, editors, "Prosperity and Unemploy-
ment" (New York: Wiley, 1966) ; A. Tella, "The Relation of Labor Force to Employment,"
Industrial and Labor Relations Review (April 1964).
2 N. S. Barrett, "The Economy Ahead of Us: Will Women Have Different Roles ?" in
J. M. Kreps, editor, "Women and the American Economy: A Look to the 1980's' (Engle-
wood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1976), p. 156; New York Times, Sept. 12, 1976. "Women Enter-
ing Job Market at an `Extraordinary' Pace"; U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, news release (Sept. 15, 1976), "The U.S. Labor Force in 1990: New Projections."
`C. G. Gellner, "Enlarging the Concept of a Labor Reserve." Monthly Labor Review
(April 1975) : A. D. Butler and C. 0. Demopoulos, "Labor Force Behavior in a FoIl-
Employment Economy." Industrial and Labor Relations Review (April 1972) ; N. J. Simler
and A. Telln. "Labor Reserve and the Phillips Curve," Review of Economics and Statistics
(February 1968) ; W. Vroman, "The Labor Reserve: A Reestimate," Review of Economics
and Statistics (October 1970).
U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1970 Census of Population. "General Social and Economic
Characteristics, U.S. Summary" (Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office, 1973),
PC (1)-Cl. table 1d3.
`Ibid., table 90.
U.S. Departmeiit of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, news release (Sept. 15, 1976)~
"The U.S. Labor Force in 1990 * * s," table 1.
PAGENO="0113"
105
outdating of such projections,~it is likely that this participation rate
will be reached before 1985 even in the absence of full employment.
Our calculation of the female labor reserve may exaggerate the
available female labor supply by assuming too great a uniformity
across geographical areas in the characteristics and situation of the
female population and in their potential responses to job opportu-
nities. On the other hand, no allowance is made in this calculation for
the stimulatory effects of quantitative full employment on female
labor force participation rates in all areas, including those where
the rates are now highest. Such a quantitative projection also omits
entirely the potential boost to female participation rates which might
result from a wider choice of jobs and access to the better-paid jobs
as an inherent component of a full employment policy.7 Little is known
about the ways in which a greater penetration of women into male-
dominated occupations would affect female participation rates, since
the major impacts might be on women already in the labor force.
On the demand side, the difficulty of achieving full employment
in various parts of the country is suggested by projections of employ-
ment growth by regions for 1970-85; the range in growth rates is
from a low of 21 percent in New England to 38 percent in the Far
West.8 It is clear that a full employment policy would require pro-
grams to meet geographical variations in both the number of jobs
available and the number of jobs desired. In the same way, projec-
tions of the occupational composition of employment in the years
ahead reveal disparities between the likely developments in job open-
ings and the preparation and desires of both men and women for
entry jobs and for posts on an upward mobility track.° Here again
fine tuning may be necessary in the full employment program. In
short, a combination of the quantitative and qualitative aspects of full
employment policy implies a dynamic interplay between the supply
and demand sides such that a stable full employment equilibriun'i is
unlikely to be reached. Instead the best to be hoped for is a moving
approximation in which the gap between demand and supply is
minimized.
B. Some Major Questions
The challenge to policy is complex. Can enough jobs be created for
all who would want them under the expansive conditions of full em-
ployment? Can enough attractive jobs be created to satisfy both
men and women? Is the opening of more nontraditional jobs to women
workers through occupational desegregation a sufficient measure to
achieve equality with men? How adequately does an occupational
desegregation policy meet the needs of various subgroups of women,
especially those with low educational attainment and occupational
status? Do black women have special perceptions of the issue? Finally,
F. D. Weisskoff (Blau), "`Women's Place' in the Labor Market," Proceedings, American
Economic Association (May 1972), p. 165; E. James, "El7ects of Women's Liberation," in
C. B. Lloyd, op. cit., pp. 387-391, app. 15.2.
8 L. A. Lecht, "changes in Occupational Characteristics: Planning Ahead for the 1980's"
(New York: The Conference Board, 1976), table 2.3.
Lecht, op. cit., pp. 16-21, 39-41; J. L. Norwood. "Norwood and the workplace" Signs
(spring 1976 supplement), pp. 278-281 : M. F. Crowley, "Professional Manpower: The Job
Market Turnaround," Monthly Labor Review (October 1972) ; Neil Rosenthal and Hall
Dillon. "Occupational Outlook for the Mid-1980's," Occupational Outlook Quarterly (win~
ter 1974) H. Wool, "Future Labor Supply for Lower Level Occupations," Monthly Labor
Review (March 1976) ; J. N. Hedges. "Women Workers and Manpower Demands in the
1970's," Monthly Labor Review (June 1970).
91-686-77---- S
PAGENO="0114"
106
can an occupational desegregation poiicy be framed entirely in terms
of the needs of women, omitting a corresponding movement for men?
In this context, the discussion of women and nontraditional jobs
will begiii with concepts, definitions, and measurement. It is fol-
lowed by a detailed review of changes in women's penetration of
the male-intensive occupations from 1960 to the present., including
a discussion of earnings and subgroups of women. The final section
considers the policy issues surrounding increased female access to
nontraditiona.l jobs in relation to a. full employment policy.
II. N0NTuADITIONAL ,JoBs: CONCEPTS AND MEASUREMENT
Nontraditional occupations for women are not a fixed category.
but vary over time and from place to place. For most purposes, non-
traditional jobs at. any given time may be defined as those in which
women form a considerably smaller proportion of the workforce
than t.heir current share of the total employed population.
In the work settings where most women are employed, it is cus-
tomary to make occupationa.l distinctions which label certain jobs
nontraditional for women.'° Whether or not the workplace is simply
a replica of the social relationships of men and women in all other
aspects of life, the reslTlt of job labeling within the firm has been to
place men higher than women in the job hierarchy. as measured by
status and salary levels, to give men supervisory roles over women at
work, and to reserve for men most of the upward mobility within
the enterprise. Questions of differential access to the higher ranks
within an organization arise even where there is a gender-neutral
occupation, such as secondary school teaching. From a. broader per-
spective, girls are seen as receiving signals from society from an early
a.ge that male intensive occupations are not suitable for females. There
is thus both a horizontal and a vertical aspect to the restrictions of
women because of male-dominated occupations. The former involves
limitations on original choice and preparation for an occupation. choice
of firm, job assignment, and job changes. The latter concerns rest.ricted
upward mobility within the work organization or into more prestigious
or better-paying firms.
This separation of men's work from women's has been sufficiently
pervasive and observable, even in the inadequate national occupa-
tional data, t.o produce numerous theoretical forays into the causes
and process. Drawing on the insights of one or more academic disci-
plines, the resulting theories have yielded a welter of views, not
always consistent with one another. The divergenc.ies among econ-
omists are notable, as recent reviewers of the literature indicate.'1
Empirical efforts also have been macic to measure occupational dif-
ferences between men and women, and to establish the trends over
time, using a variety of indexes. One of the measures concerns oc-
cupational concentration by sex, showing the number of occupations in
which a given proportion of the labor force of each sex is found. While
1~ H. T. Schrank and J. W. Riley, Jr., "Women in Work Organizations," in J. M. Kreps,
op. cit.
11 F. D. Blau and D. L. Jusenius, "Economists' Approaches to Sex Segregation in the
Labor Market: An Appraisal." Signs (spring 1970 supplement) : C. B. Lloyd. "The Divi-
sion of Labor Between the Sexes," in Lloyd, op. cit.; J. F. Madden, "Economic Dimensions
of Occupational Segregation: Comment III," Signs (spring 1976 supplement) H. Kahne
and A. I. Kohen, "Economic Perspectives on the Roles of Women In the American Econ-
omy," Journal of Economic Literature (December 1975), pp. 1256-1262.
PAGENO="0115"
107
occupational concentration appears to have diminished over the years
for women, men are still distributed more widely than women over oc-
cupations, even after allowance is made for the larger number of men
in the labor force.12 Another measure focuses on the occupational dis-
similarity between men and women. Called an index of occupational
segregation by some analysts, this measure has shown little change
over the years in the prevalence of a high degree of sex-labeling of
occupations.13
Measures which identify male and female intensity of the detailed
occupations are another way of assessing the trend in female pene-
tration of nontraditional jobs. By all accounts, the proportion of
women in male-intensive occupations has changed little since 100.
While the progress registered from 1960 to 1970 was small, it sug-
gests a trend toward greater penetration by each sex into nontradi-
tional occupations.14 A rather staggering figure can be extracted from
the Bergmann-Adelman basic calculations on the distribution of men
and women in male intensive occupations. If women had been repre-
sented in these occupations according to their proportion of the whole
employed population, it would have been necessary to shift more than
10 million women into the male intensive occupations. By the same
token, over 10 million men would have had to take up female interi-
sive occupations in order to redress the balance in that sector and to
find jobs in the 1970 economy.15
Another way of looking at sex polarization is by a tabulation of the
occupations rather than their total employment. Depending on the
base year chosen, the results tend to conform to those for employ-
ment.'6 On the whole, the various measures cited here confirm that
some slight changes have occurred since 1960 in the occupational dis-
tributions of both men and women, tending toward a reduction in
the segregation.
Some find the existence of occupational separation of either sex
offensive in itself. But for most, the objections to the existence of male
intensive occupations arise from the evidence that men have higher
rates of pay and total earnings than women. Consequently much of
12 V. K. Oppenheimer, "The Sex Labeling of Jobs," Industrial Relations (May 1973:
D. Sommers, "Occupational Rankings for Men and Women by Earnings," Monthly Labor
Review (August 19714), pp. 50-51; J. N. Hedges, op. cit., p. 19; `Manpower Report of the
President, 1974," p. 107; M. H. Stevenson, "Relative wages and Sex Segregation by
Occupation," in C. B. Lloyd, op. cit., pp. 182-187: \T K. Oppenheimer. "The Female
Labor Force in the United States: Demographic Factors Governing Its Growth and
Changing Composition" (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1970).
13 B. Gross, "Plus ca Change * * *? The Sexual Structure of Occupations Over Time,"
Social Problems (fall, 1968)) ; F. D. Blau, "Sex Segregation of Workers by Enterprise
in Clerical Occupations," in R. C. Edwards, M. Reich, and D. M. Gordon, editors, "Labor
Market Segmentation" (Lexington, Mass.; D. C. Health, 1975), pp. 257-278; Council of Eco-
nomic Advisers, "Economic Report of the President" (1973), p. 155; R. U. Oaxaca, "Some
Observations on the Economics of Women's Liberation," Challenge (July/August 1976),
p. 32.
14 V. K. Oppenheimer, "The Sex Labeling of Jobs." pp. 219-221: H. zeuner, "The
Determinants of Occupational Segregation," in C. B. Lloyd, op. cit., p. 126; R. D.
Ifoderick and J M. Davis. "Correlates of Atypical Job Assignment" (Columbus: Center
for Human Resource Research, the Ohio Stnte University. 1972) ; B. Bergmann and
I. Adelman, "The 1973 Report of the President's Council of Economic Advisers: The Eco-
nomic Role of Women." American Economic Review (September 1973), table 1; F. D. Blau,
"Sex Segregation -," op. cit., p. 257; C. L. Jusenlus, "Occupational Change," "Dual
Careers: A Longitudinal Study of Labor Market Experiences of Women," vol. 3, p. 22
(Washington: Department of Labor, Manpower Administration, R. & D. Monograph 21,
1975).
Th Bergmann and Adelman, op. cit., table 1.
1O M. K. Freedman, "Labor Markets: Segments and Shelters" (Montclair: Allanheld,
Osmun, 1976), p. 87; J. L. Laws, "Psychological Dimensions of Women's Work Force
Participation," in P. A. Wallace, editor, "Some New Perspectives on Equal Employment
Opportunity and the A.T. c~ T. Case" (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1975).
PAGENO="0116"
108
the theoretical and empirical work has centered on explanations of
these sex differences in earnings.'7 Some studies maintain that the
exclusion of women from male-dominated occupations is less respon-
sible for wage rate and earnings differences than is unequal pay within
occupations, as they a.ie classified in national data. Other studies
acknowledge the effects of simultaneous forces tending toward higher
earnings for men.'8
Whatever the theories and studies have shown in their disputatious
presentations, public policy has been clear in its assumptions and
goals. Responding to one of the strongest and clearest ievolutions of
rising expectations of this century, as embodied in the Women's Move-
ment, Government action to permit increased entry of women into
nontraditional jobs has been expressed in several pieces of legisla-
tion, notably the Equal Pay Act of 1963, title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, and title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, in
affirmative action measures, in the Federal Contract Compliance pro-
gram (Executive Order 11246 as amended by Executive Order 11375
in 1967), and in such actions as the Department of Labor's sponsor-
ship of a specific program in suburban New York to train women for
nontraditional jobs. State and local equal opportunity and human
rights legislation and commissions also have been established. With-
out prejudging the efficacy of these measures which had little impact
by 1970, we proceed to a detailed analysis of female penetration of
male intensive occupations, drawn chiefly from census data which
are comparable for 1960 and 1970.
III. FEMALE PENE1~ATION INTO NoN-Th~DITIoNAL OCCUPATIONS
SINcE 1960
In 1960 about 2.7 million women were employed in male intensive
occupations, and these in turn accounted for over 60 percent of all
employment. ~\Tomen in male intensive occupations constituted a small
minority, 13.5 percent, of all women workers. (Table 1). They also
accounted for only about 7 percent of total employment in the male
intensive occupations at a time when women comprised 33 percent of
all workers. Ten years later the 1970 census showed (table 1) just
over 4 million women in the male intensive occupations, which ac-
counted for 56 percent of all employment. Women in male intensive
occupations constituted 15 percent of all women workers, only a little
above the 1960 share. Similarly, women accounted for 10 percent of
all the workers in male intensive occupations while they were 38 per-
cent of the total employment.
17 ~* Kahne and A. I. Kohen. "Economic Perspectives ...," p. 1258; see also I. v.
Sawhill, "The Economics of Discrimination Against women: Some New Findings,"
Journal of Human Resources (summer 1973).
18 S. W. Polachek, "Discontinuous Labor Force Participation and Its Effect on womens
Market Earnings," in C. B. Lloyd, op. cit., p. 118; J. T. Addison, "Sex Discrimina-
tion: Some Comparative Evidence," British Journal of Industrial Relations (July 1975),
pp. 293-266; B. Chiplin and P. J. Sloane, "Sexual Discrimination in the Labor Market,'~
British Journal of Industrial Relations (November 1974), pp. 77-Si.
PAGENO="0117"
Occupations
Employment
1960
1970
Growth 1960-70
Total
and
Num-
ber,
1960 1
Percent
distri-
bution
Total
(thou-
sands)
Percent
distri-
bution
Total
(thou-
sands)
Percent
distri-
bution
percent
distri-
bution
Percent
change
Total employment2 418 61, 455.5 72,484.8 11,029.3 17.9
Total male employment 5 418 41, 480. 0 45, 291. 1 3, 811. 1 9. 2
Total female employment 2 418 100. 0 19, 975. 5 100. 0 27, 193. 7 100. 0 7, 218. 2 36. 1
Females in male intensive occu-
pations 3 266 63. 7 2, 693. 8 13. 5 4, 083. 2 15. 0 19. 2 51. 6
Very male iatensive(VMI)3___
Moderately male intensive
(MMI)3
Male intensive with SFP by 1970.
VMI with SEP by 1970
MMI with SEP by 1970
203
(48. 6)
(789. 7)
(4. 0) (1, 359. 5)
(5. 0)
(7. 9)
72. 2
63
(15.1)
12. 7
(1,904.1)
1, 269. 5 -
(9.5) (2,723.7)
6. 3 2, 019. 4
(10.0)
7. 4
(11.3)
10. 4
43.0
59.1
(0.6) (304.0) (1.1) (2.5) 146.0
(5.7) (1,715.4) (6.3) (7.9) 49.7
Illales in male intensive occupa-
tions 266 34, 746. 4 36, 806. 9 5. 9
1 The total number of detailed occupations analyzed in this study. A few were excluded.
2 14 yrs. and over. Excludes `occupation not reported."
3 Ml (male intensive) means that 75 or more percent of employment in the cccupation was male; VMI (very male in-
tensive) means 90 or more percent; MMI (moderately male intensive) means 75-89 percent.
4 100 percent.
a SFP (substantial female penetratiun) means a rise of 5 or more percentage points in the female share of employment in
-an occupation.
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population, 1970, "Detailed Characteristics of the Popula-
tion, PC(1)-D1, U.S. Summary." (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1973), table 221.
The pace of change was more rapid in the male intensive occupa-
tions than in others. But, against the goal of ending occupational
segregation or achieving a share of women in each occupation equal
to the share of women in the total employed population, the advance
from 1960 to 1970 seems miniscule. Still, there are no guidelines on
the proper, feasible or desirable rate of change in female entry to
male dominated occupations. In the context of a long historical process,
the 1960-70 developments may appear significant.
A. Measures Used
In order to analyze the changes since 1960 three measures have been
used. The first two subdivide male intensity (MI) into very male
intensive (VMI) and moderately male intensive (MMI). The third,
measuring the degree of women's entry into male-intensive occu-
pations, is called "substantial female penetration" or SFP. Male in-
tensive occupations are defined as those where men held 75 percent or
more of the jobs (or women held 25 percent or less) in 1960, a criterion
derived from the male share of 67.2 percent in total employment. Of
the 418 occupations, 266 were male intensive in 1960. (Table 1.) within
this MI category, occupations with 90 percent or more male workers
(203 of the 266 male intensive occupations) are designated as
YMI (very male intensive). Occupations with 75-89 percent males,
(63 of the 266 occupations) are called MMI (moderately male inten-
sive. The next category would be gender-neutral occupations in which
men and women are represented in roughly their proportions in total
109
TABLE 1.-EMPLOYMENT, ALL OCCUPATIONS AND MALE INTENSIVE OCCUPATIONS, 1960 AND 1970
53
(25) (6.0) (123.6)
(28) (6.7) (1,145.9)
PAGENO="0118"
110
employment; this category accounts for under one fifth of all employ-
ment. Female intensive occupations complete the list.
Within the MI occupations, the moderately male intensive (MMI),
as compared with the VMI occupations, accounted for the greater share
of employment in both 1960 and 1970. (Table 1.) While the rate of
advance was higher for the YMI than the MMI, the latter's absolute
growth was larger. In terms of the types of occupations in the two MI
subdivisions and the progress made by women to date, the greatest
challenge to female penetration lies in the V1~iI sector which contains
more of the prestigious and well paid occupations. In fact, much of
the anecdotal material about women who have invaded male bas-
tions concerns the occasional breaching of a VMI wall, such as in coal
mining, the military forces, the ministry, the Alaskan. pipeline con-
struction, or State parks.
In 1960 MI employment of females was predominantly blue collar
and, within that group, largely centered in the lower level occupations.
(Table 2.) WThile under half of the increase in MI employment from
1960 to 1970 was in the blue-collar occupations, the whole MI category
in 1970 was still preclommantly blue collar. A gradual shift is evident,
since two of the highest rates of increase from 1960 to 1970 were in
white-collar fields.
TABLE 2.-FEMALE EMPLOYMENT IN MALE INTENSIVE' OCCUPATIONS BY MAJOR OCCUPATIONAL GROUPS,
1960 AND GROWTH 1960-70
Females
in MI'
Female
occupa-
tions as
percent
total
female
employ-
meat
1961)
Number
of Ml'
occupa-
tiDns
1960
employ-
meat in
MI'
occupa-
tions,
1960
(thou-
sands)
Growth
1960-70
(thou-
sands)
Percent
change
1960-70
Total employment
(mole plus female)
1960 Growth
(thou- Per- 1960-70
sands) cest (percent)
All occupations
13. 5
266
2 2, 693. 8
2 1, 389. 4
51. 6
61, 455. 5 100. 0 17. 9
Profensional, technical and kin-
dred 3.2
Managers, administrators, except
farm 59.7
Sales workers 15.8
Clerical and kindred workers 3. 2
Craftsmen and kindred viorkers. 77. 0
Factory operativen, except trans-
port 23.0
Tranoport equipment operatives_ - 100. 0
Laborers, except farm 95.7
Farmers and farm managers 100. 0
Farm laborers and farm foremen_ 49. 8
Servrce workers, except private
hounehold 4.7
Private household workers
62
34
10
13
78
28
11
14
2
3
11
0
8.2
18.4
9.7
7. 4
7.9
26.7
1. 4
6. 1
4. 4
4. 6
5.2
18.8
8.9
9.2
17. 0
14.4
16.3
6. 0
6.3
4. 0
-1. 5
8.6
118.0
24.9
49.9
118. 3
93.6
23.0
221. 8
53.2
47. 5
-17. 4
85.4
6,986.0 11.4 55.0
5, 625.8 9.2 9.1
4,637.4 7.5 13.6
9, 125. 8 14. 8 42. 8
8,944.8 14.6 11.8
8,822.2 14.4 11.3
2, 525. 9 4. 1 9. 5
3,321.8 5.4 -3.3
2, 507. 3 4. 1 -46. 4
1, 486. 3 2. 4 -37. 8
5,754.2 9.4 40.2
1, 717. 9 2. 8 36. 6
I Male intensive (MI) means that 75 or more percent of employment in the occupation was male.
2 100 percent.
- Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population, 1970, "Detailed Characteristics of the Popula-
tion, PC(1)-D1, United State Summary." (Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office, 1973), table 221.
The record of women in nontraditional jobs and a measure of their
advance from 1962 to 1974 areS covered to some extent in selected cur-
rent population survey data on a 3-ear-to-year basis.'° Of the 441
detailed occupations reported, only 65 had sufficient consistency of
ia S. H. Carfinkle, "Occupations of Women and Black Workers," Monthly Labor Review
(November 1975).
PAGENO="0119"
111
definition and reliability of trend to serve for analysis. And of these
65 occupations, 36 were MI, as defined here. Almost half of the latter
had a more rapid rate of female penetration after 1970 than froni
1962 to 1970, while an additional four occupations proceeded at the
same rate of advance as previously. Some acceleration of penetration
from 1970 to 1974 therefore may be assumed.
B. Effect of Recession
The onset of the recession led to many woeful reports and dire pre-
dictions that most women who had recently penetrated the male inten-
sive occupations faced dismissal as "last in, first out." The full details
will not be known for some time, but some preliminary information on
employment changes from 1974 to 1975 suggests that in a number of
MI occupations women fared better than men, either holding steady
or increasing their total numbers in jobs as the men declined or at
best held steady, while in other occupations women did no worse than
men.2° Among the specific occupations where there was a more favor-
able position for women than men in employment changes 1974-75
are: salaried managers and administrators (except farm), carpenters,
other construction crafts, metal craft, drivers of motor vehicles, con-
struction laborers, and farm managers.
Another group of occupations showing women no worse off than
men in the recession employment changes included: professional and
technica.l (excluding health workers and noncollege teachers), sales-
workers (nonretail), mechanics and repairers, craft supervisors, trans-
port equipment operatives (other than vehicle drivers), nonfarm
laborers (manufacturing), protective service workers, paid farm
laborers. These figures need to be supplemented by more detailed data,
especially for individual establishments, and government employment
at all levels. At present there is no general data base to support the
view that women have suffered a major setback due to the recession,
regarding employment in the. nontraditional occupations.
U. Substantial Female Penetration and Total Employment Growth
In order to gage the growth over the decade 1960-70 of female
employment within specific male intensive occupations, our measure of
SFP (substantial female penetration) has been used instead of the
percentage increase in female employment in individual occupations.
The criterion for SFP is an increase from 1960 to 1970 of 5 or more
percentage points in the female share of employment in an MI occu-
pation. The choice of this criterion reflects the fact that the female
share of total employment increased by 4.9 percentage points between
1960 and 1970 (from 32.8 to 37.7 percent). Since this overall increase
would tend to raise the female share. by a few percentage points in
many specific occupations. the fiat differential of 5 or more percentage
points identifies those with above average performance. SFP by itself
does not tell anything about the employment pattern for males in these
occupations.
20 CalculatIons from data In S. M. St. Marie and R. W. Bednarzik, "Employment and
Fnemployment Diirin~ 1975." Snecial Labor Force Report 1S5, table 15 (Washington: 15.5.
Bureau of Labor StatIstics. 197~). See also a study by R. E. Smith of the Urban Institute.
co renortecl In New York TImes. Nov. 2. 197G; "How Women Fared During the Recession,"
OECD Observer, September/October 1976.
PAGENO="0120"
112
Female expansion in the 53 SFP occupations accounted for over
half of the employment increase of females in all 266 Mu occupations
from 1960 to 1970. The larger part of that expansion was in the 28 MM~L
occupations. In fact, several occupations moved from their 1960 MMI
status to gender-neutral in 1970 as a result of the. penetration by women.
According to our detailed examination, almost half of all 53 MI occu-
pations with SFP were concentrated in two major occupational
groups: craftsmen and clerical occupations, with the professional-
technical group not far behind. But in terms of absolute growth in the
numbers of female workers, clericals were in first position (account-
ing for nearly one-third of the whole SFP increase), professional-
technical workers were second (just under one-fifth), next came opera-
tives, then sales; transport and crafts each accoimted for only about
6 percent of the whole.
Considerable interest is attached to the relation between the growth
patterns of total employment (male plus female) and substantial fe-
male penetration (SFP). The preceding discussion, focusing on the
growth of female employment in MI occupations, has postponed this
discussion, but now asks: Does it make a difference whether rapidly
growling female employment in a giveii occupation goes in tandem with
increased male employment there, or replaces male employment? In
investigating the female penetration of male intensive occupations, it
is important to evaluate carefully the occupations with a net decline
in employment where women have nevertheless established increased
shares of total employment, either through a slower net decline than
men or through increases in female numbers. It has been argued in the
past that such takeovers by women in declining MI occupations are
precursors to forming new female intensive occupations, with all of
their earnings and status problems.2' Moreover, even in such declining
occupations, women do not occupy many of the positions of responsi-
bility within the enterprise.22
With these points in mind, table 3 classifies the 53 detailed male
intensive occupations with SFP into 4 categories, according to the
rate of growth of overall employment. The result indicates that 21 of
the 53 occupations and 56.8 percent of the growth in female employ-
ment are associated with rapid growth occupations (30 percent or
more). while another 5 occupations and 15.8 percent of the growth
are accounted for by occupations whose total employment increased at
rates from 17.9 (the average) to 29.9 percent. The 11 occupations whose
slow growth ranged from over zero to 17.9 percent provided only 24.8
percent o-f the female employment growth. Finally, the 16 occupations
which had a decline in total employment, but still registered SFP
from 1960 to 1970 (either through actual increases of female employ-
n National Manpower Council, womanpower (New York: Columbia University Press,
1957) D. L. Hiestand, "Economic Growth and Employment Opportunities for Minorities"
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1964).
H. Wilensky. "Women's Work: Economic Growth, Ideology, Structure," industrial
Relations (May i968).
PAGENO="0121"
113
ment, or through slower employment declines than males experienced),
accounted for less than 3 percent of net female employment growth
in male intensive occupations.
TABLE 3.-MALE INTENSIVE OCCUPATIONS WITH SUBSTANTIAL FEMALE PENETRATION 1 1960-70, BY TOTAL
GROWTH RATE OF OCCUPATIONS AND FEMALE EMPLOYMENT INCREMENT
Female Distribution
of female
Rate of
growth (male increment, employment
plus female) Number of 1960-70 increment
(percent) occupations (thousands) (percent)
Total employment 17.9 53 749.9 100.0
All MI occupations with SFP: I
Rapid growth 30. 0+ 21 426.0 56.7
Moderate growth 17.6-29.9 5 118.2 15.8
Slow growth 0-17. 8 11 185. 8 24. 8
Decline2 (3) 16 19.9 2.7
1 MI (male intensive) means that 75 or more percent of employment in the occupation wan male. SFP (substantial
female penetration) means a rise of 5 or more percentage points in the female share of employment in an occupation.
2 Since "managers, not elsewhere classified, self-employed, retail," one of largest of the 16 occupations with a decline,
was redefined in 1970 to count managers of incorporated family businesses as salaried, the 1960-70 change in this class
may be overstated. C.B. Dicesare, "Changes in Occupational Structure of U.S. Jobs," Monthly Labor Ro~iew (March 1975).
fn. 4.
Negative.
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population, 1970. "Detailed Characteristics, PC(1)-D1, U.S.
Summary" (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973), table 221.
The distribution of occupations by growth patterns is uneven. The
bulk of the bluc,-collar and lower level occupations where women made
large gains in their share were occupations where total male employ-
ment was either declining or increasing quite slowly. Conversely, the
most rapid growth category was almost entirely composed of technical-
professional, managerial and clerical occupations, while the second-
rank growth category with only five occupations in. it had a mix of
transport, crafts, and services.
The SFP occupations with overall employment decline suggest
acceptance of females in shrinking or dying occupations which men
no knger want. Among paperhangers, and telegraph operators, both
male and female employment declined, but female dropped less than
male, resulting in SFP. Contrasting with drops in male employment,
female employment was stable among bootblacks, and increased among
jewelers and watchmakers, shoe repairers, stonecutters, messengers,
weighers, fliers and polishers, and self-employed farm laborers. A more
substantial female growth occurred among bakers and compositors,
where technological and organizational changes may have reduced the
number of males and increased the females.
The list of SFP occupations in which the overall growth of employ-
ment was positive but sluggish also suggests an uncertain future-with
a few exceptions, such as engineering and scientific technicians (chemi-
cal) and some categories of salespersons. Among the occupations where
the female share rose by 5 or more percentage points but the male
growth was small are several skilled crafts: molders, upholsterers,
PAGENO="0122"
114
drillers, sawyers, furniture finishers, bartenders, recreation attendants,
and inspectors (scalers and graders, loggers and hmTheDers). Since
craft occupations are absent from the two fast-growing SFP cate-
gories, it appears that some women penetrated into categories with a
small growth potential. For particula.r individuals, the movement into
such occupations may represent a gain, but care should be taken in
regarding such penetration as an advance for women as a group. A
closer look must be taken at congratula.tory reports on erosion of sex
stereotyping in crafts.23 It is significant that the crafts with a strong
growth of males did not have much increase in female employment.
By contrast, the rapid growth category with SFP contains such VMI
(very male intensive) occupations as actuaries, operations researchers,
urban and regional planners, bank officers, dental laboratory techm-
cians, and other technicians (tool programers). Several of these fields
are new occupations, or have developed new branches of old occupa-
tions, and look for female workers, free from traditional discrimina-
tion. Among the MLII (moderately male intensive) occupations in this
category are accountants, college teachers (mathematics)~ designers,
advertising agents, real estate agents, bill collectors, expediters, insur-
ance agents, and radio operators. Several of these fields offer self-
employment, or contractual arrangements on less stringent and often
more lucrative terms than simple salaried employment. There also were
instances of simple wage-employment namely, mail carriers, shipping
clerks, postal clerks, ticket agents, and opticians (lens grinders). Con-
sidering the rather high level of education/training required to enter
and progress in many of the rapidly growing occupations. it can be
seen than these male intensive occupations with SFP, which accounted
for over half of the growth in all SFP occupations. offer openings for
the better-educated women, a growing class in the labor force.
D. Highest Degree of Substantial Female Penetration
Table 4 shows the 21 occupations with the highest degree of SFP
achievement (9 percentage points or more); 13 of these are MLII oc-
cupations, repeating an earlie.r finding that the occupations in which
women already hold 11-25 percent of the jobs are more likely to show
further mcreases than the VMI with a female share of 10 percent or
less. The 21 SFP occupations in table 4 present a mixed picture in
terms of the growth rate of the occupation as a whole. Three occupa-
tions with a substantial increase in the female share had a decline in
total employment, and three had a slower growth of total employment
than the average rate of all occupations (17.9 percent). Clearly the
most favorable occupations for women were in the white-collar cate-
gories, with bank managers an outstanding example. Not only were
women a fast-rising share of an expanding total. but most of these
exuansive occupations permit upward mobility and are relatively well-
pa~d. By contrast. the "progress" of women among shoe repairers.
weighers, bakers, and furniture, finishers is attributable to male rejec-
tion of or ejection from such jobs.
~ .T. N. Heclres and S. R. Bemis, "Sex Stereotyping: Its Decline in Skilled Trades,"
Monthly Labor Review (May 1974).
PAGENO="0123"
115
TABLE 4.-MALE INTENSIVE' OCCUPATIONS WITH LARGE INCREASE IN FEMALE SHARE OF EMPLOYMENT, 1960-70
Percentage Percent change
point increase, in total
1960-70, in employment,
Ml class' female share 1960-70
Actuaries VMI 20 71.7
Tool programers VMI 14 47.6
Technicians, not elsewhere classified VMI 18 856. 4
Accountants MMI 10 43.7
College teachers-math MMI 13 137.6
Radio operators MMI 12 60. 5
Bank officers, financial managers VMI 9 1, 195. 6
Sales-services and construction MMI 11 13. 1
Bill and account collectors MMI 16 57. 8
Expediters MMI 9 41.7
Insuranceadjusters MMI 15 71.5
Postal clerks MMI 13 30.6
Ticket agents MMI 15 33. 7
Weighers MMI 10 -8.2
Dental laboratory technicians VMI 18 78.2
Furniture finishers VMI 13 2. 9
Shoe repairers VMI 14 -24.4
Bakers MMI 12 -2.7
Engravers MMI 9 22.1
Bus drivers VMI 18 29.9
Bartenders MMI 11
1 MI (male intensive) means that 75 or more precent of employment in the occupation was male; VMI (very male in-
tensive) means 90 or more percent; MMI (moderately male intensive) means 75-89 percent.
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population, 1970. `Detailed Characteristics, PC(1)-D1, U.S. Summary's
(Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973), table 221.
F. Female Growth Areas Without Substantial Female Penetration
Many of the 213 MI occupations which did not show SFP had
marked female growth during 1960-70 (10,000 or more additional f e-
males) - And a majority of YMI occupations, starting from a small
base, had a 60 percent increase or better in the number of females em-
ployed; the average increase for all MI occupations was 51.6 percent.
A smaller proportion of MMI occupations had an above average in-
crease. The failure of women to attain SFP in these 213 occupations
resulted from `a concurrent growth of male workers on top of a large
male base in those occupations, many of which were expanding
vigorously.
Among the specific occupations showing strong female growth in
the non-SFP category are some self-employed and/or high-paying
fields, such as computer specialists, engineers, lawyers, scientists, physi-
cians, dentists, college teachers, technicians, public relations workers,
funeral directors, federal inspectors, purchasing agents, sales manag-
ers, school administrators, stock and bond salesmen, and a variety of
crafts. Thus, individual women may have improved their financial and
career position, even though the sex-composition of these occupations
did not change much or worsened. From the viewpoint of the individ-
ual woman seeking to enter MI occupations, it. is of little consequence
whether the female share is rising so long as jobs are open. A much
more important consideration than the female share in the occupation,
to which analysts pay undue obeisance., is the situation in the firm, the
attitudes of management and fellow-workers, the opportunities for
promotion or self-employment, and the. equality of conditions between
the sexes.
PAGENO="0124"
1:16
F. Women's Job Growth T7ersus Men's Job Growth
Another perspective on women's penetration into the male intensive
occupations is obtained by relating the growth on the women's side to
that for men. The outstanding conclusion is that a fairly limited area
for women's penetration exists. If all of the growth between 1960 and
1970 in these occupations had been reserved for women, about 2.1 mil-
lion additional jobs, taken from men, would have been avaIlable for
women (table 5). This would have left 3.7 million women with no
alternative but the female intensive sector, which actually made room
for 5.8 million additional women between 1960 and 1970. The slow de-
velopment of the male intensive occupations. and the increase in the
number of young men and women qualified to enter them, pose the
most serious threat to the occupational desegregation movement.
G. Sum4nary of Female Penetration Into Male Inte~sive Jobs
Overall, women did not do badly in their share of the increase in male
intensive employment. Their rate of growth was 51.6 percent against
5.9 percent for the men (table 1). The men garnered in the male intei~-
sive fields a total of 670,000 more jobs than the females (table 5). What
is significant, J~owever, is the difference between the sexes in the dis-
tribution of the growth among the major occupational groups. Three
comparisons stand out. First, in the male intensive occupations in the
clerica.l field women made a real breakthrough, showing a larger abso-
lute increase than the men in such occupations as insurance adjuster,
postal clerk, dispatcher, production controller, ticket agent. This de-
velopment indicates that women's penetration proceeds most rapidly
in the fields where they have a strong position in related female inten-
sive fields which are not cut off from the male intensive jobs by require-
ments of education, training, physical characteristics, or other seg-
menting influences.
TABLE 5.-GROWTH OF EMPLOYMENT IN MALE INTENSIVE 1 OCCUPATIONS, BY MAJOR OCCUPATIONAL GROUPS,
1960-70.
[In thousandsj
Females
Males
Nonmale intensive-total
Male intensive i-total
Professional, technical and kindred
Managers, administrators, except farm
Sales workers
5, 828. 8
1, 389. 4
1, 750. 6
2, 060. 4
260. 7
123. 1
129. 8
1, 356.7
237. 0
236. 3
Clerical and kindred
236. 7
202. 1
Craftsmen and kindred
199. 8
843. 5
Factory operatives, except transport
Transport equipment operatives
Laborers, except farm
Farmers and farm managers
Farm laborers and farm foremen
225. 8
83. 9
88.0
-56.0
-21. 4
290. 2
156. 4
-220.7
-1,101.2
-368. 0
Service workers, except private household
119. 0
435. 1
5 Male intensive (Ml) means that 75 or more percent of employment in the occupation vias male.
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population, 1970, "Detailed Characteristics of the Population, PC(1)-O1,
U.S. Summary" (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973), table 221. Excludes "occupation not reported."
Second, the continued increase of females in the laborer category
while men show a sharp decrease, and the disproportionate female in-
crease in the factory operatives group, confirm our earlier point con-
PAGENO="0125"
117
cerning the creation of new female ghettos in occupations and jobs
which men are leaving, voluntary or involuntarily. Third, and most
important for the equality for women, the distribution of male employ-
ment growth shows a high concentration in three occupational groups
which include many of the best opportunities for high paid, super-
visory, skilled, and professional posts. In these fields, professional-
technical, crafts, and services, women's employment growth was far
less concentrated. Thus, despite the small overall growth, men have
continued to dominate the upward mobility channels.
H. Men at Lower Educational/Occupational Levels
It would be wrong to ignore the serious employment problem which
these growth data reveal for men at the lower educational-occupational
levels, particularly for minority males. Of course, such men can be
directed into the female intensive sector and in fact the penetration of
white and black males into female intensive occupations has increased.
However, it is not proceeding as vigorously as the reverse movement of
women because of lower earnings, lack of skills, and sex discrimina-
tion against men in the female fields.24
Minority men face problems at most occupational levels in compet-
ing against white men, and the situation undoubtedly is exacerbated
by the pressure from women, especially white women, to gain a larger
share of the male intensive jobs. Data from the Equal Employment
Opportunities Commission show that while the small decline from
1966 `to 1974 in the share of white men in firms with 100 or more em-
ployees has been split among all of the other competing groups, it went
especially to white women. A special case illustrates the tensions which
may arise when white women invade a black man's job. Young, middle-
class, suburban white women, usually just out of high school, have been
taking stablehand jobs at the Belmont race track outside `of New York
City. Living at home., loving horses, these girls have been willing to
work long hours for low pay. They are displacing or competing with
black men for whom this is a job which must sometimes support a
whole family.25
Clearly, the male and female, and white and minority employment
problems and goals must be considered together if progress is to be
made by any group. In addition to the discrimination which women's
advocates rightly charge, account must be taken of the overall slow
growth of the occupations in which men have been dominant for so
long, and a distinction `must be made between the fast-growing up-
wardly mobile sectors and the `others in setting goals for women's
penetration.
IV. TilE VIEW FRo3r TIlE Siior FLooR AXD TIlE OFFICE
The national, cross-sectional data upon which the preceding analysis
necessarily has relied deal only with the penetration of women into
male intensive occupations. The data have not been concerned with
the situation of individual women at various occupational levels as
21 S. H. Garfinkle, op. cit.; Robert Levinson quoted in "Behavior Today" (Dec. 8, 1975),
p. 636; New York Times, Nov. 5, 1975, "i\Iore Men Are Diving Into the Secretarial Pool";
I-I. Wool, "The Labor Supply for Lower Level Occupations" (New York: Praeger, 1976).
New York Times, Sept. 18, 1976, "Women Stablehands Bring Change to Belmont's
Barns ;" Employment and Training Report of the President, 1976," table 0-10.
PAGENO="0126"
118
they compare the appropriate female intensive and male intensive oc-
cupations in regard to ease of obtaining a job, stability of employment,
opportunities for horizontal and vertical mobility, work enviromnent
(noise, cleanliness, physical setting, amenities, travel distance, neigh-
borhood, safety), work conditions (hours, overtime, vacation, time
off), pay rates and earnings and fringe benefits.
An examination of the options open to individual women indicates
that labor market segmentation which separates men from women also
divides women into groups. Despite the popular and academic litera-
ture on women's issues which argues that women as a class are op-
pressed by men as a class, women are not. united in their needs, inter-
ests and attitudes. in regard to a choice of male intensive rather than
female intensive occupations, divisions among women can be seen ac-
cording to their educational and training leveL work experience, age,
race, material and family status. and place of residence. Whether or not
women's attitudes reflect the implantation of ideas and values by a
male-dominated society, subgroups of women have varying views and
face different objective conditions in regard to male intensive
occupations.
A. Racial Differences `in Job Distnibution Among Women
The National Longitudinal Survey of WTolnen 252 studied movements
between female and male intensive occupations and vice versa among
employed women who were 30 to 44 years old in 1967. A measure, sim-
ilar to our MI category. was applied to the jobs held by the women in
1067 and 1971. Between the 2 years. there was a small increase in the
proporation of women employed in male intensive occupations at each
of the three educational levels, with the exception that blacl~ women
with exactly 12 years of education, presumably high school graduation.
showed a. marked decrease in the. proportiomi in male intensive jobs.26
In explanation of racial differences, the Longitudinal Survey hy-
pothesizes that black women were more influenced by the lowering
of racial barriers in female intensive occupations than by the partial
removal of obstacles to entering male intensive occupations. It also
notes that "black women held atypical jobs in 1967 which could reason-
ably be viewed as less desirable than those held by their white counter-
parts * * * they appeared to have been able to move (a.nd desirous of
moving) into typically female jobs which had previously been closed
to them." 27
Furthermore, since black men are not seen as having a superior eco-
nomic or political position, and indeed often appear to have even
25~ "National Longitudinal Survey of Women Aged 30 to 44," Center for Human Resource
Research (Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State UnIversity, 1967).
The National Longitudinal Surveys Study is used by several contributors to this corn-
pendium. It probes the relationship of factors influencing the work behavior and experience
of four groups: women, aged 30 to 44; women and men, 14 to 24; men. 45 to 59. Focus is
on the interaction among economic, sociological, and psychological variables that permit
some members of a given age-eduation-occupation group to have satisfactory work expe-
riences while others do not. The completed study will constitute a comprehensive body of
data on labor mobility. The study has entailed six consecutive surveys of each group at
1-year intervals, except for the omission of the older groups of men and women in 1970.
Following the last of these interviews in 1973. a series of two biennial telephone followup
interviews was initiated for each group. A final personal interview will be completed in
1978. Ohio State University reports, which are based on Bureau of the Census data, are
reproduced as manpower research monographs. Special analyses of the data are also pub-
lished from time to time.
~ Jusenius. op. cit., ch. 2.
"Ibid., p. 25.
PAGENO="0127"
119
greater occupational problems than black women, the movement for
sex equality in the marketplace has less appeal to black women than
the concurrent and somewhat competing drive for racial equality at
work.
B. Importance of Job Satisfaction
The likelihood that some women deliberately choose typical rather
than atypical jobs raises some important qualifications on the general
assumptioii that all progress for individual women lies in penetrating
the male intensive occupations. For one thing, individuals do not incas-
ure progress by a single indicator and in some cases earnings are not
paramount in the job decision. Data shows clearly that women who
moved from male to female intensive jobs from 1967 to 1971 had the
smallest percentage increase in hourly wage rates of all groups ex-
amined.28 Data on job satisfaction give a partial explanation, since
they "strongly suggest that the psychological rewards associated with
atypical and. typical jobs differ according to the educational attain-
ment of the incumbents. Those atypical occupations open to women
with 0 to 11 years of school appear to be less satisfying than typical
jobs." 29 Superior job environment and working conditions and greater
stability of employment in many typical jobs may offset the higher pay
available on suitable atypical jobs. Certainly, place of residence as it
affects the range of local job opportunities influences choice of job.
Evidence that many women choose female intensive jobs when a
choice is truly available comes from the military forces. Although all
noncombat jobs have been opened to women, they have not wished
to be assigned to all of the jobs.3° An analysis of the jobs of working
wives, whose occupations have been found to be closely tied to those of
their husbands, showed a substantial occupational shift between 1960
and 1970 toward some female intensive sectors.1'
Admittedily, this is cross sectional rather than longitudinal data and
the male intensive occupations are not clearly distinguished from the
female. Nonetheless~ upward social mobility, and perhaps economic
mobility as well, has been achieved by many wives of men in the lower
occupational strata through deliberate movement from male to female
intensive jobs.
0. Influence of Marital and Famil~,i Status
The influence of living in a household with a husband present should
not be underestimated as a factor in restraining women's enthusiasm
for nontraditional jobs, especially at the lower educational and occu-
pational levels (in 1975 wives living with their husbands constituted
almost three-fifths of employed females) ~32 Thus, a frequently-made
assumption may be invalid: namely, that most women in the labor
market make individual choices about their occupations; instead, the
2S Ibid., pp. 31-33.
29 Ibid., p. 28.
3° General Accounting Office, "Job Opportunities for Women in the Military: Progress
and Problems," FPCD-76-26 (Washington. May 1076).
31 ~ Hayghe, "Families and the Rise of Working Wives-An Overview." Special Labor
Force Report 189, table 5 (WashIngton, D.C. : U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
StatIstics, 1976).
32 II. Hayghe, "Marital and Family Charactistics of the Labor Force," Special Labor
Force Report 183, table 1 (WashIngton, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 1976).
PAGENO="0128"
120
majority probabJ.y are involved in family decisions. Data which dis-
tinguish penetration into male intensive occupations by the marital
and family status and age of employed women would be useful.
D. Effect of Working `Conditions
Still another perspective is obtained from a consideration of the
famous A.T. & T. agreement to increase, among other categories, the
number of female telephone-pole climbers. Disregarding the census
evidence that the number of females in this occupation had dechneci
between 1960 `and 1970 (from 824 to 785, against a male increase of
over 11,000 workers to a total of more than 50,000) ~ or perhaps taking
the female decline as evidence of company discrimination, the Govern-
ment's agreement with A.T. & T. called for a level of female recruit-
ment to this occupation which has been difficult to meet.34 The pay
advantage over telephone operator earnings is insufficient to attract
many women, and the promotion opportunities are neither numerous
nor glorious.
It is one thing to insure by law and administrative action that any
woman can enter any occupation without sex discrimination, but it is
another to draw up orders or agreements which declare that all male
intensive occupations are desirable simply because women are ex-
cluded. Apart from the untruth, this approach suggests that male-
female earning differences cannot be remedied in any other way.
Reliance on this approach also confers an official approval on danger-
ous, dirty or monotonous occupations which men have been trying to
improve, undercutting their efforts `by the official insistence on recruit-
ment of women who usually are more compliant workers.
It is fashionable to assume that the persistence of male intensive
occupations results entirely from institutional rigidities and resistance
on the part of employers, male workers, customers of the firm and
others on the demand side. But there is considerable evidence, espe-
cially for women whose choice of male intensive occupations would
be limited to nonoffice work, that many women prefer female intensive
jobs and would rather strive for closing the earnings gap than chang-
ing their occupations.
E. Verticcd MoT.ility in Office Settings
The situation is quite different, for the occupational groups where
both male and female intensive jobs are located in offices or similar
settings. Women entering male intensive jobs usually have as good or
better work environments, working conditions. security, pa.y and fringe
benefits than they would have in female intensive jobs. At this level,
women can qualify for entry into male intensive fields through special-
ized education which is provided in a more sex-neutral way than train-
ing in the workplace. Moreover, as previously reported, many of these
ocdupatlonal groups have been expanding rapidly. But the more im-
portant difference between women seeking male intensive occupations
`~` ITS. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population, i970, "Detailed Characteristics.
PC(1)-Di. U.S. Summary" (Washington, D.C. Government Printing Offlce, i973),
table 221.
`~ Wallace, op. cit.
PAGENO="0129"
121
at the professional-technical and managerial levels and women at other
occupational levels is the fact that the first group is more concerned
with vertical than horizontal mobility opportunities.
V. EARNINGS
How do women in the male-intensive occupations fare in regard to
wage rates and earnings? Three bases of comparison are relevant. One
is the experience of individual women who move from female to male
intensive jobs. From the National Longitudinal Survey of women aged
30 to 44 in 1967 and employed in 1967 and 1971, we learn that among
all women in the survey, those who were in male-intensive occupations
in both years had the highest absolute wage rates, whether they were
black or white and at all education levels. Women who moved from
female to male intensive jobs made the largest percentage gains in
hourly wage rates from 1967 to 1971.~~ In a subsequent multiple regres-
sion analysis of the same group's 1972 wage rates, the women were
divided into three skill groups according to the levels of education/
training required and into female and male intensive occupations.
Holding constant race, health, weekly hours of work, type of employer
(public or private), region, size of local labor market, and collective
bargaining coverage, Jusenius found that the sex label of an occupa-
tion was a significant determinant of wage rates in the low-skill and
medium-skill categories but not in the high-skill stratum.36
Another perspective comes from cross-sectional data in the census.
Taking the occupations which were both male intensive and SFP, the
median earnings for females in 52 of these occupations were matched
to the deciles of all 1970 female median annual earnings by occupations
as prepared by Sommers.~~ It is clear that the MI occupations which
had a large increase in the female share of employment ranked fairly
low in median annual earnings compared with all female occupations.
While a tabulation in terms of the number of persons involved prob-
ably would give increased importance to the higher earnings deciles, it
is significant that the occupations receiving half of the female increase
in MI occupations were not particularly high on the annual earnings
scale. Annual earnings may reflect the greater instability, turnover and
layoff in male intensive occupations, offsetting the possibly higher
hourly wage rate. Conversely, the latter is not adequate as a measure
because of variations in the amount of work available over the year.
Of course, these census data show nothing about the earnings experi-
ence of the individual women who transferred to the MI occupations.
Even more lacking is a longitudinal or cross-sectional comparative
analysis in which the wage rates and earnings of women entering non-
traditional jobs are lined up with those of comparable men already in
such occupations. A further question as to women's earnings is the
effect of joining unionized enterprises.
Occupational desegregation does not in itself insure that wage and
salary differentials are eliminated, as Governor Ella Grasso of Con-
necticut told a recent convention of female banking officials.~~ From a
~ Jusenius, op. cit., vol. 3, pp. 31-33, 91.
36 Ibid., voL 4 ch. 4.
~7 D. Sommers, "Occupational Rankings for Men and women by Earnings," Monthly
Labor Review (August 1974).
~ New York Times, Oct. 3, 1976, financial section, "Bank Women Step Out Front."
91-6S6--77-----9
PAGENO="0130"
122
blue-collar setting, Winn Newman of the International Union of Elec-
trical Workers recounted the adjustments made by companies in their
classification and wage systems in order to conform with legislation
out-lawing discrimination and yet to be able to continue to pay women
less than men doing identical work. Far from resenting the wage dif-
ferences between themselves and male workers, the women workers be-
came angry at the union after it obtained a settlement i~liich raised
some but not all female wage rates; the comparison with other women's
rates aroused far more feeling than the longstanding and greater ad-
vantage enjoyed by men.39 Since one of the main advantages imputed
to occupational desegregation concerns equality of earnings, the actual
outcomes should be carefully investigated, particularly the subterfuges
of title and classification which may be introduced by employers.40
VI. POLICY OBJECTIVES AND OPTIoNs
As an introduction to policy considerations, we present an overview
of the chief findings on the penetration of women into male intensive
occupations, based mainly on the analysis of comparable census data
for 1960 and 1970 covering 418 usable occupations:
1. The rate of growth of female employment in male intensive occu-
pations has been more rapid than in female employment as a whole,
and almost nine times as fast as the increase of men in the male
intensive occupations. But the initial female base in the male intensive
occupations in 1960 was so small that at the present time women ac-
count for only around 12 percent of all employment in male intensive
occupations, and almost 85 percent of all women workers are outside
the male intensive occupations, mostly in female intensive occupa-
tions, with the others in gender-neutral fields. Such small advances
suggest that the public policy measures to end occupational segrega-
tion have not been very effective, either because the measures have not
been widely or well applied, or because they do not come to grips with
the underlying causes of sexual polarization.
2. Within the male intensive (MI) occupations, about twice as many
women are employed in the M~II occupations (where women are 11 to
25 percent of employment) as in the 1/MI occupations (where women
are 10 percent or less). The greatest challenge for future female pene-
tration lies in the latter group, which includes the most attractive and
upwardly mobile posts.
3. The blue-collar type of occupations account for a malority of
women in the male intensive sector, but the recent and future direction
of change favors female employment in the professional-technical and
clerical male intensive occupations. Much slower female growth has
been recorded in managerial and sales occupations where little. male
growth in employment occurred.
4. Measurement of employment changes in the recession of 19 t4-~is
for a substantial number of male intensive occupations indicates that
women maintained their relative share of employment or improved on
it in most of the occupations.
"W. Newman, "Combating Occupational Segregation, Presentation III." Signs (spring
1976 supplement).
~° C. R. Martin, Tr., "Support for Women's Lib: Management Performance, Southern
Journal of Business (February 1972).
PAGENO="0131"
123
5. Female penetration of male intensive occupations cannot be meas-
ured purely in terms of increases in the female share of an occupa-
tion's employment. It is true that the 53 male intensive occupations
which had an increase of 5 or more percentage points in the female
share from 1960 to 1970 accounted for over half of the total increment
of women in the male intensive sector. But among these occupations
the female share in at least 27 of the 53 occupations rose because of
slow or negative growth of males in the occupation rather than great
female advances. Moreover, in many other male-intensive occupations
where women made great gains, measured by absolute or percentage
increases of their employment, the female share did not reflect their
progress because the absolute increase of males often was even larger.
This was particularly true in the professional-technical and crafts
occupations.
6. Strong growth of female employment in male intensive occupa-
tions is highly associated with rapid expansion of total employment in
these occupations. The fortunes of men and women ride in tandem, and
for `both sexes the white collar and higher paid occupations have shown
the greatest expansion. Conversely, the prospects for women whose
numbers and share are advancing in some of the craft, operative and
laborer occupations dominated by men are less promising because some
of the occupations in which women's shares rose most are leveling out
or declining in total employment. Promotion opportunities are more
limited and contested, and new female intensive occupations may even
be developing.
7. The combination of slow growth in some male intensive occupa-
tions with a limited number of promotion possibilities for women
makes many women at the blue collar and lower white collar occupa-
tional level seek entry jobs and upward mobility through the female
intensive sector. Many at this level also prefer the attainable female
intensive jobs for reasons of social prestige, employment stability,
work conditions, working environment and related factors which offset
smaller earnings gains than could be achieved in male intensive blue
collar occupations. Black women, disproportionately at the lower edu-
cational-occupational levels, may be particularly disinclined to com-
pete with black men in the male intensive sector because they see them,
not in the oppressor role sometimes imputed to white men by .white
women, but as victims, possibly worse off than black women.
8. Male intensive occupations in the white collar fields offer the
same or superior working environments and conditions and higher
earnings, than the related female intensive occupations. This feature
leads to less conflict over choices than women face at the lower end of
the occupational scale, and establishes clearer upward mobility pat-
terns from female intensive to male intensive occupations. Because of
segmentation of labor markets, groups of women have different in-
terests and needs from one another, and some women have more in
common with men at their own level than with women at higher levels.
9. The crucial issue for women is not desegregation in the horizontal
sense; that is, the ability to choose among a wider seiection of occupa-
tions at a given level. As the preparatory education and traimng
undertaken by young women widens, this form of segregation will de-
crease further, admittedly more easily for those whose preparation
PAGENO="0132"
124
occurs in educational institutions than for those who rely on training
connected with the workplace. Vertical mobility, movement into the
higher ranks of an organization, and greater responsibility on the job
are the nub of the problem. In terms of the fuller utilization of exist-
ing education and skills, the benefits to be obtained from promotion,
and mobility opportunities within the work organization, women in
the white collar occupations, especially the professional-technical and
managerial groups, have a stronger position than other women, but
still face keen competition from men, black and white, for the small
pool of such jobs.
10. Individual workers pay rates have risen more substantially
for women moving from female to male intensive occupations than
for other women, and women in male intensive occupations have the
highest absolute pay rates. But the male intensive occupations in
which wOmen made their greatest employment advances from 1960 to
1970 did not produce higher annual earnings on average than all
females showed. Evidence is lacking on the vital point of whether
women who move into male intensive occupations earn the same
amount as men who perform identical work.
11. Viewed from the perspective of male employment growth in
the male intensive occupations, the female absolute nmnbers and per-
centage increase appear substantial. Against a net female increase of
1.4 million jobs; and a 51.6 percent growth rate from 1960 to 1970,
males had a net increase of 2.1 million jobs and only a 5.9 percent
rise. Indeed, the data suggest an approaching serious employment
problem for males at the lower educational-occupational levels, es-
pecially for black males, unless they enter female intensive jobs. On
the Other hand, the male growth pattern indicates a continuing hold
on the best jobs in both the blue collar and white collar worlds.
The relation of the findings listed above to a full employment pol-
icy is in one sense obvious. Unless there is a much closer approxima-
tion to full employment, the failure to satisfy the demand for jobs in
numerical terms will preclude any serious effort on the desegregation
front; that i~, to provide the types of jobs which will meet the demand
for greater .~imilarity in the occupational distributions of men and
women. `
It is a premise Of the series of papers in this compendium that full
employment' in the numerical sense can be attained and maintained
and that the residual problems which beset women under full employ-
ment are the issue. In terms of the entry of women into the male inten-
sive occupations, the full employment issue cannot be separated so
neatly `from the residual problems. For one thing, it may be antici-
pated that the labor supply of women will respond to full employment
both by increases in the female labor force participation rate and by
a heavier demand from women for the jobs which are male dominated.
Moreover, there is no inherent reason why a successful full employ-
ment policy, as it is commonly defined, should produce a larger pro-
portion of "good" jobs. The deficiency in the number of "good" jobs,
even under full employment, and the rising expectations o~f many sec-
tions of the work force, not just women, may become as potent a source
PAGENO="0133"
125
of dissatisfaction as an inadequate total number of jobs. From this
point of view, it is important to recognize the two separate issues of
numbers of jobs and types of jobs. Public service employment may
meet minimum needs for employment and income, but such jobs do not
respond to the desire of women and other groups to obtain a larger
share of the higher paid, more responsible and prestigious jobs.
The objectives of those who seek equality for women are often
couched in terms of obtaining a share of women in each occupation
equal to the share women hold among all employed persons. The more
ambitious goal stipulates half of every occupation for women workers,
based either on the share of population or on an anticipated rise in
the female share of the work force. But even the aim which takes
women's current 40.7 percent of total employment as its standard is
questionable as the chief measure to achieve equality. Some champion
it simply because it represents an approach to equality, but others,
more numerous, believe that this is a primary method of bringing
women's earnings closer to men's.
The magnitude of the changes required in both male and female
employment need to be firmly borne in mind in discussing this goal. If
it were to be achieved by a displacement of men, presumably leaving
them either to take up female intensive jobs or remain unemployed,
some 12 to 13 million men would have to be displaced. If, instead, the
change was to be accomplished by supervising new hires so that only
women were taken into the male intensive occupations (again a more
drastic policy than is likely to be accepted because, among other rea-
sons, women are not the only group whose goals have a high priority),
it would take a great many years to achieve the proposed share in each
detailed occupation.
Apart from the sheer size of the change which is implied, the under-
lying premises of this egalitarian goal need to be aired:
That a sufficient number of "good" jobs exists or will be created
so that present and future desires of women can be considered
apart from men's, and women, as a disadvantaged group, will not
be in sharp competition with other disadvantaged;
That discrimination is the only or overwhelming cause of wom-
en's disproportionate representation in nontraditional jobs, ignor-
ing questions of insufficient education, training and skills as well
as the lack of desire of women to enter each and every male inten-
sive occupation;
That the objective situation is more or less the same in female
and male intensive occupations at every level, and that women
have an equal desire for nontraditional jobs at every educational-
occupational level and in every type of personal situation;
That earnings differences between men and women can only be
remedied by changing women's occupations, overlooking other
methods of bringing earnings closer together. In Sweden, which
has no better an occupational distribution than the United States
from the point of view of women, government policy and a high
degree of unionization of women have brought the female manual
workers' earnings to over 80 percent of men's-a ratio consider-
ably higher than prevails in the United States.
PAGENO="0134"
126
Given the enormity of the change required to produce occupational
equality, it would seem wise to approach it in a more diversified and
selective way than is postulated in current legislation, court orders,
agreements, and other procedures. A concentration on cases where em-
ployment is expanding and a body of women is ready, eager and com-
petent to take up male intensive occupations would foster wider and
better enforcement of existing measures. Meanwhile, a great effort
must be made to improve the earnings in female intensive occupations
so that more men will be interested in entering them and women will
be content to remain in them. The goal of making the occupational
distribution of women exactly like that of men is less realistic than an
aim of changing the distribution of both sexes so as to reduce the dis-
crepancies between them. The battle for the "good" jobs will not be
settled by women proceeding on their own.
PAGENO="0135"
UNDEREMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN: POLICY IMPLICA-
TIONS FOR A FULL EMPLOYMENT ECONOMY
Br GERALD P. GLYDE *
CONTENTS
Page.
I. Introduction.._ 127
A. Measurement of underemployment 128
B. Occupational segregation 129
C. Focus of underemployment 130
II. Definition of underemployment and qualifications 130
III. Causes of underemployment of women 131
A. The hiring and promotion process and intraskill underem-
ployment 132
1. Job attachment~. 132
2. Work discontinuity 133
3. Credentialism 133
4. Internal labor market - 134
5. Promotion 134
B. Discrimination and intraskill underemployment 134
C. Other causes of intraskill underemployment... - 135
D. Causes of interskill underemployment 136
E. Consequences and costs of underemployment - 137
IV. Policy implications for reducing underemployment of women 138
A. Full employment 138
B. The hiring process 138
C. Labor market information 139
D. Counseling 139
E. On-the-job training and cooperative education~. -- 140
F. Paraprofessionalism.~. - 140
G. Part-time work 141
H. Nontraditional education for women 141
Conclusion -- -- 141
I. INTRODtTCTION
Women comprise a significant and increasing share of the labor
force in the United States. In 1976, about 39 million women were in the
labor market accounting for 41 percent of the total labor force. The
labor force participation rate of women was 47.3 percent in that year.
These statistics contrast sharply with those of a quarter of a century
earlier.1 Clearly, any serious public policy dealing with efficient and
equitable utilization of human resources cannot ignore this increas-
ingly important labor market group.
The official measure used to reveal underutilization in the labor mar-
ket is the unemployment rate. On this score, women consistently have
higher rates than do men. In 1975, the unemployment rates for women
and men were 9.3 and 7.9 percent respectively. The comparable rates
~Assistant professor of economics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa.
1 U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Employment and Earnings,"
January 1977 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1977).
(127)
PAGENO="0136"
128
for 1968, a year when the overall rate was low, were 4.9 percent for
women and 2.9 percent for men.2 These differentials in labor market
utilization of women and men reflect a complex variety of economic,
social, and cultural factors which result in different labor market par-
adigms for each. For example, a portion of the unemployment differ-
ential is accounted for by the high labor force exit and entry rates that
women exhibit, compared to men. On the other hand, women tend to
be relegated to relatively high turnover occupations.
Our unemployment statistics, although revealing, detailed and con-
sidered among the best in the world, tell us only a part of the story
about differential rates of underutilization between men and women in
the labor market. In short., these statistics are virtually blind to the
issue of how well women (or any other group) fare within employ-
ment. Unemployment statistics naturally focus on those individuals
who are not working but desire to and are available for work. In the
case of women, the unemployment rate reveals perhaps only part of
the problem of underutilization.
An important complement to unemployment data would he infor-
mation on underemployment. Underemployment is defined at this
point as a condition in which workers are in jobs where their acquired
skills are underutilized relative to the job requirements. In absolute
terms of human resource waste, the underemployment problem for
women probably looms large in comparison to the unfavorable dif-
ferential in unemployment rates that face women.
The intent of these statements is not to diminish the seriousness of
unemployment. Having a job, even if the job does not utilize ones
skills, is probably better than no job. However, public policy measures
to attain full employment should consider the quality of jobs gener-
ated for various labor force groups, as well as the quantity of jobs
provided for them. Full employment has a hollow ring if a large seg-
ment of the labor force is working, but unable to fully utilize its skills
within employment.
A. Measurement of Underemployment
As yet, there is no adequate measure of underemployment. Research-
ers in the area of human resources recognize the need, however~ to go
beyond the concept of unemployment; it is increasingly clear that. un-
deremployment will be a source of continuing investigation. The fol-
lowing quotes express this need:
Indeed, in all countries-rich and poor alike-the study and reporting of un-
deremployment as a measure of the quality of working life is bound to become
increasingly important to the formation of public policy.3
There is a recognized need to improve the measurement of each of the several
facets which affect the adequacy of employment for individuals.4
One major reason for inadequate measures of underutilization in the
labor market is that underemployment is both conceptually and em-
2 "Emaloyment and Earnings," 1977, and `Manpower Report of the President" (Wash-
ington, D.C. : U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, 1974),
p. 253.
`Bennett Harrison. "Education and Underemployment in the Urban Ghetto," American
Economic Review (December 1972). p. 797.
Deborah Pisetzner Klein, "Exploring the Adequacy of Employment," Monthly Labor
Review 96 (October 1973), p. 8.
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129
pirically more elusive than is unemployment.5 To illustrate, consider
the definition of underemployment provided by a Presidential com-
mittee: "Employment of persons at jobs that call for less than their
highest level of skill and at wages less than those to which their skills,
if fully utilized, would normally entitle them.6 This definition raises
a number of questions. For example, what does highest level of skill
mean? Does it mean potential skill or current skill, including both
formal education and work experience? What does fully utilize mean?
~That numeraire would be used to determine the amount individuals
would normally earn if their skills were fully utilized? Is it estimated
that part-time workers should be included or excluded from the defini-
tion. These questions serve to illustrate some of the difficulties inherent
in the concept of underemployment. A major empirical problem is
that we are not able to identify skills adequately, particularly on-the-
job training skills. There is also a paucity of detailed information on
the skill content of jobs.7
B. Occupational Segregation
Women tend to be crowded into a limited range of female occupa-
tions and female educational programs, which cannot help but lead to
underutilization of their talents, given the increasing supply of women
labor market participants. Clerical, service, and professional occupa-
tions account for two-thirds of all women workers, with the clerical
category alone accounting for one-third of the total of women workers.
In the professional category, women are heavily concentrated in oc-
cupations such as nursing, library work, and elementary education.8
The educational programs that women enter tend to lead to limited
occupational opportunities. For example, data from the U.S. Office of
Education indicate that nearly three-quarters of all women enrolled in
vocational training programs in 1971-72 were concentrated in con-
sumer, homemaking or office vocational fields. In contrast, over one-half
of male students were enrolled in technical, trade and industrial or
agricultural programs.
Occupational segregation, which leads to excess supply conditions in
these occupations, inevitably yields low returns on education for wo-
men; men, who have access to broader occupational opportunities,
but who may in fact have no greater skills at job entry, gain higher
agricultural programs.9
Several investigators have recently been engaged in efforts to identify and measure
what may be termed "subemployment," which differs from underemployment. Although
the details of these efforts vary, the intent of most subemployment measures is to capture
the following dimensions of the labor market failure, and add these to the official unem-
1)loyment measures, thus providing a more comprehensive view of the underutilization of
human resources. First, subemployment Includes the discouraged worker phenomenon,
where individuals are not working and not actively seeking work; they desire work, but
are not seeking It because of their belief that they cannot obtain it. Second, subemployment
takes account of Involuntary part-time work, where individuals are working part-time
but desire full-time jobs. Third, subemployment includes persons who work full-time, but
whose incomes are inadequate for minimal Individual or family support. See Thomas
Vietorisz, R. Meir, and J. Giblin, "Subemployment: Exclusion and Inadequacy Indexes,"
Monthly Labor Review 98 (May 1975) pp. 3-12. Underemployment represents an additional
dimension of underutilization In the labor market.
° U.S. President's Committee To Appraise Employment and Unemployment Statistics,
"Measuring Employment and Unemployment" (Washington, D. C.: Government Printing
Office, 1962), p. 58.
~ See James 0. Scoville, "Manpower and Occupational Analysis: Concepts and Measure-
ment," (Lexington, Mass. : D. C. Health and Co., 1972).
Stuart H. Garfinkle, "Occupations of Women and Black Workers, 1962-74," Monthly
Labor Review (November 1975), pp. 25-35.
See Shirley McCune "Vocational Education: A Dual System," "Inequality in Educa-
tion" (March 1974), p. 30.
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130
C. Foüus of UnderempZoyrnent
The sources of earnings differences between men and . women are
diverse, and not all of the differences can .be said to result from under-
employment. Women do not have the same skill distribution as men,
either in terms of formal education or job experience training. Wo_
men's labor force patterns differ from men's, particularly during the
early years of labor force participation, when skill accumulation
through employment is so important. To the extent.that women's skill
development does, in fact, fall behind men is unfortunate and in many
respects discriminatory. But lower level jobs taken by women refiect~
ing this skill disadvantage are not what is meant by underemployment.
The measurement of underemployment compares how well women's
current skills are utilized in jobs relative to men with equivalent skills.
Occupational and earnings distributions differences between men and
women are the result of many voluntary and involuntary factors. The
underemployment focus is on involuntary factors which prevent ade-
quate utilization of skills.
The remainder of this paper is devoted to (1) a. definition and clari-
fication of underemployment, (2) causes of underemployment of wo-
men, and (3) policy implications for reducing underemployment of
women. It is possible to discuss causes and policy implications of un-
deremployment, even if it is not as yet quantifiable. The seriousness of
a problem in the labor market is not determined by how easy it is to
measure.
II. DEFINITION OF TJNDEREMPLOYMENT AND Q~AL~ICATIONS
For discussion purposes, underemployment is defined here as an in-
voluntary employment condition where workers are in jobs, either
part-time or full-time, in which their skills, including formal and work
experience training, are technically underutilized and thus under-
valued relative to those of other individuals of similar ability who
have made equivalent investments in skill development. Two major
forms of underemployment-intraskill and interskill-can be distin-
guished. Intraskill underemployment occurs when particular individu-
als or groups of individuals within an identifiable skill group are less
able to utilize their skills than is the average individual from this
skill group. That is, they have the equivalent ability and occupational
preparation as the comparison group, but some real or perceived char-
acteristic of these individuals is the source of their underemployment,
not the general marketability of their skill, per Se. The source of this
form of underemployment of women may be employers real or per-
ce~ved cost of search to hire women, discrimination against women, or
other barriers to labor market mobility which women face. These
causes are explored in the next section of the paper.
In contrast, interskill underemployment refers to a condition where
the average individual in a particular skill group is underutilized in
employment as compared to the average individual from other skill
groups where training investment costs are the same, but the nature of
the occupational preparation differs. It is the nature of the skill that
the underemployed individual possesses, not any personal characteris-
tic, which causes, the problem. Sources of interskill underemployment
PAGENO="0139"
131
of women include occupational crowding, a lag in labor market adjust-
ment, retraining costs, and imperfect information.
Given the definition of underemployment suggested above, it is im~
portant to note a few of its implications.b0 First, underemployment is
an involuntary condition, just as unemployment is viewed as an invol-
untary phenomenon. Second, underemploymet is restricted to the un-
derutilization of human resources within employment, including both
part-time and full-time employment. Women hold about 60 percent of
all part-time jobs 11 given the limited range of skilled jobs in this sec-
tor, the probability of underemployment in part-time work is likely
to be greater than in the full-time labor market. Third, underemploy-
ment focuses on how well current skills, not potential skills, are util-
ized. If potential skills were to be compared with job requirements, then
almost every worker must be considered underemployed, since almost
every worker could be more productive if given additional training. A
measure of current skills should take account of both on-the-job expe-
rience and formal education. Job situation training is difficult to meas-
tire, but reliance on formal education as a measure of skill level will
understate the true skill level of workers who have received substan-
tial learning experiences in the labor market.12
Fourth, a worker is said to be underemployed if her current skills
are technically underutilized and thus undervalued. Technical under-
utilization refers to a direct comparison between the skills of a worker
and the skill content of her job, where the worker's skills exceed. job
requirements. In the absence of a direct measure, it is expected that
technical underutilization would be reflected by the undervaluation of
the worker's skills in the form of lower wages.13 Finally, underem-
ployment is a relative concept. Individuals are underemployed rela-
tive to whom? The definition suggests that the numeraire would be
based on the average wage of workers of similar ability who have
made equivalent investments in skill development. Initial measures of
underemployment might concentrate on wage variations across var-
ious labor force groups whose acquired skills are judged to be
homogeneous.
III. CAUSES OF UNDEREMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN
The diverse factors that may produce underemployment of women,
are explored in this section: (1) Discounting by employers of wom-
en's human capital at job entry; (2) labor market discrimination;
10 For a detailed discussion of this definition see Gerald P. Glyde, David L. Snyder, and
Anthony R. Stemberger. "Underemployment: Definition, Causes, and Measurement," Insti-
tute for Research on Human Resources (University Park, Pa.: The Pennsylvania State
University, 1975), ch. 3.
~-` "Employment and Earnings" (January 1976) p. 151.
12 Jacob Mincer, "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings" (New York: National Bureau
of Economic Research. 1974).
12 There Is some empirical support for the conceptual view expressed above. A recent
survey of nearly one-half million Individuals who graduated from college In 1972, and who
were working full time, showed that the more directly that individual's jobs related to
their education, the closer actual earnings were to the individuals' expected earnings. Over
50 percent of those Individuals who stated that their jobs were directly related to their
education stated that their pay was about the same as they had expected. Only 28 percent
of those individuals who stated that their training was not directly related to their job
stated that actual earnings were consistent with their expectations. For the first group, only
11 percent earned substantially lower pay than they had expected; however, for the second
group, 35 percent earned substantially lower pay than expected. See U.S. Department of.
Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Labor Market Experience of Recent College Graduates,"
Special Labor Force Report, No. 169 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office,
1974).
PAGENO="0140"
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(3) other sources of intraskill underemployment, such as barriers to
labor market mobility, inadequate range of part-time jobs, and weak
labor force attachment; (4) interskill underemployment.
A. The Hiring and Promotion Process and Intraskill
Underemployment
Because labor market information is imperfect and predicting the
potential of job applicants is tenuous, employers may use a num-
ber of less than ideal methods to make informed decisions on matters
such as the probable job attachment of applicants for vacancies. The
fact that employers ask a considerable number of questions on appli-
cation blanks, which provide them with socioeconomic data, suggests
that they are interested in these variables to indicate the potential of
the applicant. In considering an applicant's expected job perform-
ance, an important factor is the probability of quitting. In the ma-
jority of hiring situations, employers want workers who have strong
job attachment. If labor costs were totally variable, employers would
not be concerned about rapid voluntary turnover. In most work en-
vironments, however, workers represent both fixed and variable costs,
and the former is often substantial.14 The cost of voluntary turn-
over to employers is, therefore, in part a function of hiring (search)
and training costs.
1. JOB ArrACHMENT
Statistics are in fact consistent with the view that women, as a
group, have less job attachment than men. For example, the Bureau
of Labor Statistics has estimated that the monthly quit rate in man-
ufacturing in 1968 was 2.2 percent for men and 2.6 percent for
women.'5 In January 1973, `the median years of tenure on a current
job was 2.8 years for women and 4.6 years for men.'6 These statistics
appear to validate the conventional wisdom regarding the weak job
attachment of women and thus the inherent risk employers face in
hiring women for meaningful, productive, interesting and rewarding
work.
Upon reflection, however, these statistics are not of much use un-
less they are corrected for occupational differences. That is, a mean-
ingful comparison between male and female job attachment should
be made on the basis of comparable jobs. Although data on this basis
are sparse, the point can be illustrated. In 1973, median years of
tenure in a current job for nonf arm laborers was 2.1 years for men
and 2 years for women. In food service occupations, men's tenure
was 1.1 years and women's was 1.6 years.'7 Quitting is a function of
job characteristics, as well as worker characteristics, and women tend
to be overrepresented in low paying, dead-end occupations which
have high quit rates for both men and women. The irony is that high
quit rates for women are caused, in part, by the nature of the jobs
that employers make available to them; in turn, these high quit rates
`~ Walter 01. "Labor as a Quasi-Fixed Factor," Journal of Political Economy, LXX
(Dee~mber 1962), pp. 538-555.
15 ITS. Department of Labor. Women's Bureau. "1975 Handbook on Women Workers"
(Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1975), p. 60.
`~ITS. Departmet of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Job ~1'enure of Workers," Special
Labor Force Report No. 172 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 19Th), p.
A-17.
17 Ibid., A-17.
PAGENO="0141"
133
for women as a group are then used as justification for denying women
access to good jobs. Qualified women will tend to be underemployed
as long as employers generalize the view that women quit more readily
than men. Their wages and return of their human capital will be less
than that of men, as will the utilization of women's skills. Even if
women have weaker job attachment, on average, than men, a signifi-
cant proportion of women may have as strong as or stronger job at-
tachment than the men with whom they are competing for partic-
ular job vacancies. In this case, inadequate labor market information
or bias on the part of the employer is a cause of underemployment.
If employers are correct, on the average, they may not wish to invest
in further information to change their perception of the situation.
In fact, given the cost of information, this situation, which could be
optimal for employers, clearly results in underemployment for
women.18
Discounting of women's human capital will cause them to end up at
a lower level in the job hierarchy. which less efficiently utilizes their
skills, and will provide them with less remuneration. This discounting
may be based on fact or fancy; it is the perception of employers that
counts.
2. WORK DI5CONTIN~ITY
Women's human capital may be devalued in the eyes of the employer
on other grounds than their quit rate. For example, if a female appli-
cant's work history shows a number of labor market interruptions,
her human capital may be discounted. Any person with a less desirable
employment record, as perceived by the employer, may have his/her
human capital devalued even if he or she is, in fact, endowed with
equivalent amounts of human capital compared to the competitors. for
the vacancy. Obviously, there is considerable room for bias and error
in this process, as well as for legitimate-screening.
3. CREDENTIALISM
Another factor leading to underemployment of women is credential-
ism. In this insta.nce, the employer requires the applicant to have a
degree, diploma, or other certified skill. This screening device works
against labor force members whose training is less formal and there-
fore more costly and difficult to identify. Women tend to receive formal
training in a narrower range of fields than men. For example, nearly
two-thirds of the bachelor degrees earned by women are in the areas
of education, letters (mainly English) or social sciences (mainly sociol-
ogy and history) ~,19 The requirement of degrees or diplomas in par-
ticular fields clearly works against women. From the employers' point
of view, screening in this manner is logical and appears to be wide-
spread. While this use of educational credentials as a screening cri-
terion may be appropriate in many circumstances, it would appear to
hinder unnecessarily labor force groups who have less formal educa-
tion but are nonetheless skilled, and those groups who have educational
credentials in a narrow range of fields. This disadvantage faced by
18 This phenomenon is often referred to as statistical discrimination. See Robert Hall,
"Prospects for Shifting the Phillips Curve Through Manpower Policy," Brookings Papers
on Economic Activity (Washington, D.C., 1971), No. 3, p. 683.
`~ "1975 Handbook on Women Workers," p. 204.
PAGENO="0142"
134
women leads toward an unnecessarily narrow range of job opportu-
mties and attendant possibilities for vertical mobility within the labor
market.
4. INTERNAL LABOR MARKET
Internal labor markets refer to job vacancies within the firm which
are usually filled only by employees of the firm through promotion.
Competition for internal labor market vacancies by the external labor
market is restricted to so-called "ports of entry." These positions con-
sist of jobs at the lower end of the job hierarchy; (there may be several
hierarchies in a firm) ~20 Women outsiders who compete with male in-
siders for job vacancies above the entry level may again have their
human capital discounted, even when both groups in fact have equiva-
lent skills. Ignoring the external labor market may not be an irrational
move on the employer's part, since he has more information about the
workers who have been employed within his firm than about other
workers. This process may result in underemployemnt of women, how-
ever. If all workers at one time or another are faced with internal labor
market barriers, then underemployment of this sort can be considered
transitional.
One of the requirements of moving up in the internal labor market
is strong attachment to the firm and to the labor force. Therefore those
individuals who drop out of the labor force more often than the aver-
age will face a greater probability of underemployment. Members of
those groups of workers who are expected (and perceived by the
employer) to have high quit rates are less likely to be promoted and
hence face the possibility of transitional underemployment becoming
permanent. The internal labor market phenomenon, then, is another
source of underemployment for women.
5. PROMOTION
Promotion consists of sifting the current stock of workers and giving
one person a higher position. The promotion process causes under-
employment when it is unable to place all equally qualified workers in
positions that fully utilize their abilities. In fact, a well-organized
promotion process may foster underemployment when an employer
hires many more workers for entry level positions than can possibly
be promoted. While many of the people in the "promotion pooi" are
underemployed, the company is assessing them in order to pick perhaps
one for promotion to a position that will utilize his/her talents. This
procedure may be rational for the firm, but it leads to underemploy-
ment among the workers. In particular, if women are viewed as more
of a gamble for* senior positions, qualified women will suffer more
underemployment than men.
B. Di~crimAnation and I'ntrasldZl Undere~'mpZoy~'ment
A closely related cause of underemployment, which is difficult to
separate clearly from the problem of inadequate labor market informa-
tion and the cost of search, is labor market discrimination. Labor
market discrimination may. be viewed as occurring when employers
20For one of the best discussions of internal labor markets, see Peter B. Doeringer and
Michael 3. Piore, "Internal Labor Markets and Manpower Analysis" (Lexington, Mass.:
D. C. Heath & Co., 1971).
PAGENO="0143"
1(35
make hiring and promotion decisions on the basis of nonproduetivity
related characteristics. Because the identification of productivity
characteristics is imprecise, screening criteria that employers use in
their employment decisions may be discriminatory in the following
ways: (1) The criteria may be unrelated to work performance; (2)
while the criteria may accurately reflect group averages, they may not
be appropriate for a subset of this group whose employment prospects
are being determined by the employer; (3) the criteria may reflect
prejudice rather than any attempt to estimate productivity; (4) past
inaccuracies in hiring and promotion decisions may be used sub-
sequently to screen these individuals out of future labor market
progression opportunities. .
If an employer's screening criteria are even loosely related to work
performance, or if. biased statistical evidence is used as justification,
it may . be difficult to distinguish between prejudicial. and infor-
mational hiring standards. Assume, for example; that an employer's
experience indicates that the job attachment of women is less than that
of men. Can he, then, legitimately discount all women's capacity for
work? Or should this be interpreted as a form of prejudicial
discrimination? 21
Employment discrimination occurs when women, because of non-
economic characteristics, receive lower rates of return on their human
capital than do men who have the same productivity characteristics.
This definition does not infer discrimination from unequal patterns
of employment per Se. Part of the unequal labor market status of
women must be attributed to prelabor market discrimination, which
results in unequal endowments of human capital, and to differences in
labor market behavior. The isolation of that part of male-female clif-
ferences in the quality of employment caused by discrimination is a
difficult task. It is particularly difficult to identify all elements of
human capital that are relevant to work performance, and to evaluate
the productivity effects of differences in labor market behavior. These
problems are compounded by the fact that the two sources of dif-
ferentials in employment status may be related.
C. Other Causes of I~ntras1ciU U'aderempZoyment
A married woman, in particular, has a greater probability of ex-
periencing underemployment than `a man because: (a) she usually
must leave her job if her husband moves, and (b) she usually cannot
take advantage of better employment opportunities which require
a geographical move on her part. Although family mobility is in-
fluenced by economic opportunity, it is the husband's job which usu-
ally takes precedence. The `family move may maximize the hu~band's
and family income, hut the wife who was working prior to the move
will be forced to take whatever employment she can find in the new lo-
cation. Hence, there is a greater probability that the wife will be un-
deremployed than is the case of the husband who has made a purpose-
f iii move.
21 At least two contributors to the discrimination literature Imply that the distinction
between "statistical" and "prejudicial" discrimination is a spurious one: "Discrimination
is the process of forming stereotyped views that all members of a particular group are
assumed to possess the characteristics of the group." F. Weisskoff, "Women's Place In the
Labor Market," American Economic Review 62 (supplement, May i972), p. 164. `~Discrimi-
nation is no less damaging to its victims for being statistical. And it is no less important
for social policy to counter." E. Phelps, "The Statistical Theory of Racism and Sexism,"
American Economic Review 62 (September 1972).
PAGENO="0144"
136
A family generally does not move in response to labor market op-
portunities for the wife. This phenomenon may be quite logical
viewed in the family income context. Yet the consequences of this
behavior lead to more underemployment for a woman than if she
were free to pursue purposeful job mobility tied to her skill
development.
Because of family responsibilities, many women desire or are
limited to part-time work, as are older workers for other reasons.
However, not many professional and skilled occupations provide
part-time work options so as to make it possible for those who are
professionally trained or skilled to utilize their skills and avoid
underemployment. There appears to be little evidence to support the
view that part-time workers are less productive than full-time
workers. Professional and skilled part-time work would keep
women in contact with "their type" of job and prevent skill erosion
from taking place. There is no particular reason why career commit-
ment cannot be part time for both men and women. In any case, the
absence of part-time jobs to suit the skill distribution of workers often
results in underemployment.
Another potential source of underemployment of women is weak
labor force attachment. For example, women who leave the labor force
for considerable periods may suffer an erosion of their labor market
skill. The extent of this loss will depend on the nature of their skill.
But, more importantly, with regard to underemployment, when they
reenter the labor market, they may lack confidence to compete. for
jobs for which their current skills are, in fact. appropriate. The result
would be underemployment, as it would be if employers overreact to
the perceived skill loss of women who have been absent from the
labor force for a considerable period.
D. Causes of Jnte~rs7eifl U%cleremplo7jment
Interskill underemployment is the result of a relative disadvantage
in the marketability of a skill itself, compared to other skills which
required equivalent investments to obtain. Persons who are underem-
ployed for this reason are victims of labor market ccgluts~~ which have
their origins both on the demand and supply sides of the labor market.
Given the concentration of women in a limited number of occupa-
tional and education fields and the increasing supply of women in the
labor market, interskill underemployment is a more likely condition
for women than for men.
Since the labor requirements of firms are a derived demand, the dv-
namics of markets for goods and services and the resultant adjustment
processes are bound to favor certain skill groups and disfavor others.
Individuals with skills appropriate to disfavored occupations are more
likely to be underemployed than are individuals whose skills match
the requirements of favored occupations. Layoffs in disfavored occri-
pations, and the lack of new iob vacancies in them. can be expected
to reduce the marketability of individuals with skills appropriate to
these ocoupations.
In terms of skill adjustment, the response of labor supply to shifts
in demand is generally sluggish. Human capital investments, especiaily
for older people, tend to be irreversible due to cost (time) factors. T1~e
PAGENO="0145"
137
result of this immobility of skill in the face of declining demand will
often be underemployment rather than retraining; the individual is
"locked in."
Another cause of interskill underemployment is the lag between
market signals that indicate declining demand for a skill and reaction
to that signal, as revealed by relative declines in the number of gradu-
ates trained in that skill. A classic example of the inflexibility of sup-
ply in response to signals from the market is the teaching profession,
especially elementar~r education, where women comprise a majority.
Long after the peak in student enrollments passed in the late 1960's
and indications of glut appeared, universities were still expanding pro-
grams to train elementary school teachers. The result was a significant
excess supply of teachers, some of whom are now either out of the labor
force or are still in the labor force but underemployed. To the extent
that labor market forecasting can be improved to provide early warn-
ing of declines in demand and this information can be more rapidly
transmitted to supply sources, the problem will be reduced.
Inadequate adjustment to changing demand and supply conditions
in the labor market is compounded for women. They face not only the
usual imperfections in the labor market, but also must contend with a
segregated job market which excludes them from a vast array of job
opportunities. Thus, with fewer alternatives, they are less able to ad-
just to changes in labor market conditions. However, it should be
noted that if proportionately more women than men do not plan or
desire continual labor market activity, investments by women in labor
market adjustments will be less than for men, since the payoff from
that investment will be less for women. One of the major difficulties in
empirical research is sorting out factors which prevent women from
making desired adjustments in the labor market from those factors
which represent voluntary decisions on their part.
F. Consequences and Costs of Underemploym~ent
The consequences of women's underemployment, whether of the in-
traskill or interskill variety, are perhaps self-evident. They include
lower earnings for individuals who are unable to utilize their skills
consistent with some norm. Since the accumulation of skills is con-
tinuous, those individuals who are underemployed will be at a disad-
vantage in terms of receiving on-the-job training or work experience
which complements their skills. This disadvantage has feedback effects
in the sense that their future eligibility for vertical mobility may be
impaired. When acquired skills are not utilized in work and the condi-
tion is not voluntary, job dissatisfaction and alienation from work are
likely outcomes. At a more aggregate level, underemployment repre-
sents an inefficient use of human resources. Education represents a
highly subsidized industry; to the extent that women are not able ef-
fectively to utilize the major public investment made in them, society
must bear the burden. This burden comes in the form of higher unft
costs of production and the resulting higher prices. Less productive
work means less tax revenues for governments, higher costs of welfare,
unemployment insurance, and other public assistance programs that
respond to labor market dysfunctioning.
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J'V POLICY IMPLICATIONS FOR REDUCING UNDEREMPLOYMENT OF
WOMEN
Attempts to reduce underemployment require a wide variety of re-
medial measures. The recommendations provided below suggest some
ways in which the underemployment problem for women could be re-
duced, and `areas where further reaserch efforts are required. The or-
dering of priorities within an underemployment policy is likely to
depend on the benefits and costs of the various ameliorative measures.
Quantification of the problem would clearly provide a helpful guide.
Several avenues for continued research are suggested. These would in-
clude: More refined measures of differences in returns to human capital
investment between men and women with equivalent occupational
preparation; `additional quantitative work on discrimination and the
role of information in `the hiring `and promotion process; more studies
of how women are being integrated into specific occupations; and the
development of indexes of occupational attainment in order to monitor
the progression of women into traditionally made occupations. Other
recommendations `are provided below.
A. Fu~ Em~ployment
A basic requirement for reducing underemployment is to decrease
unemployment. Those women workers who are underemployed have
little prospect of overcoming it when there is an excess supply of labor
in the job market. On the other hand, under conditions of full employ-
ment, when it becomes more difficult for employers to find qualified
males for jobs, qualified minorities including women are more likely to
be hired. That is, the cost of search for males under conditions of
full employment will approach the cost of search for females, or may
even exceed it. The use of unrealistic hiring standards and dependence
on credentialism would decrease. Given that qualified women will be
taken into more diverse occupations under a full employment policy1
employers' information about women's performance on the job will
increase; consequently, there will be less prejudicial discrimination in
the future. Discrimination on the part of employers and male em-
ployees can also be expected to fall as women are integrated into tradi-
tionally male occupations. An additional ameliorative effect of full em-
ployment is that more revenues would be available ~o Government to
attack other sources of underemployment of women.
On the other hand, with high unemployment, programs of many
kinds tend to be restricted in scope and funding. In sum, both the pri-
vate sector and the Government sector will be more receptive to minor-
ity labor force groups under conditions of full employment than under
cOnditions where considerable labor market slack exists.
B. The Hiring Process
The screening process that employers use for hiring and promotion
is a valuable source of labor market information to them. However,
the line between legitimate use of screening and labor, market dis-
crimination is blurred. Yet it is often at the point of hiring where
underemployment of women commences and occupational segregation
begins. Inadequate empirical evidence in this area `makes it difficult to
PAGENO="0147"
139
formulate government policy. Women's skills will continue to be un-
derutilized if unequal treatment is experienced in the hiring or promo-
tion process. Government policy should encourage the Equal Employ-
ment Opportunity Commission in its enforcement of title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 and in the resolution of the very difficult
question as to which hiring standards or screening procedures are, in
fact, related to job performance. This will necessarily lead to intru-
sion into the personnel policies of private firms, which may be justi-
fied, since those private policies have wide external social effects on
women.
C. Labor Market Information
The imperfectlabor market information which causes underemploy-
ment of women occurs on several levels; therefore policies to improve
it should be addressed across a broad front. First, improved methods
of forecasting demand for labor requirements of industry and supply
of skills will result in a better match between women workers and
jobs. Improved estimates at both the national and regional level would
be helpful. Identification of new and emerging occupations, as well
as more information on the link between occupations, are important.
We need to know more about how occupations are linked in terms of
transferability of skills among them, e.g., the use of an organizing
skill~ in a political campaign to raise funds or to increase the mem-
bership of an organization. This information would assist in identify-
ing the most flexible types of skill training and education.
Second, although we have extensive occupational information
already, there are impediments to its efficient use. For example, there
could be considerably more cooperation among education guidance
counselors, labor market statisticians, and employers.
Third, there is a need for more detailed local labor market infor-
mation to assist local vocational educators and prime sponsors who
receive funds under the Comprehensive Employment and Training
Act (1973). Given the trend toward decentralization, State and loca~1
areas should be responsible and accountable for education and train-
ing. This will require better local labor market information and co-
operative planning among local manpower officials, employers, educa-
tional institutions, unions, and civil rights groups. The development
of local planning models incorporating these elements should be en-
couraged to assist in identifying the costs and effectiveness of alterna-
tive strategies. At a minimum, this planning process would make it
more difficult to exclude women from a wide range of both educational
and occupational choices.
D. Counseling
Traditional educational counseling of women students does not
appear to have had much demonstrable impact on widening the voca-
tional choices that women make. Occupational crowding of women
is in part due to the segregation of jobs in the labor market, but it
also stems from pre-job educational choices that women make. The
root of these choices is not easily understood, but it would appear that
the emphasis on traditional counseling might better be replaced by
"counseling in the classroom." This would commence in the early
years. A major objective would be to improve women's awareness of
PAGENO="0148"
140
the world of work long before a career decision is made. This
would require an improved awareness and sensitivity on the part of
teachers in general. Since sex stereotyping in education and employ-
ment has its roots in early formative years, policies to reduce these
effects should be directed toward the classroom long before more ortho-
dox counseling takes place.
E. On-the-Job T~aining and Cooperative Education
An important source of education is on-the-job training, which is
provided in many forms from simple work experience to highly
formalized training. The purpose ranges from socializing newly hired
employees in a particular organization to teaching real skills. One
negative aspect of on-the-job training as a form of education is that
it may be very specific and uncertified; therefore, it may be less trans-
ferable than in-school training. The most obvious positive characteris-
tic of on-the-job training is that it provides learning experience at
the workplace; therefore, other factors being equal, the probability
is that an employee will end up working in the area of his/her
training.
There is a need to look more closely at the effectiveness and cost of
cooperative or work experience education programs. More information
is required on how formal education and on-the-job training can inter-
act. That is, what types of formal education lead to particular types
of on-the-job training and how does this interaction influence earnings
and employment outcomes. Cooperative education, where students coin-
bine work experience and formal education at the same time, provides
a clear avenue for placing more women into diverse employment
situa.tions early in life. In this regard, more interaction between eclu-
cators and employers to develop cooperative programs would be bene-
ficial. (This includes 4-year institutions, junior colleges, vocational
and comprehensive secondary schools.)
F. Paraprofessioncdism
Paraprofessionals normally work under the supervision of a pro-
fessional and perform tasks formerly reserved for the latter. An
innovative expansion of paraprofessionalism could be expected to
reduce underemployment in two ways: (1) upper level professionals
would be permitted to spend additional time performing tasks which
more closely reflect their particular expertise in that they would be
relieved of many duties which can just as effectively be performed by
other less highly qualified professionals: (2) persons capable of pro-
viding many professional services, but who are prevented from doing
so by rigid work rules, leave underemployment behind when para-
professional jobs are created to utilize their skills. A successful para-
professional program would harness the concept of continuing or
recurrent education and on-the-job training to create more flexible
career ladders for those individuals who cannot or do not take the
normal professional education paths. The advancement of parapro-
fessionals to full professional status would require action by the pro-
fessions themselves, the education system, a.nd govermnent.
PAGENO="0149"
141
G. Part-time Work
Most jobs still require employees to work a standard workweek. The
part-time labor market is restricted largely to unskilled jobs with the
result that skilled or professionally trained individuals who take part-
time jobs have a high probability of being underemployed. Women
with family duties, older workers, and the handicapped could all
benefit from innovative efforts to provide professional jobs on a part-
time basis. Both private and public employers should consider the
merits of flexible and part-time work schedules, so that they might
take advantage of underutilized professionals. More enlightened work
scheduling would reduce underemployment for many women and pro-
vide more satisfying jobs in the part-time labor market. In addition,
the provision of high quality part-time work would prevent part-time
workers' professional skills from eroding through inadequate use.
H. Nontraditional Education for Women
Increasing the range of educational choice for women will help
alleviate underemployment. More emphasis should be placed on devel-
oping nontraditional careers for women. Many education and training
programs that are curently considered to be "male" programs should
encourage female participation. Expansion of opportunties could
reduce underemployment in three ways: (1) by cutting down future
occupational crowding, (~) by removing psychological barriers that
women may have toward jobs and educational programs which have
been traditionally male, and (3) by removing both current and future
biases that males may have toward women in traditionally male jobs
and educational programs.
CoNcLusIoN
In the United States and in other countries, it took society many
years to realize that individuals can fall into unemployment as unwill-
ing victims; the Great Depression made this fact obvious. With the
Employment Act of 1946, the Federal Government took major respon-
sibility for preventing unemployment, a condition no longer deemed
to be a reflective of inadequate individual motivation. In the same
way, underemployment may result from factors beyond individuals'
control. Inadequate transferability of skills because of limited options
for midcareer education and training is one barrier that can turn
transitional underemployment into a permanent condition. The devel-
opment of education as a lifelong process would help remove this
barrier by easing transfers between occupations and by certifying
women for jobs for which credentialism would otherwise have dis-
qualified them. Because women's education or job activities are more
likely to be interrupted due to family responsibilities, recurrent educa-
tion could be helpful in reducing future underemployment for them.
PAGENO="0150"
LIFETIME. PARTICIPATION IN THE LABOR FORCE
AND UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG MATURE WOMEN
B~ STEVEN H. SANDELL * ~
CONTENTS
Page.
I. Labor force participation of mature women__ 143
A. Barriers to full labor force participation of mature women_ -- 143
B. Age discrimination 145
C. Incorrect expectations and employment problems of women__ 145
II. Unemployment among mature women 147
A. The measurement and interpretation of unemployment rates_ 147
B. Specific human capital and female unemployment -- 149
C. Job search behavior of mature women 150
III. Conclusions 151
The problems that mature women 1 face in the labor force are often
a consequence of their family responsibilities. Interrupted work ex-
perience leads to low wages, reduced labor force participation, and
high unemployment-the three most important labor market problems
of mature women. The expectation of labor force withdrawal influ-
ences womenis career choices and this, in turn, affects the amount of
on-the-job training they receive and their pay. Thus, the impact of
childrearing is felt not only while children are in the household. but
before they are present and after they are no longer a direct impedi-
ment to labor force activities.
Government policies to improve the employment position of mature
women should include vigorous enforcement of laws designed to pre-
vent sex discrimination, a commitment to full employment, and pro-
grams that are specifically designed to help mature women increase
their jobs skills and then find productive employment. The relationship
between lifetime work experience and the labor market problems of
mature women affirms the need for policies tha.t insure equal treatment
for women in the home as well as in the office and factory. Equality in
aspects of life other than the labor market is necessary to produce tt
total improvement in the employment position of mature women.
Section I of this paper discusses the causes and consequences of
the lifetime labor force participation pattern for women. Several
*Assistant professor of economics and research associate, Center for Human Resource
Research, Ohio State University, Columbus. Ohio.
*~The author would like to thank the Center for Human Resource Research for financial
support for this paper. Rex Johnson and Pete Koenig for their research assistance, and
Patricia Greene for editorial assistai~ce. Numerous helpful comments were provided by
Belton Fleisher. Tom Chirikos, and Herbert Parnes. Errors that remain are the author's
own responsibility.
The original research on which this paper was based was prepared under a contract
with the Manpower Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, under authority of the
Manpower Development and Training Act. Interpretations and viewpoints are those of the
author and do not necessarily renresent the official position of the Department of Labor.
1 For purposes of this study, the term "mature women" Includes all women from age ~O
through the end of their work lives, including never-married, married, previously married,
with or without children.
(142)
PAGENO="0151"
143
aspects of unemployment among mature women are analyzed in sec-
tion II. Interspersed throughout the paper and summarized in section
III are the policy implications of the analysis.
I. LABOR FORCE PARTICIP4TION OF MATURE WOMEN
Standard economic models used to analyze labor supply of married
women view the decision to work in a family context.2 Three alternative
uses are available for the wife's time: Work in the home (e.g., cooking,
child care, etc.) ; work in the labor market; and leisure. The allocation
of the wife's time among these activities depends on her net market
wage, other family income, her home productivity, and the family's
preferences and tastes. The expected effects of some of these factors are
discussed below.
The wife's market wage (net of direct costs of employment) is ex-
pected to influence her labor force participation. The higher the avail-
able market wage, other things being equal, the more likely `a woman
is to seek market work.3 Variables that reflect the ease or difficulty of
obtaining a job (such as the area unemployment rate) change the net
return to labor force participation by affecting the cost of job search
and can often be considered analogous to the money wage rate in their
effect. Likewise, nonpecuniary returns to employment are similar to
wages in their effect on the participation of women. The wife's per-
sonaJ taste for market work and the views of her husband, both pos-
sibly conditioned by attitudes prevalent in society, affect the non-
pecuniary return to market work.
The wife's home productivity is determined by her abilities and her
family's demand for home goods and services which, in turn, depends
on income and tastes. Although not often directly observable, home
productivity might be assumed to be positively associated with the
number of children in the household and inversely associated with the
ages of the children. The higher her home productivity, the lower is the
likelihood that the woman `is in the labor force.
A. Barriers to the Full Labor Force Participation of Mature Women
The economist's framework is useful in examining the effects `of skill
depreciation, the presence of children and `availability of child care
facilities, and the husband's attitudes toward his wife's labor force
participation. Implicit in the discussion of the employment problems
of mature women are policy suggestions for lowering barriers to their
full participation in the labor market.
Table 1 shows the lengLh of work intervals and home time segments
for women who were 30 to 44 years of age in 1967.~ A comparison of the
data for mothers with those for childless women demonstrates that a
very substantial barrier to full labor force participation is women's
2 See, for example:
Glen G. Cain, "Married Women in the Labor Force: An Economic Analysis" (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1966).
Jacob Mincer, "Labor Force Participation of Married Women: A Study of Labor Supply,"
in "Aspects of Labor Economics," National Bureau of Economic Research (Princeton, N.J.:
Princeton University Press, 1962), pp. 63-106.
Mincer, op. cit., attributed the dominance of the substitution effect over the income
effect of a higher market wage for the wife to the availability of many home work activities
which can serve as substitutes for market work.
4 Estimates of an econometric model of the lifetime participation of married women are
contained In Steven H. Sandell, "Lifetime Labor Force Participation of Married Women"
(unpublished inimeo, Ohio State University, 1976).
PAGENO="0152"
144
assumed responsibility to care for their children. The. availability of
child care facilities would free women with very young children for
market work. Day camps that would operate after school and on
holidays, along with school lunch programs, would increase the labor
force options of mothers of school-aged children.
TABLE 1.-YEARS OF WORK EXPERIENCE AND YEARS OUT OF THE LABOR FORCE OF WOMEN BY MAR1TAL STATUS
AND RACE
Int
erval means
Group hi
e1
h2
e2
h3
e~
2e
~h
S
Sample
size
White, with children:
Married once, spouse present 0. 76
Remarried, spouse present . 55
Widowed 1.41
3. 47
2. 52
4.24
8. 32
6. ii
8.90
1.91
4.39
3.44
3. 64
5.24
2.66
2. 56
2.65
2.63
7. 95
9. 55
10.32
12.71
11.90
12.98
11. 60
10. 35
11.41
1, 848
308
41
Divorced .93
3.00
5.90
4.92
3.59
3.09
11.01
10.42
10.71
125
Separated 1. 02
White, childless:
Married once, spouse present 1.70
Never married 1. 08
3. 81
5. 43
6. 66
6. 67
0
0
3.96
4. 43
0
3. 02
3. 73
2. 34
2. 35
5. 51
8. 25
10. 13
15. 37
14. 92
10.70
5. 44
3.41
10. 26
11. 62
12. 52
54
131
157
Black, with children:
Married once, spouse present 1. 17
Remarried, spouse present 1. 28
Widowed 1.16
Divorced .86
Separated 1. 32
Black, childless:
Married once, spouse present 3. 22
Never married 3. 43
1. 86
2. 02
1.91
1.36
1. 60
5.02
7. 61
5. 67
4.79
6.72
3.95
4. 32
0
0
4. 15
6. 69
4.07
7.07
6.76
4. 32
0
4. 21
4. 82
5.44
3.14
4. 39
3. 05
3.73
3. 75
3. 83
4.78
4.56
2. 82
5. 93
6. 89
9. 76
12. 54
10.76
12.99
11. 18
15. 27
14. 50
11. 06
10. 89
13.32
7.96
9.77
6.27
7. 16
10. 08
9.71
9.15
10.37
9. 58
11. 56
11. 32
525
146
68
70
170
41
44
Note: hi-years not worked between school and 1st job; e1-years worked between school and birth of 1st child (for
childless married women, equals years worked between school and 1st marriage; for never-marrieds, equals years worked
prior to current job); hi-years not worked between marriage and 1st job after birth of 1st child; ei-years worked after hx
prior to 1967 job (for childless married women, equls years worked between 1st marriage and start of 1967 job); h3-years
not worked following 1st job after birth of 1st child (i.e., since returning to the labor force at the end of hi); ei-years on
1967 job which occurred after birth of 1st child; xe-years worked since school; ~h-years of nonparticipation since
school; S-years of schooling.
Source: The National Longitudinal Survey of Women aged 30-44, Center for Human Resource Research, (Columbus. Ohio:
The Ohio State University, 1967). Also see Sandell and Shapiro. `The Theory of Human Capital and the Earnings of Women:
A Reexamination of the Evidence" (unpublished mimeo, the Ohio State University, 1976).
Of course, the allocation of some child care responsibilities to the
husband would lead to greater equality in the labor market as well as
in the household. If home work were shared more equally between
marital partners, their labor force participation rates could become
more equal. Moreover, the words of husbands, as well as their deeds,
seem to affect the labor force behavior of married women. Women who
perceive favorable attitudes of their husbands toward their working
have greater lifetime participation than other women.5
Since the women who command higher market wages are more likely
than other women to work, it follows that increasing pay to mature
women would augment their labor force participation. Thus, it is im-
portant to understand the determinants of women's earnings if G-ov-
ernment policy is to be directed toward increasing the employment of
mature women. Lower wages attributable to skill depreciation during
the dhildrea.ring period implies reduced labor force participation sub-
sequently. A recent study of women's e.arnings concluded that each
year a woman spends out of the labor force, her potential wage is
reduced by one-half of 1 percent.° Thus, in table 1 the typical white
married woman with children and spouse present ha.d her potential
° Ibid., p. 17.
6 Steven H. Sandell and David Shapiro, "The Theory of Human Capital and the Earnings
of Women A Reexamination of the Evidence" (unpublished mlmeo, the Ohio State Univer-
sity, 1976), p. 5.
PAGENO="0153"
145
market wage reduced 15 cents in 1967. In other words, childrearing has
the effect of reducing labor force participation after children are fully
grown as well as when they are present in the household. It seems that
mature women's labor supply would be increased if they were able to
hold part-time jobs that facilitated the maintenance of job skills dur-
ing the childrearing period. Of course, retraining programs for women
returning to the labor force could have the same result.
B. Age Discrimination
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 established the
public policy of promoting employment opportunities based on ability
rather than age for people who are over 40 years old. Since the labor
force participation rate of women in this age group has increased
dramatically since 1950, the question of age discrimination is a particu-
larly important concern in examining their labor market problems.
Although Federal law prohibits discrimination by age in hiring, job
retention, and compensation, this policy is often difficult to enforce.
While the Employment Standards Administration of the Department
of Labor has been successful in stopping many firms from using arbi-
trary age limits beyond which they would not consider a person for a.
particular job, other practices that adversely affect older women are
more difficult to prevent. These include establishing minimal, formal
educational requirements for certain jobs and promoting workers on
the basis of seniority.
The common practice of choosing persons from within instead of
hiring from outside the firm for high level positions impacts adversely
on older women. Since intermittent labor force participation of these
women is associated with shorter tenure within a particular firm, the.
likelihood of their jc~b advancement is lower than for persons with the
same total labor market experience but longer tenure at the finn. Thus,
a policy of internal promotion can be viewed as de facto age discrimi-
nation against women.
Formal educational requirements or recruiting new employees
through college placement offices can result in unfavorable treatment
of older women workers. If the firm is not willing to consider a woman's
life and work experience as a substitute for a formal education require-
inent, older persons who on average have less schooling than younger
persons will find it difficult to obtain good jobs. When hiring require-
ments are flexible and if the employer recruits exclusively on college
campuses, older women will not have information about the avail-
ability of certain positions and, thus, will not be considered for
employment.
C. Incorrect Expectations and Employment Problems of Women
Training is profitable to a worker if the increase in earnings attribu-
table to it is greater than its cost. Hence, the profitability and the
receipt of training are positively related to the expected duration of
future labor force participation. To the extent that underestimation
of future labor force participation leads to a lack of interest in formal
and on-the-job training, some women are faced with poor occupational
opportunities when and if they do decide to enter the labor market.
Unrealistically low expectations of future labor market participation
PAGENO="0154"
146
can create a self-fulfilling prophecy if these little-trained women are
offered low wages and, hence, choose not to accept employment.
Two cohorts from the National Longitudinal Surveys7 (women 14
to 24 and women 30 to 44 years of age) are used to compare the labor
force expectations (at age 35) of young women to the actual labor force
experience of women who have attained that age. Table 2 shows the
responses of the younger group of women to the question "What would
you like to be doing when you `are 35 years old ~" It also provides the
actual labor market status of women 30 to 44 years of age. Young
women are categorized by expected education and older women by
actual education completed at the time of the survey.
Although we will not attempt a thorough analysis of labor market
expectations in this paper, the following results seem clear from the
tables presented. Young women in `almost all educati'on groups seri-
ously underestimate their future labor force participation as judged by
the actual experience of older women. Many women who are currently
facing difficulties in the labor market undoubtedly had such unrealis-
tic expectations in the past. To the extent that current trends in female
labor force participation continue into the future, the underestimates
by young women today `are even more serious than indicated in the
tables. It is interesting to note that black women seem to underestimate
their future labor force participation less than white women. Blacks
between 14 and 24 years of age predict a labor force participation rate
of 59 percent compared to an actual rate of 67 percent. Whites predict,
`at age 35, a rate of 29 percent compared to `an actual rate of 48 percent.
TABLE 2.-WORK EXPECTATIONS AT AGE 35 OF YOUNG WOMEN COMPARED TO ACTUAL EMPLOYMENT STATUS
OF MATURE WOMEN
Education
1
11 yr
or less
12 yr
13 to 15
yr
16 plus
years
Total
Whites:
Percent young women expecting to work at age
3523
Percent of mature women in labor force°
(4)
46. 6
26. 8
47. 6
18. 1
46. 8
32. 7
54. 5
28. 6
47. 7
Blacks:
Percent of young women expecting to work at
age 35 2 3
Percent of mature women in labor force 0
(4)
59.4
62. 1
69. 4
60. 6
72. 5
57.7
96. 6
59.3
66. 5
I Refers to expected educational attainment for young women, completed education for mature ~.`omen.
2 National Longitudinal Survey of Women aged 14 to 24 in 1968.
3 Excludes those answering "don't know," "not applicable," or "other."
4 Excludes those answering educational attainment of 11 yr or less.
Respondents from the National Longitudinal Survey of Women 30 to 44 in 1967.
A clear implication for policy may be drawn from these findings:
women need more guidance in preparing realistically for their future
lives. This guidance could be given in high school, through the media,
or through the employment service. Young women should be made
aware of the extended periods in the labor force that they will prob-
ably face during their mature years. They might then be more likely
to seek training opportunities and to prepare themselves in other ways
for eventual employment.
~ "National Longitudinal Survey of Women Aged 30 to 44," Center for Human Resource
Research (Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University, 1967).
Ibid., "Aged `14 to 24," 1968.
PAGENO="0155"
147
II. UNEMPLOYMENT AMONG 1i~uim WOMEN
This section examines several facets of unemployment among mature
women. First, problems related to the measurement of female unem-
ployment are examined. The effect of labor force withdrawal and reen-
trance on the interpretation of the published unemployment statistics
is discussed. Second, some important factors contributing to high un-
employment among mature women are examined. Women's lifetime
labor force participation patterns limit their training opportunities
and their occupational choices, which in turn often increase the likeli-
hood of their suffering unemployment. Finally, some preliminary find-
irigs from a recent study of job search behavior of mature women with
recent work experience are presented.
A. The Measurement and Interpretation of Unemployment Rates
Considerable care must be used in interpreting the published statis-
tics on unemployment of women because of the high incidence of la~bor
force withdrawal and reentrance among this segment of the popula-
tion. These statistical problems distort the magnitude of unemploy-
ment among several groups of women and thus disguise the causes and
thwart proper prescription of public policy to reduce unemployment
among women.
The Women's Bureau explains the difference between the unemploy-
ment rates of adult men and adult women in April 1974 as follows:
Entry and re-entry into the labor force accounted for 1.7 percentage point, of
the 4.6 percent unemployment rate for adult women, but for only 0.7 of the 3.6
percent rate for adult men. Were it not for the inclusion of unemployment caused
by entry and re-entry, the rates for these women and men would have been the
same-2.9 percent.8
However, the high unemployment rate for entrants and reentrants is
in one sense an artifact of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' definition of
unemployment. Women moving from "employment" as housewives in
the nonmarket sector to paid employment are treated differently from
persons who change jobs within the market sector. The former are
always defined as unemployed while seeking other work, while the
latter are counted as unemployed only if they are among the approxi-
mately 50 percent of job switchers who search for other jobs after
leaving those they have had.9 If this ratio were applied to reentrants,
the (adult) female unemployment rate would have been lowered 1.3
percentage points from 8 percent to 6.7 percent in 1975. Since males
are less likely to have been "employed" in nonmarket work, a similar
calculation reduces the male unemployment ratio only 0.5 percentage
points to 4.6 percent. Thus, using this adjustment to the unemploy-
ment rates for reentrants (instead of not counting them among the
unemployed at all, as is implied by the Women's Bureau's adjustment),
the unemployment rate for (adult) females is 45 percent greater than
for males.
Even if one considers the unemployment of a particular group of
entrants and reentrants into the labor force as a temporary problem
~U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau, "1975 Handbook on Women Workers,"
bulletin 297 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1975), pp. 67-68.
Peter J. Mattila, "Job Quitting and Frictional Unemployment," American Economic
Review 64 No 1 (March 1974) pp 235-239
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148
and unimportant. for policy purposes, it would be incorrect to draw
the conclusion that a sex difference in unemployment does not exist.
The adjustment procedure is asymmetric because it ignores labor force
withdrawal, a phenomenon which is substantially larger for women.
For example, in 1974, while 7.5 million women entered the labor force,
almost 6.2 million withdrew.1° The comparable statistics for men are
4.8 million entrants and 3.9 million leavers. If one subtracts the num-
ber of labor force leavers from the total of entrants and reentrants, an
adjustment for the net number of entrants can be made. With this pro-
cedure it is clear that the unemployment rate for women is substan-
tially higher than that for men.
Women who withdrew from the labor force, even if they were fired
from their previous job, are not counted as unemployed. We will dem-
onstrate that the statistical bias caused by not counting "discouraged"
workers as unemployed leads to a more significant understatement of
the unemployment rate in typically female t.han in typically male occu-
pations. This in turn has perhaps concealed the relationship between
the occupational distribution of women and their "true" unemploy-
ment experience. While a number of researchers have shown that
women are concentrated in occupations different from men and that
the difference between male and female earnings is consistent with
the "crowding" hypothesis, there has been little evidence that the
occupational concentration is responsible for the higher unemploy-
ment rates of women. In fact, using the census' mine major occupa-
tional categories, two recent studies ~` found that if women had the
same occupational distribution as men, the female unemployment rate
would have been higher. However, this conclusion might well be
altered if the high evidence of labor force withdrawal among married
women were taken into account.
Since the typically female occupations require little investment in
human capital, firms do not penalize women in these occupations for
withdrawal from the labor force. For example, firms are not willing to
pay large wage premiums to discourage typists from quitting. In other
occupations, such as business managers, there is a considerable wage
premium to encourage continued tenure with a particular firm. Since
women who leave the labor force often have a weaker commitment to
market work, they are more likely than other women to work in "fe-
male occupations." Furthermore, women who lose their jobs are more
likely to withdraw from the labor force, rather than be counted as
unemployed, if they previously worked in "female occupations."
Since the National Longitudinal Surveys' (NLS) data identify the
previous occupation as well as the labor force status of women who
have lost their jobs, an empirical test of this supposition is presented
below. Table 3 examines the relationship between the proportion of
women in an occupation and the likelihood that women in that occupa-
tion who exit from the ranks of the employed withdraw from the labor
force (rather than report themselves as being unemployed). Colunrn 1
10 U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
"Employment and Training Report of the President" (Washington, D.C.: Government
Printing Office, 1976), pp. 213, 231.
11Marianne A. Ferber and Helen M. Lowry, "Women: The New Reserve Army of the Un-
employed," In "Women and the Workplace: The Implications of Occupational Segrega-
tion." Edited by Martha Blaxall and Barbara Reagan (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press. 1976), pp. 213-232.
Nancy S. Barrett and Richard D. Morgenstern, "Why Do Blacks and Women Have High
Unemployment Rates?" Journal of Human Resources 9, No. 4 (fall 1974), pp. 452-464.
PAGENO="0157"
149
shows that, among those women not working at the time of the 1972
survey, the propensity to drop out of the labor force instead of becom-
ing unemployed is larger if the previous job has been in a typically
female occupation. Column 2 shows that among women employed in
1967, a higher percentage of those employed in typically female rather
than typically male occupations said they would drop out of the labor
force if they were to lose their jobs. Thus, labor force withdrawal
results in a systematic understatement of unemployment in occupations
with high concentrations of women compared to those occupations
where women work less frequently.
TABLE 3-RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LABOR FORCE STATUS AND TYPICALITY OF OCCUPATION OF CURRENT OR
LAST JOB
Percent of
Percent of
women with
recent work
experience who
working women
who said they
would leave the
were out of the
labor force if
Typicality of most recent occupation 1
labor force
(1972) 2
they lost their
jobs (1967) 3
4 most typically female categories
4 least typically female categories
87. 0
77. 7
36. 0
24. 6
The atypicality index measures the difference for sach 3-digit occupational category between women as a percentage
of all workers in that occupation and women as a percentage of the total experienced civilian labor force in 1970. (Sources:
U.S. Bureau of the Census, census of population: 1970, subject reports, Final Report PC (2)-7A, occupational characteristics
(Washington: U.S. Govarnment Printing Office), table 1 and John A. Priebe, Joan Heinkel, and Stanlee Greene, "1970
Occupation and Industry Classification Systems in Terms of Thair 1960 Occupation and Industry Elements," U.S. Bureau
of the Census Technical Paper No. 26 (Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1972.)) Example: In 1970, women
were 38.1 percent of the experienced civilian labor force; 4.6 percent of all architects and 97.5 percent of all professional
nurses were women. Hence, the atypicality index or occupational code 013 (architects) is -335 (46-381). The index value
for code 150 (professional nurses) is 594 (975-381).
2 Sample: White women, married with spouse present and worked 2 or more weeks in 1971.
Sample: White women, married with spouse present and with a job during 1967 survey week.
4 Atypicality index values +280 to +999.
Atypicality index values -380 to +77.
Source: NLS of women 30 to 44 in 1967.
B. Specific Human Capital and Female Unemployment
The term "firm-specific human capital" refers to training that in-
creases the productivity of workers in their jobs only within the firm
making the investment. The firm pays for the training and reaps a
return derived from the difference between a worker's increased pro-
ductivity and her posttraining wage.
The existence of firm-financed specific training yields important im-
plications concerning the behavior of firms vis-a-vis women. The pro-
ductivity increase a:ssociated with specific human capital creates
a spread between the worker's output and the wage rate. Hence, a small
decrease in productivity associated with a business downturn would
be less likely to lead to the dismissal of an individual with specific
training than one whose wage had been equal to her productivity.
Due to their intermittent labor force participation and "involun-
tary" migration associated with their husbands' dominating job op-
portunities, women's expected tenure with a particular firm is shorter
than men's. Firms are less willing to make investments in women if the
profitability of their investment is thwarted by women's quitting. As
a result of profit-maximizing behavior of the firm and the lesser firm-
specific human capital embodied in female employees, women will
often be the first to be laid off when business becomes poor. However,
employment opportunities would become available first for women
PAGENO="0158"
150
during cyclical upturns. The specific human capital phenomenon ex-
plains the greater cyclical sensitivity of female compared with male
unemployment rates, and the gre.ater job turnover of women partially
explains sex differences in the level of unemployment.12
C. Job Search Behavior of Mature Women
According to the economic theory of job search, the unemployed
worker chooses a "reservation" wage, below which she will not accept
a job offer. The persons' job search strategy is reflected by the reserva-
tion wage. If the reservation wage chosen is too high, then the cost of
the worker of earnings lost during the job search is greater than the~
extra earnings gained from finding the higher paying job. A reserva-
tion wage that is too low means the worker should have tried to find a
higher paying job, since the earnings gain from that job would exceed
the earnings foregone in additional unemployment. It was possible to
investigate the labor market behavior of unemployed women using the
NLS data. Information contained in these surveys allowed the exam-
ination of the determinants of reservation wage, the duration of un-
employment, and the post-unemployment rate of pay for a sample of
married women who were unemployed between 1967 and 1972. Pre-
liminary results from the study indicate that unemployed women who
have had recent work experience conduct their job search in a. maimer
that can be considered to be rational from the point of view of eco-
nomic theory.
The reservation wage reported by unemployed married women seems
to be systematically related to the wage they received at their most re-
cent job and the average wage received by employed women with
equivalent education and labor market experience. Women whose hus-
bands have high labor market earnings and women who receive un-
employment compensation report higher asking wages than other
women. Women who did not leave their previous job voluntarily re-
ported lower reservation wages than women who quit. Furthermore,
women adjust their asking wages downward as the period of unem-
ployment lengthens. This continuous reduction, 1 to 2 cents per hour
for each week of unemployment, could reflect the revision of expecta-
tions in the light of increased knowledge of job opportunities.
The conceptual framework used to study the duration of unemploy-
ment of married women is straightforward. By definition, a. job will be
accepted by an unemployed woman if the offered wage is greater than
the job seeker's reservation wage. The probability of accepting a job
within a certain time period is equal to the probability of receiving a
job offer in that period multiplied by the probability that the asso-
ciated wage offer is higher than the person's asking wage.
The preliminary results of regression analysis using NLS da.ta in-
dicated that: (1) Longer spells of unemployment were associated with
greater divergence (in a positive direction) between the asking wage
and the wage that women with similar personal characteristics re-
ceived.13 (2) Women who lost their jobs experienced seven weeks more
12 For a discussion of the relationship of employment stability and unemployment rates,
see Stephen T. Marston, "Employment Instability and High Unemployment Rates," Brook-
ings Papers on Economic Activity 1 (Washington, D.C.: 1976), pp. 169-203.
`~ Although women suffer a longer period of unemployment when they ask for higher
wages, they are rewarded with higher paying jobs. In fact, the preliminary results seem to
Indicate that, based on financial considerations alone, the average married woman could
profitably spend a longer period of time in job search activities and, thereafter, be rewarded
with higher wages.
PAGENO="0159"
151
unemployment than women who had left their previous jobs volun-
tarily. (3) On the average, a 1-percentage-point increase in the area
unemployment rate was associated with an additional week of unem-
ployment for married women.
The last result emphasizes the interaction between overall economic
conditions and unemployment among women. The analysis described
here used a sample of married women who have worked for pay since
1966. For this group of women, the duration of unemployment( and,
hence, their unemployment rate) is affected by the general conditions
in the labor market. There would also be fewer involuntary job termin-
ations in a more prosperous economy, so both the incidence and the
duration of unemployment for women would be lower. These prelim-
inary results indicate the propitious effect that Government commit-
ment to full employment will have on those (married) women already
in the labor force, in addition to the favorable effect it will have on the
labor force participation among mature women.
III. CoNcLusIoNs
To a large degree, the position of mature women in the labor market
reflects their past acceptance of family and household responsibilities.
Labor force withdrawal weakens both their employers' and their own
incentives to invest in their human capital. These problems are com-
pounded by sex discrimination.
While there is a role Government policy can play in alleviating em-
ployment problems faced by mature women, they will only experience
substantial labor market equality with men when their home and career
orientations are similar. Only after equal labor force experiences are
realized by men and women in their 20's and 30's will they be treated
as equals in their 40's and 50's. The most important role Government
can play is to insure that today's yoirng women are aware of the conse-
quences of labor force withdrawal and lack of training.
Throughout the paper there have been allusions to specific labor
market policies that could help mature women. These include making
available day care facilities and retraining opportunities to women. An-
other important aid to mature women is to encourage them to use pri-
vate employment agencies and the public employment services. The
latter could be directed to cater to the special needs of mature women.
Currently, only 29 percent of women who search for jobs compared
with 37 percent of the men use the State employment service.14
Finally, the Federal Government should vigorously enforce laws
that provide equal opportunity for women. There is ample evidence
that women respond to economic incentives in the.ir training and job
search behavior. If the job opportunities and the wages of mature
women have been reduced by discrimination, they have lower labor
force participation and suffer more unemployment than in a truly
egalitarian labor market.15 If women's treatment by employers and
their labor force participation expectations are similar to men's, their
labor market experience will be equal.
14 "1975 Handbook on Women Workers," p. 74.
15 See Sandell and Shapiro, op. cit. The difference In work experience accounts for only
25 percent of the male-female wage gap.
PAGENO="0160"
PAGENO="0161"
Part III. SUPPORT SERVICES AND
ADJUSTED CONDITIONS
(153)
9i-6SG~-77 ---li
PAGENO="0162"
PAGENO="0163"
THE HOMEMAKER, THE FAMILY, AND EMPLOYMENT
B~ NONA GLAZER, LINDA MAJKA, JOAN ACKER, AND CHRISTINE
BosE * **
CONTENTS
Page.
I. Introduction 155
II. Employment 157
III. Child care 159
IV. Housework 160
V. Leisure 162
VI. Ilousing 162
VII. Recommendations for legislation on the family 163
A. Principles 163
B. Family support systems - 164
1. Facilities for family functions 164
2. Employment -- 166
3. Education__ 167
4. Housing and community design - 168
5. Food services 168
6. Household services 169
VIII. Conclusion 169
I. INTRODUCTION
Women's family lives and work lives are inseparable. A vicious cir-
cle exists in which the assignment by society of housework and child
care to women, sex inequality ingrained in our mores, and the labor
force experiences of women, interact continually to reinforce the worst
features of each. On the one hand, the family responsibilities of women
limit markedly their ability to earn a reasonable living in meaningful
work. In the absence of support systems, they find it difficult to meet
the formal requirement of work continuity in order to gain job promo-
tions and salary increases; they find it difficult to have time for train-
ing or retraining outside the normal hours of the workday; thus, their
work continuity and training opportunities are interrupted by family
responsibilities and family crises. On the other hand, women's work ex-
Periences make it difficult for them to develop and maintain sound f am-
ily lives. Women are concentrated in psychologically deadening low-
skill jobs with low pay, often without fringe benefits. The economic
deprivation and meaninglessness of the work sometimes combine to
provoke concern about family responsibilities and economic problems.
Furthermore, women are notoriously underemployed. They often
work in jobs which are well below the level of their abilities and for-
mal education and experience high rates of unemployment. The very
:Nona Glazer is a professor of sociology: Linda Majka is an assistant professor of sod-
olo~v. Portland State University, Portland. Orer. : Joan Acker is an associate professor,
University of Oregon. Eugene, Oreg. ; and Christine Bose is an assistant professor of
sociology, University of Washington, Seattle. Wash.
:Appl.pciation is expressed to the Graduate School and the Sociology Department at
Portland State University for clerical support.
(155)
PAGENO="0164"
156
existence of sex-typed jobs, which are accompanied by discriminatory
rates of pay and low status, in turn contributes to the persistence of
sex-stereotyping within family patterns, that is, assignment of the
primary responsibility for home and children to women, because the
rational economic decision for most families facing a choice is that the
higher paid man should work outside the home and the lower paid
woman in the home.
Today it is not a question, however, of whether or not women with
family responsibilities ought to combine work in the labor force and
work in the home. Rather, we must deal with the reality that millions
of women do work:
In 49 out of 100 husband-wife families where the husband is
employed the wife is also working.1
Employed mothers with children under 18 years include 13.6
million women, representing 46 percent of all such mothers and 38
percent of all employed women.2
Among 7.2 million families headed only by women, and includ-
ing 9 million children, 54 percent of the women were in the labor
force.3
The employed wife contributes, on the average, about 25 percent
of the family's income, and keeps a sizable proportion of families
out of poverty, or just at the poverty line.4
The overall length of the worklife expectancy of American wo-
mefl has increased from 6.3 years in 1900 to 22.9 years in 1970, still
below the average for men, but nonetheless a considerable number
of years.5
We must recognize that the family has been accused over and over
a~ain of being the source of many social problems in American society.
Yet, we have been unwilling to provide the basic essential services
which would support an adequate family life and family stability in
a cornp1ex~ urban society.
Married women in the labor force and women heading families must
be recognized as multiple jobholders. Multiple jobholding now has a
very narrow meaning_"moonlighting"_which refers to holding a sec-
onci paid job to meet regular expenses.6 Our failure to recognize house-
work and child care as work comes from the archaic view that work
onPv includes activities that bring earnings. If our views of housework
were revised to acknowledge that what the homemaker does is work,
we would not continue to let emuloyecl women carry an undue burden
without society's encouragement and aid. The everyday life of the
average employed wife and mother is far different from the "ideal"
lives of women who are married to men prominent in business. t.he pro-
féssibns, and government; unlike these latter women, 70 to 80 percent
1 Howard Hayghe, "Marital and Family Characteristics of the Labor Force. March
i075" S~wcial Labor Force Report 183 (washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor,
Bi,reaii of Labor Statistics. 1075).
2 "Why Women Work," Women's Bureau (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor,
[076) (July, revised). p. 25.
Beverly .Tohnson McEaddy, "Women Who Head Families: A Socioeconomic Analysis."
I~1Onthl~' Labor Review. 99(6) (Tune 1076). a. 16.
Donald Cymrot and Lucy D. Mallan. "Wife's Earnings as a Source of Family Income."
Research and Statistics Note. No. 10 (Wasl1inrton. D.C.: Department of Health, Education
and Welfare, Apr. 30, 1974). DHEW Pub. (SSA) 74-11701, pa. 10-11.
H~ N. Fullerton, Jr., and 3. 3. Byrne, "Length of Working Life for Men and Women,
1070." Monthly Labor Review. 90(2) (February 1976).
~ Konp Michelotti, "Special Labor Force Report-Multiple Jobholders In May i975,'~
3ionthl~ Labor Review, 98 (11) (November 1975).
PAGENO="0165"
151
~f employed American women cannot afford to hire regular household
and child care help or to purchase sufficient convenience foods and ap-
pliances to lighten the load of housework and child care.
We should recognize that the ability and willingness of women to
enter the labor force rest~s upon the availability of support services to
meet family needs. These support services should allow women to en-
ter paid eniployment without risk to their own physical and mental
well-being, without risk to the physical, moral and intellectual devel-
opment of their children, and without risk for those who have spouses,
to the continued stability of their marriages. We should point out that
the provision of the variety of support systems outlined below would
also contribute to the creation of additional lobs necessary for a full
employment economy.
From the foregoing discussion, it is obvious that special support
systems are necessary in order to make it realistically possible for
women to be "able and willing to work." In addition, work available to'
women should be "useful and rewarding employment." Women have
suffered too long from low-paying, dead-end jobs, without fringe bene-
fits or long-term security; these types of lobs have basically been an
additional hardship to bear, added to women's existing burden of
repetitive, never ending lobs at home.
For purposes of discussion, the complex interrelations between fam-
fly and work life will be separated into the following areas: empioy-
ment, child care, housework, leisure, housing and community design.
After our discussion of the problems, we have presented a set of princi-
ples, which should be embodied in legislation for the family, and sug-
gestions for a support system which would be necessary to implement
those principles.
II. EMPLOYMENT
The complex interaction between family and work life calls for ad-
iustments in the terms of employment in order to meet women's needs.
IJnder conditions of the existing labor market, women have `higher
rates of unemployment, lower incomes and low-skill occupational op-
tions.7 Even when they are full-time labor force participants, women
have disproportionately constituted "the working poor." 8 Equal pay
and antidiscriminatory policies are vitally important, but they em not
enough to end women's secondary status in the labor force. Ending the
scarcity of work at the minimum wage level will relieve women of the
effects of having to compete with so many other workers for low-wage
employment, but it will not solve women's economic problems. The
solutions must include (a) changing the terms of emnloymentto make
these compatible with women's (and men's) family responsibilities,
and (b) increasing the absolute number of jobs availableto women at
the higher skills and professional levels.
Currently many, if not most, occupations depend on the social and
domestic infrastructure provided by women as unpaid fullLtime house-,
hold workers.9 Even when women work full time, they still bear a
~ McEaddy, op. cit., pp. 6-9.
`Elizabeth Koontz, "Women in the Labor Force." In 1972 report of the New'York City
Commission on Human Rights, "Women's Role In Contemporary Society" (New York:
Avon, 1972), p. 187.
Marjorie Galenson, "Women and Work: An International Comparison" (Ithaca, `N.Y.:
Cornell, 1974).
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158
`disproportionate amount of responsibility for social and domestic
functions at considerable personal cost.'° Although spreading the bur-
den of such costs within the family by involving men (if they are
present) will relieve some of the problems of multiple job-holding
for women, it will not resolve the basic issue that the terms of em-
ployment for all workers have not adequately taken into account
the requirements of workers' so-called "private" needs for family life
and friendships. As long as women have traditionally supplied
unpaid labor in the home, such requirements have remained outside
the employer's accounting system. Families of full-time workers have
traditionally received only the "leftover time," as the needs of fathers,
mothers, and children are subordinated to the employment schedule.1'
When women and men both exercise their option to seek paid work,
the continuity of social and family life requires adjustment of the hours
of employment, time off from work, and increased earning capacity
of jobs to provide a decent livelihood.'2
An example of the kind of adjustment that might be made can be
taken from Eastern European countries. Employed mothers in Poland,
for instance, are likely to be with their children from 3 :30 to 4 :30
p.m. on, and in Yugoslavia from 4 p.m. on. In the Ijnitecl States.
employed women usually must wait to see their children until 5 :30
or 6 p*'~'* Thus, the leisure that mothers and children might spend
together is curtailed by the work responsibilities of women.'3 High-
quality part-time work is an important factor in the adjustment of
terms of employment.
Work in America has not enhanced the ability of people to act
effectively on their own behalf or to influence the events and decisions
affecting their own homes and persons through social means. In the
face of scarcity of and competition for jobs. women and men have
seldom been "free" to find the h-pc of employment they prefer, and
have thus experienced the powerlessness of economic pressures.'4
~Tomemi have been observed to "prefer the semiskilled work at home
-to unskilled work in the market, but prefer skilled work in the
market to either of these alternatives." 15 Some evidence suggests they
:might also prefer the semiautonomous work at home to subordination
on the job, but they prefer autonomy and participation in market
work to either.'6 The ability and willingness of women with family
responsibilities to accept paid employment may depend on the extent
to which the meaningfulness of work can be enhanced through the
expanded utilization of ability and autonomy.
10 Ncna Glazer. "The Class Position of Women: ilousewifery." nap~r prisentel at the
~nnual meeting of the American Sociology Association, Sept. 1, 1976, New York City.
`~ 1-layghe. op. cit., p. 19.
12 White House Conference on Children, "Report to the President" (Washington, D.C.:
Government Printing Office, 1970).
13 Phiflip J. Stone, "Child Care in 12 Countries," in Alexander Szalai and others (edi-
tors), "The Use of Time: Daily Use of Urban and Suburban Populations in 12 Countries"
(The Hague: Mouton & Co., 1972).
14 Frank F. Fiirstenberg, Jr.. "Work Experience and Family." in James OToole, editor,
~`Work and the Quality of Life" (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1974), p. 354.
11 Isabel V. Sawhill, "Perspectives on Women and Work in America," in James O'Toole,
editor, "Work and the Quality of Life" (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1974), p. 93.
`~ Alice S. Rossi, "A Good Woman Is Hard To Find," Transaction 2, No. 1 (November-
December 1964).
PAGENO="0167"
159
111. CHILD CARE
The core of family life and the center of the female role has been
the bearing and raising of children. As the lives of women change,
new patterns of carrying out this crucial function become necessary.
The immediate need is for more adequate and more varied child care
arrangements for children of mothers who are already working or
The number and proportion of children with working mothers con-
who want to enter the labor force.
tinues to rise.17 While the magnitude of the need for child care is
difficult to estimate, in 1973 there were 25 million children under age
17 whose mothers were working.'8 At about the same time, only approx-
imately 575,000 children were receiving full day care in child care
centers.19 While other forms of care, such as that provided by neigh-
bors and relatives, are satisfactory for many children, there is no
way to estimate the number of children receiving inadequate care.
There is also no way to calculate the anxiety borne by mothers who
must work and who must leave their children in less than optimal
situations.
The problems of single mothers, another group which is growing
rapidly in size, are particularly severe. "Over the past decade, female-
headed families with children have grown almost 10 times as fast
as two-parent families." 20 In the United States, 17 percent of all
children under 18 live in a family where the father is absent.2' In
1973, 855~000 children under the age of 6 were in such families.22 As
could be expected, mothers who head families are more likely to work
than are those in husband-wife families,23 so day care is especially
important to them.
In 1973, there were an additional 14 million children under the age
of 6 whose mothers were not in the labor force. Some proportion of
these children would also need alternate child care if their mothers
were to have full opportunity to prepare for labor force entry. Recent
estimates of the reserve labor force provide some preliminary basis
for anticipating the approximate number of homemakers who are
potential workers.24 These women should be added to the calculation
of the magnitude of the need for child care.
More and better child care facilities are only part of the solution to
the child care problems of women workers. Emergency as well as rou-
tine health care is needed for the children of working mothers. The
frequent illnesses of young children often necessitate a mother's ab-
sence from her job. Further worktime is also lost in other child care
obligations, such as attending to routine medical care and school prob-
lems. Some of these needs could be met if child care centers included
clinic facilities.
~ Anne M. Young, "Children of Working Mothers," Monthly Labor Review, 96, 4 (April
1973).
1S "Children of Working Mothers" (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor, Sep-
tember 1973).
`~ Pamela Roby, "Child Care-Who Cares?" (New York: Basic Books, 1973).
20 Sawhlll, op. cit.
"Marital Status and Living Arrangements: March 197~," Current Population Reports,
Series P-20, No. 287 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the
Census, December 1975).
22 U.S. Department of Labor, "Children of Working Mothers" (1973).
~ Young, op. cit.
24 Christopher G. Gellner, "Enlarging the Concept of the Labor Reserve", Monthly Labor
Review, 98, 4 (April 1974).
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160
The time demands of raising children, however, are extremely vari-
able and are not amenable to highly organized solutions. Therefore,
in the long run one of the greatest contributions to the solution of the
problems of these time pressures would be the equal assumption by
men of the responsibilities of parenthood. Sex equality in child care
would not only lighten the multiple burdens of women. but would
likely contribute to the sound development of children, who often have
only a passing acquaintance with their fathers.
IV. hOUsEWoRK
Doing housework, taking care of children, and carrying out assorted
jobs for husbands are work just as much as leaving home each day for
paid employment in an office or factory. To ignore this is to do a dis-
service to women in the labor force. These women, their children, and
eventually all Americans suffer the consequences: harried, unhappy
women; ill-cared for children; and angry, puzzled men. The reality of
housework is that women's work in the home averages 56 hours per
week for the full-time homemaker, actually up 1 hour per week since
the 1920's; 25 and 26 hours per week for the employed wife/mother.
Husbands and children barely increase their contribution to house-
work and child care when the wife/mother is in the labor force.26 As
a result, the employed woman with family responsibilities simply gives
up most of her leisure to carry out the responsibilities of family life,
as well as dropping certain household tasks. Moreover, husbands' par-
ticipation in child care, when it does occur, is usually concentrated in
playing with children, reading and taking walks, rather than the
basics of feeding, bathing, and dressing children.2T
We realize that it may sound strange to hear women's activities in
the home called work. Since women who do housework and child care
receive no salary or wages, homemaking is not considered "work." 28
Economists have finally helped us to recognize the importance of
women's work in the family by estimating the monetary value of home-
making. These estimates range from $4,705 (1972) through $8,200
(1968) to over $13,000 per year (1973), depending on whether the work
of the homemaker is considered equivalent to an unsirilled, skilled, or
a professional worker, respectively. For example, is child care com-
parable to babysitting at $0.75 per hour, to a nursery school aide at
$3 per hour, or to the care of a. child psychologist at $30 per hour?
Some people have proposed that the solution to the problems of the
employed housewife would he simply to pa.y women for being house-
wives; hence, women with heavy family responsibilities would not
25 Joann Vanek, "Time Spent in Housework," Scientific American. 23i. No. 5 (i974).
20Nona Glazer, "The Husband-Wife Relationship and the Division of Labor: The Recon-
ceptualization and Extension," paper prepared for Ford Foundation/Merrill-Palmer Con-
ference on the Family (Detroit, Nov. 9-12, i975).
Joseph Pleck, "Men's Roles In .the Family: Another Look," paper prepared for Ford
Foundation/Merrill-Palmer Conference on the Family (DetroIt, Nov. 9-12, 1975).
Kathryn Walker and William Gauger, "The Dollar Value of Household Work," Cornell
University Information Bulletin, No. 60 (New York: Ithaca. N.Y., 1973).
Richard Berk, Sarah Berk; and Sally Berhelde, "The Nondivision of Household Labor,"
paper presented at the Pacific Sociological Association (San Diego, March 1976).
~ Alexander Szalai, op. cit.
2~ Oakley, "The Sociology of Housework" (New York: Pantheon, 1974), p. 9.
~ Nona Glazer, "Housework," Signs: A Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 1 (4)
(summer 1976).
PAGENO="0169"
161
have to enter the labor force in order to gain income for themselves
and/or their families. This is not a solution for the following reasons:
First, wages provide income, but they do not remedy the isolating na-
ture of the work itself, nor the negative attitudes housewives them-
selves have toward housework (but not toward child care) .3o Second,
wages for housework would reinforce occupational stereotyping by
freezing women into their traditional roles. Unless women and men
are paid equally in the labor force and there is no division of labor by
sex, women's work in the home will have no value. Third, since it is
not clear what constitutes housework, and we know that housework
standards vary greatly, it would be difficult to know how to reward it~
Several methods have been calculated, but none appear likely to be
successful. The methods are variously based on (a) opportunity cost
of staying at home, controlling on person's age and education; 31 (b)
market cost or the income derived from an equivalent labor force
job; 32 and (c) willingness of spouse to pay. Fourth, pay for house-
work might place homemakers (mainly wives) in the difficult position
of having their work assessed by their husbands, while in the case of
single homemakers it is not clear who would do the assessing. (The
idea of a Federal or other governmental regulatory agency inspecting
the home to assess women's housework must be dismissed without any
serious consideration at all, but income transfer payments to children
of homemakers might be reasonable). Fifth, wages for housework, de-
rived from spouse payments, overlook the contribution women make
to the society (e.g., by training children to be good citizens), and
assume that women's work in the home is only beneficial to their own
families. Finally, payment for housework does not address itself to
the basic reason why women with family responsibilities work: To
increase family income over that which the employed husband/father
makes. Also, single women with family responsibilities work because
they are the family breadwinner.
It may seem puzzling that the hours of women's home. activities Ii ave
not declined because of the availability of many appliances (washing
machines, gas and electric ranges, blenders, etc.) and convenience
products (prepared soaps, frozen foods, mixes, dried foods, ~ The
truth is that appliances tend, to be energy saving rather than time sav-
ing and the convenience of appliances has encouraged a rise in the
standards of housekeeping. Hence, women today spend more time than
their grandmothers doing laundry, since family members demand
more frequent changes of clothing today than in earlier genera-
tions. Husbands and children expect more varied meals. Advertising
encourages women to devote an inordinate amount of time and money
to waxing floors, creating rooms free of "odor-causing" germs and
seeking to meet other extraordinary standards of cleanliness. Further-
more, the increasing concern with good nutrition, i.n the face of the
exposure of dangerous additives in some commercially prepared food,
30 Oakley, op. cit. Berk, Berk, and Berheide, op. cit.
~ Reuben Gronau, "The Measurement of the Output of the Nonmarket Sector: The
Evaluation of Housewives' Time," The Measurement of Economic and Social Performance
(New York: National Bureau of Economic Research, i973).
32 Walker and Gauger, op. cit.
~ William D. Andrews and Deborah C. Andrews, "Technology and the Housewife in i9th
Century America," Women's Studies, vol. 2, No. 3 (i974).
R. S. Cowan, "Two Washes in the Morning and a Bridge Party at Night: The American
Housewife Between the Wars," Women's Studies, vol. 3, No. 2 (i976).
PAGENO="0170"
162
and in the face of "junk" foocL means many homemakers are now
spending more time preparing foods which are not available in the
marketplace, or which are only available at great costs.
Housework is further complicated by the assumption made by busi-
nesses, schools, stores, etc. that there is a full-time housewife in each
home. This obviously is incompatible with the statistics quoted above
that show one-half of all wives with employed husbands and most
women who head families are in the labor force. Stores. home delivery
services, repair services. schools. legal services. "after-school activities
for children" aiid the like are available mainly from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
These hours are, of course, exactly the hours employed women with
family responsibilities work.34 Staggering the hours of the availabil-
ity of goods and services is not necessarily a solution, because of the
structure of these industries. Since women dominate in the retail and
service trades, the burden of working evenings or weekends ironically
fails most heavily on the very group which is in the greatest need of
relief.
V LEISuRE
The world-famous French sociologist, Professor Jofi're Dumazedier.
observed: "In history the right to leisure has been defined in relation
to the right to work and has been claimed by men." By "work,"
Dumazedier was referring to paid employment in the labor force,
something which not all women have, of course, and which may be
part time or intermittent for many who do. Hence, women may be de-
nied vacations because they fail to meet certain criteria for receiving
paid vacations, as established by their employers. It. is indeed easy to
define leisure so that women are seen as having lots of it (whether they
are employed in part-time or full-time work). This is done simply by
defining leisure as all time iiot spent in paid employment. But we must
consider leisure more realistically, and in less narrow economic terms.
It is the pursuit of an act.ivlty for its own sake and for enjoyment.
Leisure should also be refreshing to the person. The result of leisure is
that people feel rejuvenated, invigorated and alive.
Let us examine the availability of leisure-time available for the
fulfillment of well-being-for the average employed wife/mother.
First, the average paid workweek for the employed women in the
United States is around 40 hours. Equally important. women work
long hours in the home. Despite the labor saving devices, working
hours of the employed American housewife have not decreasedi in the
last 50 or so years because of the changes in standards audi consump-
tion.36 Thus, one can conclude that women have little opportunity for
leisure, a. component that should be an important facet in every mdli-
vidlual's life.
VI. HOUSING
Most of the residlential housing in the United States has been de-
signed and loca.tedi on the assumption that the woman is a. full-time
homemaker who cares for the basic needs of other family members.
~ Viola Klein, "Synchronization and harmonization of working hours with the onenings
and closings of social services, administrative otiices, and so forth," women Workers
(Paris: OECD, 1965).
Joifre Dumazedier, "Sociology of Leisure" (Amsterdam: Elsevier. 1974). p. 29.
~° Jiri Zuzanek, "Society of Leisure or the Harried Leisure Class? Leisure Trends in
Industrial Society," Journal of Leisure Research, vol. 16, No. 4 (fall 1974), pp. 299-301.
PAGENO="0171"
163
Supposedly, her husband also is available to help with heavier chores;
make minor repairs and care for any outdoor areas. The exceptions
to this set of assumptions about house care are the homes of the rich
which provide living quarters for servants; special housing for par-
ticiilar groups such as "singles" complexes. which include a manager;
housing for the elderly or handicapped which may be designed to meet
their special needs.
Most of the designers and builders of housing and communities have
generally failed to rethink housing and community living in recog-
n~tion of the high percentages of all women who are in the labor force.
I-lousing could and, should be designed so as to fulfill the changing
needs of women and their families, regardless of role changes through-
out life.37 As the U.S. Department of Commerce report indicates:
c Millions of homes are considered substandard where it is neces-
sary for a mother to cope with inadequate cooking facilities, heat,
sleeping quarters, as well as inadequate space where the family caii
spend time together.
~ Millions of homes are overcrowded, putting additional psycho-
logical pressure on family members, and forcing children into the
streets for minimal individual freedom and for enjoyment of their
peers' company.
G Millions of residents cannot easily find necessary services in their
immediate neighborhoods; medical services, quality affordable goods,
wholesome recreational facilities are unavailable.
* Child care services and other activities relating to training
and recreation for children are not available in the immediate~
neighborhood.~~
VII. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LEGISLATION ON TIlE FAMILY
A. Principles
Legislation designed to support the family should embody the fol-
lowing considerations. Such legislation should provide family mem-
bers with support systems-services, facilities-which will help de-
velop healthy, independent, active children, promote the fulfillment
of adults, and aid employed women and men in their desire to super-
vise and guide the training of the moral, intellectual, physical, and
emotional development of their children. Since the primary responsi-
bility for adequate family life has resided traditionally with the
wife/mother, legislation must focus on the employed women with
family responsibilities. 1-lowever, the programs suggested are com-
patible with (a) supporting the involvement of fathers with their
childlren; and (b) promoting an expanded relationship between
fathers and their children. Furthermore, it is necessary to recognize
that the identical services and facilities are needed, regardless of the
employment status of women with family responsibilities.
Children are a special concern: Legislation is needed to provide
services and facilities that would support children living with their
own families until the completion of high school or comparable train-
ing, or a lesser age if that is preferable to the families concerned.
~` Dolores Hayden and Gwendolyn Wright, "Architecture and Urban Planning," Signs:
Journal of Women in Culture and Society, vol. 1, No. 4 (summer 1976), p. 930.
2S "Marital Status and Living Arrangements."
PAGENO="0172"
164
Local control by parents and children, as well as the cooperation
of the providers of the services and facilities, should be a central pro-
vision of the programs recommended. Methods of financing should
include the extension of the principle of revenue sharing to local
neighborhood bodies. Organizational structure should support client
control of services, including work-based control of family-related
facilities.
Women head of households have a special problem, since full em-
ployment may mean that burdens fall unduly on poor women who
head families. As the sole adult in the family, these women may need
support to participate in the labor force on a flexible basis, including
support when they are out of the labor force for long periods, with-
out sacrificing the benefits of full-time employment.
B. Fam~i2y Support Systems
In recognition of the extent of single-family household heads, the
extent to which "adult children" with dependent children return to
their own parental households, and in recognition of cooperative living
units shared by more than one family, the family is here considered
to be a more or less permanent household which has the responsibility
of daily living.
1. FACILITIES FOR FAMILY FUNCTIONS
a. UMid care facilities.-Federally supported child care facilities
should be established to provide 24-hour care, available when needed,
for children from the age of 1 year to the age of 14 or 15. There should
be support for different types of such organizations. For example,
older boys as well as girls might be involved in caring for younger
children in some centers. This could contribute to increasing the abil-
it.y of men in the coming generation to feel at ease in caring for and
being close to children. Some centers might use older retired people
as part of the staff or involve parents on a cooperative basis. All of
these methods have been tried in previous programs~ such as Head
Start. Child care experts, who have knowledge of this experience,
would be used as consultants and staff, but the planning and on-going
control would be in the hands of the clients/parents. The centers would
be open to people of all economic levels and to nonworking as well
as working mothers.
Child care centers can be located either in the community or at
the place of work. The size of the community, the distance of the
usual trip to work, as well as the length of the working day, may have
a bearing on the decision about location. For example, work-located
child care centers have some advantage for parents and children if
job requirements are flexible enough so that parents and children can
visit during the working day.
b. Neighborhood service houses: Neighbors in Cornm.vnity Heipivg
Eñvi~onments (NICHE) .-Because of their working hours, employed
women are often unable to carry on responsibilities of homemaking
and child care easily at levels which insure ample guidance to chil-
dren. This j5: especially true for women who earn low wages for they
are especially unable to purchase services in the marketplace to sub-
stitute fOr their labor in the home. We urge the establishment of fed-
PAGENO="0173"
165
emily funded neighborhood houses, which are rooted in the ~long-
established American tradition of settlement houses. The NICHE
program would establish a house in the neighborhood which would
provide the following services. The services would be especially in
support of employed heads of families, but available to others in the
neighborhood, too, in order to encourage the reactivation of the Amer-
ican tradition of local barter and neighborly service and concern:
1. The supervision of play and homework activities of chil-
dren under 15 years of age;
2. House visitors who would be able, on a visiting basis, to su-
pervise children under 11 years, and who might be available by
telephone to children between 11 and 14 years who cannot attend
school because of minor illness;
3. Clinic beds for the day for children who have an illness whi~h
precludes school attendance but is not so severe as to preclude
travel to the clinic;
4. Transportation of children to needed medical and denta~1
services, as selected by parents, for a regular program of pre-
ventive medical care;
5. 1-louse visitors who would be available to facilitate access
to private homes by repair service people, delivery persons, etc..~
6. Neighborhood meeting places where the distribution of todls
and bartering of services among neighbors could take place.;
7. Distribution points for hot, prepared nutritious meals for
families to take home to eat in the privacy of the family dining
room;
8. Other neighborhood-based services, such as may be provided
by an auxiliary Women's Center and Men's Resource Center whidh
would provide support for women and men facing persona.l
traumas, such as rape., battering, abuse, or job-connected race,
sex, or ethnic discrimination, and other problems that now
threaten the American family.
c. Wom.en~s Uenters.-Federally financed women's resource centers
would provide women reentering the labor force with counseling re-
lated to labor force participation as it affects family life; they would
also provide women with vocational counseling, including the selec-
tion of appropriate programs for retraining. Since many women enter
the labor force because of severe, family distress (e.g., child abuse,
divorce) which requires that t.hey become breadwinners, the center
would also provide psychological support of an informal nature, as
well a.s referral service to an appropriate professional agency.
d. Ho~idav Uamp.s and TT7eekly Leisure.-To meet the basic human
needs for leisure, we recommend t.he development of federally funded
holiday camps for employed mothers. This is based on the Ameri~en
fondne.ss for family camping by more affluent families; the success of
organized family camp retreats, as sponsored by sectarian organiza-
tions; and the long established federally supported system of family
holiday camps in Norway. Low cost family camping as sponsored by
the YWCA, Pasadena, Calif., and the YWCA, Portland, .Oreg., could
serve as models.
Facilities should be available in these holiday camps for (a) the.
supervision of children; (b) the purchase of low-cost, nutritionally
sound meals so that women may enjoy actual relief from the year-
PAGENO="0174"
166
round jobs connected with family responsibilities. To meet the basic
human need for regular leisure, we further recommend the provision
of low cost or free child care supervision during the work week and
on weekends. Neighborhood visitors and/or persons involved in a
family support system would provide supervised activities during the
weekly or yearly periods in order to free parents from worry about
their children. (See section on Neighborhood Service Houses.)
2. EMPLOYMENT
a. Structure of Worle.-Men, women and children in the families of
fulitirne workers have traditionally had to accommodate their per-
sonal human needs to the routine of jobs. Terms of employment have
not been adequately responsive to the requisites for a humane social
and family life. We urge the adjustment of national standards to
shorten the hours of the work week (which have been constant for
over 50 years) while maintaining the existing standard of living;
to increase the numbers of jobs at every rank in the occupational
structure; to iml)rOve the earning capacity of jobs at the lower in-
come levels; and to institute flexi-time in hours of work and leave
time. The following provisions are intended to support additional
hiring and further the goal of full employment.
Changes in work hours and leave should include the following prac-
tices to take into account the necessity for workers to carry on a mean-
ingful home life and ensure their social well-being:
1. Mandatory overtime limits should be established.
2. F'exible work hours should be instituted to allow individuals
to reach an accommodation between the demands of work and the
demands of home.
3. Routine provision of "personal leave" time for both women
and men should be established to meet family and personal
contingencies.
4. Paternity as well as maternity leave should be instituted
to insure the opportunity for both parents-father as well as
the mother-to be involved in care during the first year of a
child's life.
5. The status and earning capacity of part-time work should be
improved to allow people to pursue a meaningful personal and
family life and to allow participation by both parents in the
care of children. Workers in part-time jobs would receive full-
benefit medical and dental care, and other normal fringe benefits
such as vacation and pension rights. Income incentives should be
provided for shared jobs. Hourly wage rates for part-time work
should be raised substantially to reflect the fact that part-time
workers are highly productive and are often expected to work
with more intensity than full-time counterparts.
6. Career level positions with job security and ens~ons should
be avaUable for part-time workers. Tax advantages associated
with full-time work should also be afforded to part-time work.
b. Content of Worlc.-Under conditions of scarcity of paid em-
ployment, women and men have seldom been free of discrimination
and economic pressures in their choice of work. Single parents and
PAGENO="0175"
167
poor people with family responsibilities may, understandably, be re-
luctant to give up the semiskilled and autonomous work of home and
family for unskilled, subordinate and inadequately paid work in the
market. A Federal guarantee of the option to engage in useful work
should reflect the fact that employed people require meaningful work.
WTe recommend that Federal policies endorse a shift in work roles
which encourage:
1. An assessment of the goal of constantly expanding the pro-
duction of goods in the face of the growing awareness of the shortage
of materials, and the recognition that material goods alone do not
meet the human right to the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness;
2. Worker participation in planning;
3. Continual learning of new aspects of production of goods,
and the delivery of goods and services by workers. This is to insure a
means by which employees can represent themselves as consumers as
well as producers at the workplace, and increase employee participa-
tion in decisionmaking on the job. Such matters as hours, distribution
of tasks, internal leadership, recruitment, and methods of production
and service have been found to be adaptable to employee
determination.
c. Sex Equality in Ernpioyment.-We urge expansion of agencies
to enforce equal pay policies and other practices which would end
sex discrimination and sexual harassment. Eliminating scarcity of
employment throughout the occupational structure is essential in or-
der to overcome the segregation of women in low-skilled, low-paid jobs.
Women require financial and family support networks if they are
to be free to pursue education and training which would improve
their employment opportunities; particularly important is Federal
financing of education, which would provide women with support
for everyday living and free child care.
3. EflUCATION
(a) A Family training bill should be formulated, providing for a
variety of educational measures to promote sex equality in child care
and home maintenance. This could include a home training corps, in
which all able-bodied youth would serve for 6 months between the
ages of 15 and 19. They would have supervised particmation in ac-
tivities related to the support of the family in American society;
work as aides in child care centers and as assistants in neighborhood
service houses, where they could serve as parent surrogates and also
gain experience in household tasks. Programs could also be funded
in the schools to break down the age segregation which separates older
from younger children. Involvement of older children in the care and
teaching of younger children would help them learn how to be parents.
There should be increased efforts to alter sex role stereotypes pre-
sented in the mass media with the objective, of developing an image
of masculinity which includes the nurturing father. These efforts
should include increased federal funding to monitor the media for
sexist stereotypes, tax incentives and subsidies to encourage nonsexist
program content and advertising, and funding for research on the
social effects of sex role stereotyping in the media.
PAGENO="0176"
168
4. HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DESIGN
We recommend a housing policy, supported by Federal subsidy and
encouraged by tax incentives, which would have as a primary goal
the support of the family and the provision of a sound community for
the strengthening of the family. Housing should maximize the basic
family functions, including family shared activities. Neighborhood
settings should recognize the combined employment and family re-
sponsibilities of both sexes by providing facilities and services neces-
sary for fulfilling work and family roles.
(a) Establish a National Commission on Family-Supportive lions-
lug and Community Design, instructed to assess housing, household
equipment and comnmnity design as related to the participation by
all family members in the daily maintenance of the household; the
minimization of energy and goods for household maintenance; and
the maximization of community cooperation.
(b) Establish local community design groups composed of employed
mothers, feminist-informed designers and architects and local build-
ers to develop designs appropriate for the cultural needs of local
groups, according to living patterns of ethnic, minority, and single-
parent family lifestyles, among others.
(c) Establish a federally subsidized program of tax incentives for
the renovation of existing facilities and the building of new facilities
which would meet the standards established by a National Commis-
sion on Family-Supportive Housing and Community Design.
Housing would be developed (renovated, and newly built) which
would recognize the responsibilities of the employed wife/mother
by emphasizing design to maximize the participation of all family
members in housework, including meal preparation, housecleaning,
laundry, as well as leisure time activities, by making spaces large
enough for joint activities; to minimize upkeep by such means as
finishing surfaces, traffic patterns, storage facilities, et cetera; to
maximize child-parent interaction by designing spaces which include
flex-equipment (for example, equipment accessible to children~ and
to allow the inclusion of children in ongoing activities (for example,
space for cribs in kitchens), quiet-work ancf play space for children
as well as adults; flexible apartment units, as tried in Sweden. which
allow the family to change room size to adapt to the life cycle changes
of family members.
Community organization would be developed which would recognize
the responsibilities of combining employment, mothering and house-
wifery by emphasizing design: to provide space for child~ care within
a short and safe walking distance; to provide snace for neigh-
borhooci service houses; to provide mass transportation through the
enlargement of existing systems and the development of small scale
buses and mini buses.
5. FOOD SERVICES
Support for the working homemaker by the provision of nutri-
tionally adequate and appetizing food for the family could be achieved
through:
1. Increased attention by the Food and Drug Administration to the
quality of food commercially available so that the homemaker will
PAGENO="0177"
169
not be forced to return to old methods of growing and preparing food
in order to ensure proper nutrition for the family.
2. The provision of well-prepared, low-cost meals at convenient
locations for families of working women. Ready-to-eat meals could
be available at child care centers and at neighborhood service houses
to be picked up and taken home at the end of the working day. Ex-
perience in providing such meals at child care centers in the Kaiser
shipyards during World War II indicates that such services are
feasible and would be utilized.
6. HOuSEHOLD SERVICES
Alternative ways of providing household services for working
mothers, particularly single parents, should be tried and evaluated.
Some services, such as laundry, might be recommercialized. Many serv-
ices could be provided at low cost through the neighborhood service
houses. For example, members of a Home Training Corps could do
laundry, heavy cleaning and minor repairs. The neighborhood serv-
ice house could develop equipment coops which would purchase large
tools, such as lawn mowers and washing machines. This would have
obvious conservation advantages. The neighborhood house could also
serve as a center for the exchange of services. For example, repair
of a leaking faucet might be exchanged for mending. Staff of the
neighborhood service house would have the responsibility of facilitat-
ing the development of cooperation, wherever possible.
VIII. Coxcriusiox
We urge the redevelopment of the human service programs which
were developed in the 1960's and dismantled in subsequent adminis-
trations, for example, the expansion of Headstart programs; a recon-
sideration of the Child and Family Service Act of 1974; the restora-
tion of a full lunch program for school children; et cetera.
Priorities in the development of family programs should be directed
to low-income families and women heads of families who may, without
support, experience more than their share of long-continuing social
problems. However, except for the top income group of 10 to 15 per-
cent of families, most Americans could benefit from all the systems.
We are fully aware of the enormous cost in tax dollars of the im-
plementation of even a beginning of a family support system. 1-low-
ever, the human costs-to women, to men, and especially to children-
of failing to take seriously the alleged American belief in the family
as a sacred and basic unit in society is far greater. Without a financial
commitment by the Nation to the well-being of families, we can ex-
pect further marital problems and an increased unwillingness to marry
and have children-trends already appearing among very young
adults. We can expect increased problems among children, including
drug and alcohol abuse, and further deterioration of American cities.
The American family is still considered the basic unit in society,
responsible ultimately for all that is good, as well as all that is had.
We have continued unwillingly, however, to support the American
family with little beyond pious platitudes. We are. left with a ques-
tion whose answer implies our moral bankruptcy: Why are we wii1in~'
to spend tax dollars to prevent large multinational corporations from
going under financially, but are unwilling to spend tax dollars to pre-
vent the American family from going under, morally and physically?
91-686~---77----12
PAGENO="0178"
ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF CHll~D CARE
B~ M~m~ H. STROBER*
CONTENTS
Page
I. Existing formal extrafamily child-care arrangements: Cost, utilization,
and (dis)satisfaction 170
A. Cost 171
B. Utilization 172
C. Level of satisfaction with existing arrangements___ 173
II. The case for subsidization of formal extrafamily child care 175
III. A community based satellite child care system - 176
IV. Financing, ownership, and control 180
V. Conclusion.... 181
The substantial and relatively steady increase in the labor force
force participation of mothers in the post World 1T\Tar II period has
*been one of the most far-reaching economic and social developments
in recent years. In 1976, 46.1 percent of all children under the age of
18 and 37.4 percent of children under the age 6 had mothers who were
working or seeking work.'
Traditionally the raising of children has been the job of women,
particularly mothers, but also other female relatives. However, as more
and more women, inchiding mothers, have c.hosen to enter paid em-
plovment outside the home, the provision of extrafamily child care
services has become an important national issue. This pa.per evaluates
existing formal extrafamily child care arrangements, presents the eco-
nomic arguments for Government subsidization of child care, describes
a community-based satellite model of child care delivery and raises
several issues with respect to the financing, ownership. and control of
child care systems.2
I. EXISTING FORMAL EXTRAFAMILY CHILD-CARE ARRANGEMENTS: COST,
UTILIZATION, AND (DIS) SATISFACTION
The discussion presented in this paper focuses on formal eXtra-
family child care, that is, those child care arrangements which take
place in a child care center or in a family day care home. Foster homes,
nursery schools and other schools open for only part of the day or year
are not part of the formal care considered here. Moreover, informal
care, that is, care which takes place in the home of a child's relative,
*Assistant professor of economics, Graduate School of Business. Stanford University, Palo
Alto, calif.
1 iTS. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, D.C., unpublished
data for 1976.
2 Several of the ideas presented in this paper may also be found In Myra H. Strober,
"Formal Extrafamily Child Care-Some Economic Observations." in Cynthia Lloyd (edi-
tor), "Sex, Discrimination and the Division of Labor" (New York: Columbia University
Press, 1975), pp. 346-375.
(170)
PAGENO="0179"
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or inside the child's own home by a relative, nurse or housekeeper
~s also excluded from our discussion. We shall first examine the cost of
extrafamily child care, then go on to look at the demand for these
arrangements and finally assess the satisfaction, or lack thereof, with
the current child care system.
A. Oost
Extrafamily child care services are expensive. These services gen-
erally operate about 2,000 to 2,500 hours per year (8 to 10 hours per
day, 5 days per week, 50 weeks per year). They typically require
rather high staff/child ratios and often necessitate costly support serv-
ices. The full cost of formal extra family day care depends upon the
staff/child ratio, the education levels (and hence the salaries) of the
staff, the range of support services (that is, transportation, parent
counseling), the quantity and quality of food provided, the quantity
~nd quality of plant and equipment, and whether or not the center is
designed to yield a profit. The cost to parents depends upon all of these
factors, as well ~as the extent to which the care is subsidized by the
care-givers, community, agencies, the Government and/or the parents'
own labor.
Studies for the 1968-71 period on the full cost of child care for
children age 3 to 6 estimated a range of $1,300 to $2,400 for the average
annual cost per child for full time care (8½ hours per day, 250 days
per year) .~ I recently obtained a rough indication of the current cost
of high quality non-profit child care from the Child Care Mobilizer
at Palo Alto Child Care (PACC). As of October 1976, in Palo Alto,
Calif.. full-time, full-year center care for infants and young toddlers
(9 months to 3 years) costs approximately $3,600 per year per child.
This involves a staff/child ratio of 1 :4. Full-time~ full-year care in a
licensed family day care home may be obtained for about $2,500 per
year. Such a home generally has a 1 :5 staff/child ratio with no more
than two of the children being under the age of 2. Full-time full-year
center care for 3- to 6-year-olds, utilizes a 1 :6 or 1 :7 staff/child ratio
`and also costs about $2,500 per year per child. Finally, the average
annual cost per child for after school care plus full-time holiday and
vacation care is $1,500. This type of care employs a 1 :8 staff/child
ratio.
Many parents purchase less expensive and presumably lower-quality
care. The National Council of Jewish Women Study (also known as
the Keyserling Study) found that in 1972 the average annual fee in
proprietary centers was about $960 per child, in family day care homes
about $860 per child.4 The California Legislative Analysts' office found
that in 1974 the average annual cost of 2,500 hours of care for a 3- to
6-year-old in a nonsubsidized center or family day care home was
approximately $1,300.~
See U.S. Department of Health. Education, and Welfare. Children's Bureau, and Day
Care and Child Development Council of America (CB-DCCDC), `Standards and Costs for
Day Care." unpublished study (Washington, D.C., 196S). as quoted in Mary P. Rowe.
`Economics of Child Care." in U.S. Congress, Senate, Committee on Finance, "Child Care."
hearings on S. 2003, child care provisions of HR. 1, and title VI of printed amendment
31S to H.R. 1, 92d Cong., 1st sess., Sept. 22, 23, and 24, 1971, p. 2S0; Abt Associates. Inc.,
"A Study in Child Care, 1970-71" (Cambridge, Mass., 1971) : and budget of National
Capital Area Day Care Association. Inc. (Washington. l).C.. August lOGS), cited in Gilbert
Y. Steiner. "The State of Welfare" (Washington. D.C.. 1971).
Mary D. Keyserling. "Windows on Day Care" (New York: National Council of Jewish
Women, 1972), pp. 3, 142.
California Legislative Analyst's Office, "Publicly Subsidized Child Care Services in
California" (Sacramento, August 1974), pp. 113-117, 123-125.
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B. Utilization
Most working mothers do not utilize formal child care at all.
Data for 1971 from the National Longitudinal Survey (XLS) of
women 30-44 years of age are presented in table 1.6 They indicate, that
about 56 percent of the preschool children of working mothers were
cared for in the child's own home; 18 percent in another person's
home; 9 percent in group day care; 7 l?ercent by their own mothers,
3 percent by the child him or herself and 7 percent by "other" arrange-
ments. Group day care in a home or center and family day care in a
nonrelative's home provided 22 percent of the total child care arrange-
ments for preschool children. The percentage of working mothers
utilizing formal care for their preschool children appears to have re-
mained the same over the 1965-71 period. However, the. mix of formal
care changed as the percentage using family day care homes dropped
by about 3 percentage points, while the percentage using center care in-
creased by 3 percentage points. Given the differences between the 1965
and 1971 samples, it is difficult to assess the significance of these
changes.~
TABLE 1.-PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF CHILD CARE ARRANGEMENTS USED BY WORKING MOTHERS AGE
30-44 (NATIONAL LONGITUDiNAL SURVEY, 1971)
Age of youngest child
Child care arrangement Lesa than 6
6-13
Tota percent 100
100
Child cares for self 3
21
Care in own home...__ 56
43
By relative (including father) 32
By relative and nonrelative 16
By nonrelative 8
37
1
5
Care in another person's home 18
10
By relative 5
By nonrelative 13
6
Group day care home or center 9
Mother cares for child at work 6
Mother cares for child after school 1
Other 7
2
10
10
Source: Booed on table 4.1 in Carol L. Jusenius and Richard L. Shortlidge, Jr., "Dual Careers: A Longitudinal Studs of
Labor Market Experience of Women," vol. III. (Center for Human Resource Research, Ohio State University, February 1975),
p. 82.
Among working mothers' children age 6 to 13, 43 percent were cared
for in their own home, 21 percent cared for themselves, 18 percent were
cared for by their mothers either at work or at home, 10 percent in
Richard L. Slaortliclge, Jr., "Changes in ClaiM Care Arrangements of working won-ian
Between 1965 and 1071," in Carol L. Jusenius and Richard L. Shortiidre. Jr.. "Dual
Careers: A Longitudinal Study of Labor Market Experience of won-ion." vol. III (Center
for Human Resource Research, Ohio State University, February 19751. table 4.1. p, 82.
Additional analysis of the 1971 National Longitudinal Siarvey data will be forthcoming in
Richard L. Shortlidge and Patricia Brito, "How working Mothers Care for Their Claildrrn:
A Steady of Child Care Arrangements, Costs, and Preferences" (Center for Human Resource
Resenrcla, Ohio State University).
The 1985 estimates may not be directly comparable to those for 1971. The 1965 data
were obtained from a questionnaire added to the Currant Population Sur"ey (CPS) for
February 1965. The median age of the women in the 1965 CPS sample was 36 as compared
with 40 in tlae 1971 NLS sample. In addition, the 1071 data were collected in early summer
while the 1965 data were collected in midwinter. For an analysis of the 1965 survey see
Seth Low and Pearl G. Spindler, "Child Care Arrangements of working Mothers in the
United States" (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, lOGS).
PAGENO="0181"
173
another person's home, and 2 percent in a group day care home or
center. Only 8 percent of school-age children were in a formal extra-
±amily day care setting. This 8 percent represents a slight increase over
the 1965 figure of 5.5 percent.
The 1970 Westinghouse day care survey examined the child care
arrangements of families with annual incomes of less than $8,000 and
at least one child age 9 or under.8 This survey revealed that about 10.5
percent of lower-income working mothers used child care centers and
about 19 percent used family day care homes for their preschool chil-
dren, while 50 percent used care in their own homes. Compared with
the mothers of preschool children in all income groups in the 1971 NLS
study, a higher percentage of the mothers of preschool children in the
Westinghouse sample used family day care homes and child care cen-
ters, while a lower percentage used care in their own homes. Among
the mothers of school-age children (6 to 14) in the Westinghouse
lower income group, about 5.5 percent used formal child care. This
figure was about 2.5 percentage points lower than the 1971 NLS figure
for similar age children.
C. Level of Satisfaction With Existing Arrangements
Two questions arise with respect to the level of satisfaction with
existing child care arrangements. First, are parents satisfied? Second,
is society as a whole satisfied?
There are several pieces of evidence concerning parent dissatisfac-
tioii. First, it is clear that additional working parents wish to purchase
formal child care. It is also evident that many are unable to purchase
the kind of care they desire. When Westinghouse surveyed existing
child care facilities, they found about 124,000 children on center wait-
ing lists-an estimated 16 percent of total enrollment.9 The Westing-
house survey also reported that 63 percent of working mothers desired
a change in the child-care arrangements of their preschool children;
of those who desired a change, 60 percent wished to move to formal
day care.'°
The 1~J71 NLS study probed the latent demand for child care
centers somewhat more precisely, by specifying a price for such
care. NLS asked working mothers if they would be willing to use a
day care center if it were available to them at a cost no greater than
their current arrangement. Twenty-three percent of white women in
the labor force with preschool children and 3~ percent of such black
women answered affirmatively. Yet only 9 percent of white working
mothers and 12 percent of black working mothers were in fact using
child care centers.1'
Moreover, when Westinghouse asked working mothers with family
incomes under $8,000 per year what they would be willing to pay for
*the child care arrangements of their choice, 16 percent indicated that
they could pay nothing. Of those who could pay something toward
8 westinghouse Learning Corp. and Westat Itesearch, Inc., "Day Care Survey, 1970: Sum-
mary Report and Basic Analysis," prepared for Evaluation Division, Office of Economic
Onportunity (Washington, D.C., 1971), pp. 175-iSO.
~ Ibid., p. 25. However, there were also 63,000 unfilled spaces available, indicating that
~`type of product," including location and price, are important to potential users.
10 Ibid.. p. 163.
"See. Shortlidge, op. cit., p. 82.
PAGENO="0182"
174
chulci care, $520 was the median annual fee which working mothers
said they were willing to pay for the kind of child care they desired.1'
Mary Rowe's study, which includes higher-income families, suggests
that less than 5 percent of families would pay more than about $1,000
Ps" year per child for child care services.'~
There is also evidence of dissatisfaction with existing child care on:
the part of some nonworking mothers who find the absence of "afford-
able," reliable child care a significant barrier to their seeking work.
However, the latent demand for child care among these mothers is.
extremely difficult to estimate. When center operators were asked by
lVestinghouse about the need for chulci care in their communities. 45
percent saw a need for care on the part of working mothers. and.
significantly, 34 percent peiceived additional need on the part of non-
working mothers.14 However, when nonworking mothers themselves
are asked about the importance of child care as an impediment to their
working, interpretation of their answers is difficult: some women who
say they are out of the labor force for child care-related reasons may
also be out because of their preference to remain at home. In the West-
inghouse survey, day care problems constituted 18 percent of the
reasons given for not working.15 A high percenta.ge of AFDC (Aid.
to Families with Dependent Children) mothers indicated that. child
care was a barrier to work. For example. a six-State study done in 1060
reported that 52 to 63 percent of nonemployed AFDC women mdi-
cated that the would like to work in a steady job. provided adequate
child care were available.16 A recent study by Jack Ditmore and W ii-
ham Prosser estimates that the. provision of free adequate da care
services would probably raise the labor force participation rate of
low income women by about 10 percentage points-32 to 42 percent."
The smallness of this response is dine to several factors: (1) the prel-
erence of some lower income women to remain at home even when goodi,.
free care is available: (2) the fact that. for many of these women
inadequate child care is only one of many job-related problems: and.
(3) the fact that even when child care is free, some AFDC recipients
cannot earn enough to compensate for the combined loss of t.heir XFDC
grant. food stamps and medlicaidi.
Given the cost fi~ures diiscussed earlier it. is clear that. many families
find it impossible to translate their diesire for formal child care serv-
ices into effective demand for those, services. Although the majority of
working mothers prefer noncenter ca.re for their pre-school children,
a substantial latent demandi for center care exists. The. price at which
such a demand wouldi become manifest is unclear. However, it should
be pointed out that many of `those. who indicated a desire to use day
care centers at a price no greater than that of their current a.rrange-~
ment were, in fact., paying a zero price for child care..
`~ Westinghouse and Westat, op. cit., p. 20G.
13 Rowe, op. cit., p. 270.
14 Westinghouse and Westat, op. cit.. p. 203.
15 Ibid., p. XVI. For this interpretation of the Westinghouse data. I am in~Thhteil tv
Vivian Lewis, "Day Care: Needs, Costs, Benefits, Alternatives,' Studies in Public Welfare.
Paper No. 7 : Issues in the Coordination of Public Welfare Programs. prepar~d for the
use of the U.S. Congress, Subcommittee on Fiscal Policy of the Joint Economic Committee,
93d Cong., 1st sess., July 1973, pp. 102-i65.
`~ Betty Burnside, "The Employment Potential of AFDC Mothers in Six States," Welfare
in Review (July/August 1971), p. iS. The States included were California, Maine, Mary-
land, Minnesota, New York, and Oklahoma.
`~ Jack Ditmore and W. R. Prosser, "A Study of Day Care's Effect on the Labor Force
Participation of Low-Income Mothers" (Washington, D.C.: Evaluation Division, Office of
Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Office of Economic Opportunity, June 1973), pp. 43-44.
PAGENO="0183"
175
The issue of societal satisfaction with existing arrangements is even
more complicated to assess. Clearly, the intersection of supply and
demand in the formal child care market leaves many families unable
to satisfy their desire to purchase formal child care. Private industry
is unable to increase the Su]?ply of child care center slots because, given
the price which families are willing to pay for child care services, pri-
vate firms cannot profitably run centers of reasonable quality, except
for high income users.18 To the extent that we regard formal child care
as important, necessary and/or desirable, we should be concerned
about most families' inability to purchase such care. To the extent
that formal child care provides significant externalities, we should be
concerned with the private sectors' underproduction of these services.
It is my view that there are powerful arguments in favor of partially
subsidizing formal child care services, thus increasing their produc-
tion and utilization and insuring their equitable distribution.
II. Ti-iE CASE FOR STD3sIDIzATI0N OF FORMAL EXTRAFAMILY
CI-IILD CARE
There are two major arguments in favor of government subsidiza-
tion of extra-family child care-the equity argument and the external-
ity argument.
The equity argument is that, in the interest of achieving a more
equitable distribution of goods and services, there should be a redis-
tribution of income toward certain groups. Subsidized child care
would provide additional income or services to children of eligible
mothers, to the mothers themselves and to potential employees of child
care systems. If the level of subsidization were negatively related to
family income, then lower income children and mothers would benefit
to a. greater degree than others.
The externality argument. is that where private benefits are less than
social benefits, private production is likely to be too small; Govern-
ment should, therefore, encourage increased output until marginal
social cost is equal to marginal social benefit. There are several impor-
tant external benefits associated with expenditures on child care.
First, child care centers would yield external benefits by reducing
parent absenteeism at work. At the l)reSeflt time, unreliable child care
or unavailable sick child care is often responsible for parent ab-
senteeism.
Second, any educational program produces external benefits and
quality child care is no exception. Society would reap considerable
returns from the early detection of children's mental and physical dif-
ficulties, from young children's exposure to alternative forms of in-
formation and a wider scope of experiences and from a child's early
opportunity to enhance his or her self-confidence and self-esteem. ~\Te
should consider carefully the possible social problems and hazards to
future generations of citizens if adequate child care is not provided
to youngsters.
18 For a discussion of the difficulties which proprietary operators encounter, soc Joann
S. Lublin, "Growing Pains," Wall Street Journal, Nov. 27. 1972; and "Where Day Care
Helps To Sell Apartments," Business Week (Sept. 30. 1972), pp. 60-61; "Dilemma for
Working Mothers: Not Enough Day-Care Centers,'~ U.S. News & World Report (Apr. 12,
1976), pp. 49-50.
PAGENO="0184"
176
Third, two kinds of external benefits are likely to ensue when women
can choose t.o make market work a permanent feature of their adult
lives. Higher rates of labor force participation by women would prob-
ably discourage procreation, thus increasing utility for all who find
themselves already too crowded or fear excess population in the future.
It is likely that women who are committed to labor force participation
will develop tastes for "satisfactions" other than children. In addition,
assuming that most women regard a certain amount of their own time
as an essential, unsubstitutable input in the raising of children, the
fewer hours `a woman has available for her children (due to market
work), the less likely she probably will be to dilute her quality of in-
put by `having additional children.19
Moreover, as women realize that it is feasible to combine family
life with `an uninterrupted worklife, they will plan more `adequately
for their jobs and careers. Work is already `a substantial part of
women's lives, but `because the child rearing years frequently require
an interruption of market work, women often make inadequate edu-
cational investments in themselves. A visible system of high quality
extra-family child care would make it possible for women to invest
more realistically in their own education and training and would thus
allow society to employ its human resources more effectively. If the
Congress wishes to guarantee full employment, this efficient utiliza-
tion of women's talents becomes particularly important.
Also important in a context of full employment are several external
employment and training benefits to he derived from government ex-
penditures on formal extra-family child care. Since approximately SO
percent of child care `budgets are for staff salaries, Federal expendi-
tures on child care are, for the most part, employment creating. More-
over, many of the kinds of jobs to be filled at child care centers are of
a paraprofessional nature, thus making possible the training and em-
ployment of precisely those groups, especially teenagers, who cur-
rently have difficulty in finding meaningful jobs. The opportunity for
AFDC women to obtain training and employment as paraprofessional
child care workers might well `assist in the alleviation of welfare de-
pendency. Finally, because the labor market for child care workers is
relatively loose and rather competitive, expenditures on child care are
likely to provide employment without generating inflationary wage
pressures.
III. A COMMUNITY BASED SATELLITE CHILD CA~u SYSTEM
If we accept the need for partial Government subsidization of child
care, we are then faced with several important questions: (1) What
kind of system sho~~icl we design? (2) How should the system be fi-
nanced? and (3) How should ownership and control be determined?
An ideal system, given a particular price level, would conform as
much as possible to parents' desires. Given a particular quality level,
19 it is, of course, true that subsidizing child care would lower the price (in both money
and time) of raising children and that the substitution effect of this price change would be
negative (that is, a fall in price would result in an increase in the purchase of child care
services). In addition. unless child services were an inferior good, the income effect of
the price change would also operate toward increasing the quantity purchased. But pur-
chasing more child services as a result of the subsidization of child care centers does not
by any means imply increasing the number of children born.
PAGENO="0185"
177
such a system would operate at the lowest possible cost. Finally, given
price and quality, an ideal child care system would maximize external
benefits. A satellite community system would fulfill these three en-
teria. Such a system is described in this section. In section IV, issues
of financing, ownership, and control are examined.
At the present time families who use formal day care utilize either
a family day care home or a child care center, but generally not both~
On the other hand, children of nonworking mothers, especially middle
class children, frequently spend part of their day in a nursery school
(which is often similar to a developmental type child care center) and
part of their day in their own home with other young friends and sib-
lings. The latter, of course, is quite similar to a family day care envi-
ronment. The child care system proposed here would closely replicate
for the children of working mothers the system of care now operating
for the children of nonworking mothers. Thus, I would envision a
care system where children spend part of the day in a core child care
center and part of the day in a satellite famil~j day care home.
The core center would accommodate anywhere from 25 to 100 or so
children (not, however, all at one time) and would provide the major
"educational" component of the system. As portrayed in figure 1, a'
network of satellite family day care homes would surround the con-
ter. Run by men and/or women family day care parents, these homes
would care for 4 or 5 children for part of each day. Parents would take
their children to a center in the morning, but pick them up in the after-
noon or evening at a family day care home, or vice versa.
A community-based satellite system would provide care not only for'
toddlers but also for infants and school children under age 14. Infants
could be cared for solely by family day care parents until such time as
they were old enough to benefit from educational and social interaction
at the core center. After school care for children 6 to 14 could also be
provided by family day care homes. Indeed, the system could be de-
signed so that, if desired, school age children and their younger
siblings could be cared for after school in the same home. It would also
be possible for core centers to provide after school programs and/or
for such programs to be provided at elementary schools. In discussing
child care delivery, it is important not to neglect the importance of
adequate after school care for the school age children of working
mothers.
PAGENO="0186"
Family Day-Care Home
1~)1~
178
There are several advantages to combining family day care homes
with a core center. First, such a system could lower the overall cost of
child care. Each child would make less intensive use of the high cost
services of professionals at the core center. Moreover, if children did
not stay all day at a child care center, the staff/child ratios at the
center could probably be lower than those now mandated. Presumably,
nursery-school type ratios (for example, 1 :10) could be used in the
core center if some of the personal attention required by children came
from the family day-care home; the latter facility would have a high
adult child ratio (for example, 1 :4), even though not all of the chil-
dren would be preschoolers. Additional savings could also be effected
Firmre 1
A Cormi'unity-Based Sate1li~e ChildCare System
PAGENO="0187"
179
if child care centers did not have~ to be. equipped with nap rooms,
kitchens, and cooks, Children could have lunch and take naps in the
family day care home. `While transportation between `the core center
:and satellite home would have, some positive costs associated with it,
these costs are likely to be offset by savings in personnel costs.
The second advantage of a community-based satellite child care
system is that such a system would upgrade the quality of family day
care homes and make it possible for family day care parents to develop
careers as paraprofessional (or ultimately even professional) chil'd
care workers.2° By developing specific ties between core centers and
family day care homes, it becomes quite feasible for family day care
parents to receive training from the child care professionals at the
core center. Indeed, I would envision family day care parents actually
working at the core center for several hours each week. Moreover, a
supervisor from the center could periodically visit the center's `satellite
family day care homes, thus providing family day care parents with
`assistance and evaluation.
Finally, a community-based satellite system could solve the problem
of sick child care. One reason why parents are frequently reluctant to
rely on child care centers is because such centers seldom make arrange-
ments for the care of sick children. When a child becomes ill, parents
are understandably unwilling to call upon an unknown adult, whose
qualifications they cannot assess, to care for their sick children. It is
also obviously extremely difficult for parents to arrange for sick child
care on very short notice (for example, an hour or so after the family
awakens in the morning). There are several ways that a satellite sys-
tem could handle sick care.
First, it would be possible to desiguate certain family day care
homes as sick care homes. As long as the care-givers ui these homes
were given some training in caring for sick children and were familiar
`to parents and children prior to a child's illness, such a solution would
probably work well.
A second alternative would be to provide for an infirmary at the
core center. If such an infirmary required the complete isolation of
sick children, it undoubtedly would be too expensive to incorporate
into the system. However, if transmission of most children's illnesses
occur before symptoms appear, it may be that most sick children can
`be cared for in core centers without requiring precautions against
contagion.
A third possibility for the care of sick children would be to train a
corps of sick care workers who could be sent to the homes of ill chil-
ciren. Again, these sick child care workers would need to be familiar
to parents and children prior to illness. Upon receipt of a phone call
from a user-family, the core center could arrange for the dispatch of
these sick child care workers to the ill child's home.
These methods of handling sick child care are not mutually exclu-
sive. A community-based satellite system might wish to employ all
`three models and utilize each, depending upon the age, length and type
of illness of a particular child, and the costs of the various alterna-
20 J~ would be possible to build a career ladder solely within the family day-care system,
`that is. without involving child-care centers. However, since centers already employ child-
care professionals, centers seem a particularly good place to begin training family day-
care mothers for the next rungs of a career ladder in child care.
PAGENO="0188"
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tives.21 It should be pointed out that given the unwillingness (and in-
ability) of most public school systems to care for working mother's
sick school-age children, the need for sick child care is not required
merely for preschoolers. Designating particular family day-care homes
as sick child care homes would be a particularly useful way to care
for sick school-age children.
IV. FINANCING, OWNERSHIP, AND CONm0L
Just as experimentation with new types of child-care delivery sys-
tems should be encouraged. we also should facilitate the investigation
of various methods of child-care financing, ownership and control. A
better understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of various
models remains to be achieved. This section briefly outlines some of the
issues to be resolved.
WTith respect to financing, it seems clear that most parents will have
to shoulder a part of the cost of formal child care; since there are
substantial benefits from child care which accrue directly to families,
cost-sharing by parents appears to be warranted. There are important
questions which require an answer: What proportion of the total cost
of care will be subsidized? How will the subsidy vary by income level?
How will the subsidy be administered?
The proportion of care to be subsidized depends upon the total
amount Congress wishes to allocate to child-care services and on the
price elasticity of child-care demand. However, it should be recognized
that in the context of a full-employment guarantee, the demand for
subsidized child care is likely to be rather high. As we have seen, there
is already a latent demand for subsidized child care among women
now in the labor force.. As we move toward fufl employment, many
women who are now discouraged workers will enter the labor force.
Prerecession estimates of discouraged female workers indicated that
m the first quarter of 1973. when the unemployment rate for women
was about 6 percent, 400,000 women would have looked for a ~ob had
they believed they, could find one.22 Many of these women will require
subsidized child care if they seek work. If a full-employment guaran-
tee is to be a reality for these women, Congress, when it considers the
price of a full employment program, should also consider the costs
for investment in new facilities and for ongoing partial child-care
subsidization.
It is widely accepted that child-care subsidies should vary negatively
with family income level. There is less agreement. however, on whether
there should be a ceiling on the number of children subsidized in any
one family. lVhat does seem clear is that given the high costs `of child
care and the information cited earlier on parents' willingness or ability
to pay, a satisfactory subsidization scheme may well require partial
subsidization of even those families with incomes above the median.
At the present time, subsidization is achieved for low income fam-
ilies through a system of reimbursement to care-givers, and for low
and middle-income families through a tax deduction. A closer rela-
tioiiship between family income and size of subsidy could be achieved
21 The costs of sick care alternatives are very difficult to estimate because of the paucity
of information on frequency and duration of illness among young children.
22 ITS. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Employment and Earnings"
(Wathington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, April 1973).
PAGENO="0189"
181
through a voucher system. Such a system could also relate the size of
the subsidy to the number of hours of mothers' employment.
TJnresolved issues also exist with respect to ownership and control.
Suggestions range all the way from ownership and control by parent
cooperatives to ownership and control by a Federal Child Care Cor-
poration. Midway between these solutions lie the possibilities of owner-
ship and control by existing school boards or by new State or local
government agencies. Each of these suggestions has its merits and de-
merits; enabling Federal legislation should undoubtedly permit more
than one approach. However, States and localities should recognize
that changing back and forth among administrative systems is ex-
tremely costly. A particular approach needs to he adequately re-
searched, utilized and evaluated before an alternative structure is
Pursued.
Moreover, no matter what the particular form of ownership and
control, if the Federal Government provides the funds for subsidiza-
tion, it should require a system of prior approval of child-care system
budgets and a network of local planning and evaluation boards.
Ideally these boards would consist of parents, child-development spe-
cialists, pediatricians, employer representatives with management cx-
-pertise and local officials with knowledge of community resources; they
could be city or county-wide organizations. The local boards would
work with State agencies on matters of licensing and inspection;
setting standards in conjunction with Federal regulations; assisting in
locating appropriate core facilities or, if such were unavailable, in
~applying for capital grants from the Federal Government; aiding in
recruiting of personnel; approving center-system budgets; working
`with existing community services, including local school boards; and
providing for area-wide child-care center planning. Local boards are
~1ikely to be particularly important in urban and large suburban areas.
V. `Co~crtrsio~
Any legislation which deals with the guarantee of full employment
`should deal with the provision of child care. First, the expenditures
on child care provide jobs. Second, in the short run, without adequate
child care, a full-employment guarantee is an empty promise for
women. Finally, in the long run, the existence of a visible, high-quality
system of child care will result in more realistic human capital invest-
ments by women, thus ensuring the full utilization of women's talents.
The increased labor force participation by mothers in the postwar
`period has made it impossible for the care of children to continue to
remain entirely within the family. The. challenge now a:t hand is to
develop new methods of child care which are as economically efficient
os possible, while still meeting the needs `of young children and their
`families.
I have `suggested that a community-based satellite child-care system
might be one desirable way to organize child-care delivery. Given the
likely cost savings of such a system, and its potential for upgrading
the quality of family day care and providing training for parapro-
fessionals, the satellite. system deserves a serious test. I have also
suggested th'a;t we should experiment further with alternative `methods
of financing, ownership and control of child-care systems.
PAGENO="0190"
PART-TIME WORK
Br CAROL S. GREEXWALD*
CONTENTS
Page
I. Implications for family and work structures 183
II. Reasons for upgrading part-time work 183
III. Costs - 184
IV. Option of pa.rt-time work 185
A. Flex-time 180
B. Child care 186
C. Sweden's system - 186
D. Concept of work day and work continuity 188
E. Benefits of part-time work 190
V. Conclusion 191
As the proportion of mothers with young children entering the paid
labor force rises, society should reevaluate inherited conceptions of ap-
propriate family roles and work modes. Family work structures may
need to be modified so that the aspirations of women can be `aceonirno-
dated at the same time that adequate nurturing is provided for chil-
dren. Society has a stake in insuring economic efficiency, freedom of
choice for the individual, and appropriate care for children.
Since a mkjority of women with children under age 18 are now em-
ployecl in the paid labor force., it is no longer appropriate, to treat men
as solely responsible for the economic welfare of the family and
women as responsible for all other care. Just as both fathers and
mothers are working outside the home to support the family, both.
parents nmst now assume the responsibility for nurturing activities in
tile. home.
Lega.l and structural changes in the labor market may be required
to allow greater flexibility in employment patterns so that both men
and women can share the responsibility a.nd pleasure of nurturing'
the.jr children. Because of inflation and an increasingly higher stand-
a.rcl of living, the income, of working wives is essential to tile economic
maintenance of most Amcr~can families.
Tile widespread `adoption of part-time work options for both parents
during the child-raising years would offer an excellent means of pro-
viding for the emotional and other child care needs of children, with-
out sacrificing the careers of women or the efficiency needs of the econ-
omy. The acceptance and use of Part-time work for men and women.
coupled with the availability of public day care centers and other'
forms of child care, a.re necessities if womeu are to attain tile economic
equality with men envisioned ill recent social policies.
*commissioner of Banks, Commonwealth of Massachusetts,'Boston, Mass.
(182)
PAGENO="0191"
183
I. IMPLICATIONS FOR FAMILY AND WORK STRITCTIJRES
By 1971, the proportion of women workers had passed the highest
leveJ attained during World War II when women participated fully
in the war effort. Women's work in the 1940's was facilitated by the
opening of child care centers across the Nation. One of the most out-
standing child care centers was operated by the U.S. Maritime Com-
mission at the Portland, Oreg., shipyards of the Kaiser Corporation.
Not only did the shipyard provide an attractive and wholesome place
for pre-school children to play, it also provided a cooked dinner for the
tired mother to take home to her family. These accomodations to the
needs of working mothers ended with the war.
Since the 1950's and early 1960's, which were characterized by a lack
of day care facilities and a pervasive attitude in society that women
should limit themselves to being homemakers, a dramatic change has
taken place in American family iif~. In tile 1950's, it was unusual for
mothers to work outside the home, especially if they had young chil-
dren. Today, it is not at all unusual. In 1976, almost half of the mothers
of school-age children were in the labor force, as were 37.4 percent of
the mothers with children under age 6.' This change is not primarily a
reflection of the break up of families; it has occurred mainly among
women living with their husbands. It reflects tile fact that younger
women are no longer willing to limit their roles to that of wife and
mother or to sacrifice their careers; it also reflects tile fact that women
in midlife with older children are interested in pursuing meamng±ui
careers.
Approximately one-third of working mothers have tried to balance
their home and work responsibilities by taking part-time paid em-
ployment. This has entailed substantial career costs for many women,
since practically all part-time jobs now are the lowest paying ones in
an occupational category. For example, in white-collar work, part-time
opportunities are primarily as low-paid office temporaries or sales
clerks. Even though career sacrifices are involved, part-time employ-
ment of adult women has grown almost twice as fast as full-time em-
ployment of women smce 1966. Tile number of voluntary part-t~me
workers in nonagriculture industries has nearly doubled, from 5.8 mil-
lion in 1960 to over 11.3 million in March 1975, and consist primarily
of white, married females. The majority are in sales and clerical posi-
tions.2 Despite tile evident desire among women for more opportunities
for part-time employment~ there is a dearth of good part-time jobs, for
example, at a professional, upper-income level.
II. REASONS FOR UPGRADING PART-TIME ~\`0RK
Tile major demand for permanent and meaningful l?art-tlrne work,
as well as for more flexible scheduling of hours in full-time jobs, has
come from women's organizations. The pressure for adjustments iii
the workday has even had an influence in Congress, where former Sen-
ator John V. Tunney and Congresswoman Yvonne Burke introduced
legislation calling for part-time career opportunities. Massachusetts
1 U.S. Denartment of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, D.C., unpublished
data for 1970.
2 "Employment and Training Report of the President" (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Depart-
ment of Labor, 1977), pp. 181-185.
PAGENO="0192"
184
passed legislation in 1974, based on the Tunney-Burke bill, requiring
:that in each `of the next 5 years 2 percent of current full-time State po-
sitions be adapted to part-time flexible hours status.
Proponents of expanding the number and scope of part-time jobs
~fee1 that there are many benefits to be gained, both economic and non-
economic: (a) Individuals who want to upgrade their education and
skills so as to facilitate career mobility could be accommodated, simul-
taneously upgrading the overall quality of the labor force. (b) Women
with yoi~mg children would be able to maintain their labor market skills
and knowledge and would not suffer the later difficult reentry problems
which lead to high unemployment among reentering women. ~ c)
lATomen who are not career-oriented would be able to work to sup-
plement family income without carrying the burden of being both full-
time worker and full-time homemaker. (d) Older workers and the
handicapped who may be incapable of putting in a full workday could
become self-supporting and self-respecting through part-time work, as
they contribute to the economy.
III. COSTS
Employers sometimes argue that giving benefits to part-time workers
increases the cost of employing part-time rather than full-time work-
ers. Generally, this is not true. Hiring two half-time workers rather
*than one full-time worker obviously needn't increase sick pay and
`vacation pay. Similarly~ prorating life insurance and retirement bene-
fits would not add to the total costs. In other words, two half-time
workers would share equally the benefits that one full-time worker is
entitled to.
Many employers also cite social security and other payroll taxes as
an argument against hiring part-timers. But the employer must pay
social security taxes up to the first $16~500 earned by each worker. Un-
fortunately~ most jobs that women hold don't pay close to $16,500. If
each part-time worker earns $8,250 or less. social security taxes for
part-time jobs are no greater than for full-time jobs, so this argument
loses much of its weight.
Employers also cite State taxes for unemployment insurance as
another double burden. They pay these taxes a.s `a contribution to the
pool used for unemployment compensation. The. tax is a. percentage of
each employee's salary up to a low base. In Massachusetts. the base is
~the first $4,200 earned. So. if an employer has one employee earning
~8~400, the employer pays the tax only on the first. $4~200 of that S8.400:
but, if the employer has two part-timers each earning $4.200, the em-
plover pays the tax on each ~4.200 or SSAOO total.
It's undeniable that double payroll taxes mean a greater expense for
`firms employing part-time workers. But if the firm also tends to recuire
a lot of overtime work, a reshuffling of nersonnel and woii~ schedules
can actually save money. For example, if four workers earn $4 a.n hour
straight time for a. 40-hour week and $6 an hour overtime for an addi-
`tional S hours a week, the total annual payroll for i1~ese employees
`would be ~.39.520. If. instead. the four worked only 40 hours and a
fifth nerson. worked part-time for 20 hours. the. annua.l navroll would
be only $37~440. In Massachuset.ts~ the. employer would have to pa.y
$364 in social security and unemployment t.a.xes for the filth employee,
PAGENO="0193"
185
but the additional social security tax on the four workers' overtime
pay would be $365. So in this case, paying overtime cost over $2,000
more than hiring the part-timer.
Health insurance is also an additional cost for the employer but
again not an overwhelming one. Consider the case of the Federal Re-
serve's health insurance plan, which is an exceptionally good one. The
bank contributes $21.61 a month for full coverage for single persons
and $47.70 a month for those under the family plan. If the bank were
to designate 10 percent of its 1,500 full-time positions (two part-time
workers for each position) or 300 jobs as available for half-time em-
~loyees and if 200 of the new 300 half-time workers elect to take the
family plan, the additional monthly expense would be. only 23 cents an
hour for these employees or 5.4 percent of their average wage. If the
added expense is distributed over all the workers, it would be only 2
oents an hour per worker or one-half of 1 percent to cover half-time as
well as full-time workers. For companies with less expensive health
plans, the cost would be even less.3
flT. OPTION OF PART-TIME WoRK
The option of working part-time involves a compromise among the
needs of individuals, society, and business firms.
For men, part-time work is not yet fully socially acceptable, making
it difficult for men to take the responsibility of caring for children.
This is due to (a) the fact that men's jobs have been higher paying and
therefore men have traditionally been the main support of their fami-
lies, and (b) psychological inhibitions which have been handed down
over the centuries. However, the very act. of making part-time work
options available to both parents-men a.nd women-can help break
down the barriers to parental sharing in the care of children.
Up until now, wives were always expected to and consistently did
compromise their careers in order to care for children, but they are
liecoming increasingly reluctant to do so. Expanding part-time job
opportunities may be a realistic short-run approach to providing
useful and productive work for women within the present culture.
But part-time options should be structured so as to be equally avail-
able to men; only then will this work option become part of evolving
structural changes in both the labor market and the family. Beca.use
changes in the labor market and the family are interrelated, one .change
cannot occur without the other; until both these changes take place, sex
role stereotyping at home and in the labor market will continue un-
abated. Unless future patterns of child rearing are very different from.
today's, most women are likely to remain at a disadvantage relative to
men in the job market. A sex-role revolution, in which men's domestic
roles and employment patterns change as much as women's roles, ap-
pears to be necessary if full employment and equal work opportunities
for women are to take place.
See Carol S. Greenwald and Judith Liss, "Part-Time Workers Can Bring Higher Produc-
tivity." Harvard Business Review (September-October 1973).
See Carol S. Greenwalci, "The Way We Live Now-Part-Time Work: When Less Is More,"
irs. magazine, 1976.
PAGENO="0194"
186
A. Flex-Time
Firms have been less resistant to adopting flexible work hours. that
is, they have begun extending some of the flexibility tha.t senior man-
agement has always had to lower echelons of management and to
workers. While flexible work hours allow greater freedom for workers
to arrange their workday to meet certain of their needs, it is only of
limited help to parents. True, it solves some problems of parent-
hood, such as getting children to school in the morning if a parent can
come to work at 9 :30 a.m., or taking children to doctor's appointments
on occasion, since missed work time can be scheduled later in the week.
h~~t it does not really handle the fundamental problem of creating time
for parenthood. For a. parent who has worked all clay and is, therefore.
as tired as an other worker in the evening, the saw about quality of
time spent with children substituting for quantity is not realistic.
Flexible work hours should be encouraged because it does ease. some of
the problems created by rigid work schedules and because it treats
workers as real people with a variety of needs impinging on their lives,
but it should not be seen as an answer to the needs of working women
and their children.
B. Child Care
Since a high percentage of both mothers and fathers are now partici-
pating in the paid labor force. care of children is an important con-
sideration. WThile. surrogates can and should play increasingly impor-
tant roles through the increased availability of child care centers and
after school programs. parents must continue to devote substantial
time to being a parent, for both the child's and the narent's emotional
well-being. Society's interests coincide with those of families in creat-
inc facilities that. allow parents greater flexibility in their work modes.
while also providing time for parental responsibilities.
The organization of well-run child care centers renresents an exnen-
sive but necessary solution to the logistics of child care for workin~-
mothers. Cost. of course. has not stopped the establishment, of free
elementary schools and should not ston the establishment of a suffi-
c~e,nt number of child care centers and after school programs. IVell-run
child care centers have been carried out successfully j~ a number of
foi'eien countries. France is particularly notable for its care of pre-
school children; free facilities are available from the age of 2 and
low-cost creches are available for younger children. However, consid-
erable resistance to comprehensive child care still exists in the United
States, especially for very young infants. A number of alternatives
for handling child care should he available so that parents can
choose the one most appropriate to their needs and preferences. One
alternative to child care centers for young infants would he to nermit
parents to take a leave of absence or to provide part-time work oppor-
tunities without penalties to their careers.
C. Sweden's S?/sten?.
Many of the structural changes in the occupational system recom-
mended in this paper have already taken place in Sweden. Men and
women who wish to take part-time work during the child-rearing years
(or any other time of their lives) can do so without incurring anjt.ype
PAGENO="0195"
187
of economic or occupational penalty.4 The Parent's Insurance System
was introduced in January 1974 to replace a maternity allowance sys-
tem. Parents now have a statutory right to 7 months paid leave
and a further unpaid leave of 6 months. The paid leave can be divided
between the parents as they see fit. They can take alternate months
or even alternate half days, while both work part-time. The parent
staying at home receives a sum per day which corresponds to the
amount of sickness benefit, that is, 90 percent of income. Like the sick-
ness benefit, parent's allowance counts toward a future pension, the
entire parent's allowance system being part of the State social insur-
ance system which is financed out of taxes and employers' contribu-
tions.5 It would appear that the parent's insurance system could
similarly be fitted into the disability payments system of the American
social security program.
The Swedish parent's insurance program has been in existence for
only a short time. So far, only a, small minority of fathers have
availed themselves of it. In the fourth quarter of 1974, only a little
over 2 percent of all new fathers with wives in gainful employment
used the opportunity. They stayed at home an average of 24.2 days of
the 7-month period.5
The parent's insurance system includes another feature which gives
both parents the right to stay home from work on a temporary basis
if a child is sick. Both parents can take turns and receive a daily sum
corresponding to sickness benefit. The child must be under 10 years
of age and the number of days must not exceed 10 per family per year.
This aspect of the parent's insurance is used fairly extensively by
fathers. In Massachusetts, State employees may annually use 7 days
of their sick leave to care for sick members of their immediate family.
The present American disability insurance program under social
security `could easily be expanded to include a parent's insurance sys-
tem modeled after the Swedish program. Establishment of statutory
right under social security for a paid parental leave of a few month's
duration, equally available to both parents, would be a major step in
restructuring work opportunities for women.
The costs of instituting such a system need not be very large. As-
suming that new parents receive for a 7-month period the average
monthly benefit now paid social security recipients, the increased con-
tributions necessary to fund the new benefits would be $4.2 billion,
which would raise the combined employee-employer social security
tax rate from 11.7 percent on the first $15,300 of income to 12.2 percent
on this same income base.
In addition, new part-time employment opportunities could be
started in Federal agencies as a model for the private sector to follow.
Legislation similar to that passed in Massachusetts could require
that in each of the next 5 years 2 percent of current full-time Federal
positions be adapted to part-time status. In addition, such legislation
would be likely to influence State and local government agencies and
the Private sector to follow suit.
Availability of parental leaves and part-time work options could
`also be encouraged by the `Department of Labor as part of affirmative
Marianne Millgardh and Bert Rollen. "Parents' insurance," Current Sweden Series, No.
76' (Stockholm Swedish Institute, April 1975).
Ibid.
PAGENO="0196"
188
action programs for Federal contractors. Discrimination is defined
in terms of the consequences of an employer's action; that is, the ef-
fects, and not the mtent, of the actions. If any action that. an em-
ployer takes has an adverse effect on the employment opportunities
of any of the groups that are protected by title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 (women are one of the protected groups), the employer
must 1ustify the necessity of continuing this discriminatory course of
action. The employer must be able to prove that the discriminatory
action is a matter of business necessity, that it is truly necessary to
the safe and efficient operation of the business. When examined, many
personnel policies turn out to be nothing more than convenient well-
established ways of doing business, not particularly crucial, but irn-
questioned. Current maternity leave practices of firms~ which severely
limit leave and limit them to women, and the unavailability of part-
time work options for men and women during child-rearing years.
clearly have a discriminatory impact on women's employment. It
would appear that a firm should be required to explore these options
if it is to be in compliance with the law.
D. Concept of Work Day and Work Continuity
These changes in Sweden represent only a beginning in the struc-
tural changes needed within the labor market.. The total concept of
the workday and work continuity would benefit from a. fresh ap-
proach. Is it really necessary and desirable that people have uninter-
rupted work records if they are to he considered serious, reliable and
committed? The increasing desire of high status men for an im-
proved "quality of life" that includes adequate leisure time may help
facilitate profound structural changes in the world of work.
Firms have resisted part-time employment for a variety of philo-
aophical and administrative reasons.
Philosophically, they have viewed part-time work as not legitimate,
legitimacy being defined as what men do. One can't he serious about
a. job if one wants to work part time. Full time is defined as the amount
of time men ordinarily work. However, what is considered full time
is not an immutable fact of nature; there have been more, changes
during this century in the "full-time workweek" than there had been
in the previous thousand years. In recent yea.rs~ the hours of the day
the days of the week, days and weeks of the year, years of a working
lifetime have all been considerably shortened. Even after World War
L the steel industry still had a 12-hour, 7-day workweek. With the
office workweek at 35 hours, full-time work is closer to part time than
it is to the standard 60 hour week before World ~\Tar I. The concept
of full-time has remained constant only in that it is the standard
amount of time men work. Prof. Paul Sarnuelson has pointed out that
in contrast to our "freedom in the spending of the money we earn,
`the modern industrial regime denies us `a similar freedom in choosing
the work routine by which we earn those dollars." ~
Firms avoid part-time workers because it complicates aclministra-
t.ion. Top management people like to have access to en~ioyees when
~t.hey need them. If executives are there, they want employees there.
Paul Samuelson. foreword in "4 Days, 40 Hours," Riva Poor, editor (Cambridge, Mass.:
:Bursk & Poor Publishing Co., 1970), p. 8.
PAGENO="0197"
189
This annoyance factor is important. It may be lessened if not elimi-
nated when working part time is no longer a deviant pattern. Being
a part-time administrator also conflicts with common notions about
what supervisors and employees do on the job. The common picture
is that the supervisor oversees the workers who would not work if the
supervisor were not there. There is an out-dated notion here that if
workers are not watched, they will not produce anything. There is.
also the notion that employees are incapable of taking any responsibil-
ity for their work. The assumption is that supervisors must be there
to solve any unexpected problem at the very moment that it occurs~
Part-time workers also complicate routine administrative problems,.
such as computing the payroll and establishing the fringe benefit.
package.
It is important to examine the real essential requirements of manage-
ment, supervision, and professional work. Is input a necessary meas-
ure of output? Does its importance vary for different kinds of pro-
fessional work? Do the supervision requirements of a research direc-
tor and of a comptroller differ?
A common objection th part-time employees is that they are less
committeed, less productive, and inefficient workers. Almost by defi-
nition they must be inefficient because they lack the all-consuming
dedication to their job that is almost a requirement of success in the
corporation. Research-based data indicate that permanent part-time
employees are more efficient, more productive, less frequently absent,.
and have a lower turnover rate than comparable full-time employees?
Career-oriented employees who work less than full time should not be
confused with office temporaries who have no long-term commitment
to particular jobs.
A number of examples can be cited: ~ The Smithsonian Institution
has successfully used two part-time lawyers. The Federal Reserve Bank
of Boston has paired a part-time department head and an economist,.
and has had a part-time assistant statistician. The Massachusetts De-
partment of Banks has a part-time director of research, a part-time
supervisor of examinations for equal credit compliance, and a staff of
part-time researchers and individuals handling consumer complaints..
By offering part-time opportunities the Massachusetts Banking De-
partment has been able to attract people with high qualifications which
exactly match the needs of the Department, despite the low salary
levels in state employment. In areas like consumer complaint handling~
the Massachusetts Department of Banks has found that part-time
employees, because of the shorter hours, are able to maintain a greater
sensitivity in handling consumer complaints than are full-time em-
ployees. Five public school systems which employ 500 job-sharing
teachers have called the experience a success.
Flex-time also has been found to improve a work situation, rather
than hinder it. The Massachusetts Department of Banks and the
Massachusetts Rehabilitation Comn'iission have both found it to be an
important morale booster. Lufthansa employees in Germany have, been
found "to interact more effectively, assume greater initiative and
Marjorie M. Silverberr and Lorraine D. Eyde, "Career Part-Time Employment: Person-
nel Implications of the New Professional and Executive Corps," Good Government (fall
1971).
8 Robert I. Lazer. "Job Sharing as a Pattern for Permanent Part-Time Work," the Con-
ference Board Record (October 1975), pp. 57-61.
PAGENO="0198"
190
responsibility, and be more aware of, and hence become more con-
siderate of coworkers' time."
The Massachusetts `State Department of Welfare in 1969 lured 50
caseworkers on a half-time schedule. An independent study made 6
months later by a consulting firm indicated that these social workers
had 89 percent as many face-to-face contacts with clients as full-tune
workers, thus once again providing Parkinson's law that work expands
to fill the time given to do it. Moreover, the turnover rate among the
Part-timers was only one-third of that of their full-time colleagues.
Since their employer was paying them half a regular full-time salary,
the State benefited.
So much for the oft-repeated statement that part-time. help is ex-
pensive, inefficient help. It may be in some cases, but it certainly is not
always. It is important to determine when it. is and when it is not.
E. Benefits o~ Part-Time TVork'
There are many sound reasons why a company might benefit from
hiring more part-time workers.
First, a great many talented. well-educated wives with child-rearing
responsibilities will `be attracted to part-time work. Offering part-time
work thus gives the firm a personnel-management lever to use against
competitors, especially larger ones, in attracting high-quality workers.
Second, the firm that broadens part-time job opportunities will prob-
ably experience greater productivity and lower unit `costs. due to
reduced absenteeism, turnover, recruitment activity. and overtime pay.
The practical and psychological advantages of part-time work for
employed mothers will he mainly responsible for the drop in all but
one of these areas; the drop in overtime pay obviously results from not
having to pay increased rates when part-time workers put in more than
their usual hours. Productivity will also rise because one can keel) up
a much faster work pace for 4 hours a. day than one can for 8 hours.
The First National Bank of Baltimore found that productivity rose
under flexible hours, as did the Mine Safety Appliance Co. of
Pittsburgh.~
The institutionalization of part-time work for men and women while
their children are young would constitute an important step toward
the equalization of parental responsibility and the upgrading of part-
time work. To do this. several conditions must be satisfied. Part-time
a~id full-time workers must receive the same fringe benefits.'° Part-
time work for child-rearing purposes might be treated similarly to
sabbaticals, that is, part-time work -years would receive the same credit-
ing toward seniority, promotion. tenure. and salary adjustments as full-
time work. Concerted efforts would need to be made to establish part-
time work options in at least some prestigious occupations. Finally,
men should be encouraged to work part time for some period of their
work lives. The right to part-time work might be extended to 15 years
per person a.s in Sweden. or 9 years as in France. Part-time work op-
tionS will not eliminate the iieed for a system of child care centers, but
it can be expected to reduce the need for them, and will enable parents
and children to satisfy important emotional needs.
`Problems Cut by Flexitime." the Washington Post (May 22. i77). Dfi.
10 See Carol S. Greenwald and Judith Liss. op. cit., for a discussion of the costs of pro-
viding equal fringe benefits to part-time workers.
PAGENO="0199"
191
V. CoNcLusIoN
Achieving equality for women workers requires adapting adminis-
tration to the rhythm of family life. Women are starting to insist on
the right of women and men to be complicated, to work full time at
certain periods in their lives and to work part time at others. Women
are starting to request that the bureaucracy set as its goal not the
reduction of complications, but the mastering of them.
Businesses are making job structures and the work week more flexible
with such innovations as the 4-day week and flexible hours. Restructur-
ing jobs to accommodate more part-time employees would be another
step forward. Women want to pursue careers, but their lives and inter-
ests, like those of men, extend beyond the marketplace. Working part
time during some periods of the life cycle is now a need of many
women. It should, of course, be an option for every person, as joint
nurturing of children becomes a widespread reality, and as increasing
incomes make greater leisure possible. The women's movement is doing
both women and men a great service of humanizing work by helping
to establish the concept that working part time during part of the life-
cycle is legitimate.
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Part IV. EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
(103)
PAGENO="0202"
PAGENO="0203"
FACILITATING FULL EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN
THROUGH CAREER EDUCATION
B~ ANITA M. MITOHELL~
CONTENTS
Page
I. Career and occupational development across the Nation - 19G
II. Purpose of this paper 197
Ill. Career education for self-assessment and self-development 198
IV. Career education for occupational awareness and job preparation_~ - 199
A. Job preparation 199
B. Training and employment 200
C. Special populations 200
V. Career education for planning and decisionmaking 200
VI. Recommendations 201
Career education is an emerging concept which can better enable
women and men to achieve suitable direction and focus of their
lives. By facilitating the realization of individuals' employment po-
tential, career education simultaneously maximizes the Nation's pro-
ductivity. It helps people recognize and develop their skills and
talents and match them to employment and other opportunities.
Career educated women will tend to look with a healthy skepticism
at the traditional roles to which they have been confined. In the
absence of career education, decisions tend to be made in a hit-or-
miss manner within a limited range of choices. A. chance job offer
may divert a young person into an unsatisfying life path. Role models
such as a relative who is a lawyers a TV heroine portraying a police-
woman, or a friend working in a factory may influence a person
to make a capricious, rather than a thoughtful career choice. The
result may be a lifetime loss in potential earnings and satisfaction
for the individual, with a parallel loss to the Nation. To prevent
such haphazard life decisions, career education builds on the present
education system, broadens and enhances the roles of existing schools
and faculties, and extends the period and scope of learning.
Putting the concept of career education for women into focus
requires definition of the terms "career" and "career education."
Each education/training experience and each occupation/job (paid
or unpaid) a person pursues is a point on the continum of his/her
career. Everyone has a career, whether She/he works for a wage, is
a homemaker, or is a volunteer; whether she/he is a student,
a worker, or an anmiit.ant. The purpose of career education is to
assist each individual in the formulation of a series of education
and work decisions and in the pursuit of a series of education and
work goals that will enhance her/his options, support the life style
to which she/he aspires, and contribute to society's purposes.
*Se1~ior Research Scientist, American Institutes for Research in the Behavioral Sciences,
Palo Alto, Calif.
(195)
PAGENO="0204"
196
The term "career education" is known to many, but the concepts
it covers are known to few. Analysis of the contexts in which the
term appears reveals that it frequently is used as a synonym for
"vocational education ;" however, vocational education covers only
about one-third of the curriculum of career education. Career educa-
~tion goes beyond vocational education to help the individual develop
~!knowledge of self and of ways to enhance self as a worker, and to
develop skill in planning and decisionmaking processes. Vocational
education alone, out of context of the other two concepts, falls short.
One study' showed that vocational graduates had no better income,
)ob status, turnover rate, upward mobility, unemployment rates or
job satisfaction in their initial employment than students with aca-
demic programs. In the long run, their initial employment record
`was worse. Career education curriculum prepares individuals to be
:ready for discontinuity-for change both expected and unexpected-
instead of limiting their training to the narrow skills frequently
taught in vocational programs.
Career eduation embraces three components: (1) self-assessment
and self-development (intellectual, physical and emotional/social; (2)
occupational awareness and job preparation (vocational education);
and (3) planning and decisionmaking skills. Each component covers
a multiplicity of discreet knowledges and skills. Career education is
not the content -for a course or a unit at one or several points in a per-
son's formal education experience; it is not a structured curriculum
that is uniformly delivered to all. Rather, it is a component that is
incorporated into any and all subjects and other aspects of education
and becomes an integral part of learning in order to relate that learn-
ing to the individual's career. Career education. then, is an organizing
lactor for all of education, from preschool through college and con-
tinuing education.
The career educator helps each individual identify career develop-
ment needs at each point of his/her career-kindergarten through re-
tirement-and personalizes education by relating current learning to
the key roles the individual will play. Career education permeates the
fabric of the educational system through curriculum, instruction, and
~counseling. It brings personal meaning to all learning experiences.
I CAREER AND OCCUPATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACROsS THE NA~roN
An analysis of the results of the Career and Occupational Develop-
ment Tests of the National Assessment of Educational Progress at-
tests to the need for career education for women. A national sample of
males and females at ages 9, 13, 17 and adult were given a series of
tests based on five objectives: (1) prepare for making career decisions;
(2) improve career and occupational capabilities; (3) possess skills
that are generally useful in the world of work; (4) practice effective
work habits, and (5) have positive attitudes toward work.
Sex differences were seen in the responses on some items in each of
the five objectives areas. For instance, responses of 17-year-olds showed
that males did better in identifying characteristics of male-oriented
jobs. Males perceived group sports, individual sports and hobbies and
1 Reubens, Beatrice, "Work in America," quoted in "German Apprenticeship: Contro*
versy and Reform," Manpower (Washington, D.C., November 1973).
PAGENO="0205"
197
crafts as activities most useful for a job, whereas females named musi-
cal or artistic activities, school and academic areas, and household
skills. Asked for reasons why a worker might accept a promotion,
females suggested challenge, responsibility, and personal satisfaction;
whereas males more often named working conditions and benefits. In
the basic skills areas, females did better in language arts and males
did better in math.
In general, the data showed serious gaps, as well as inequities, in
the career and occupational development of the youth of the Nation,
with particular evidence of the impact of the sex stereotyping which
pervades our culture and reduces women's work options.2
A parallel study of mature educated women and men found that men
followed a relatively simple and straightforward pattern compared
with the much more complex career and life patterns characteristic
of women.3 A multitude of conditions have contributed to an escala-
tion of the need for career education for women: changes in career
and life patterns; changes in attitudes toward, needs for, and laws con-
cerning women in the work force; and many other social, economic and
political factors.
II. PURPOSE OF THIS PAPER
It is not the purpose of this paper to define the total content of
career education. Content is limited to career education program
elements which focus directly on those factors that facilitate the full
employment of women at levels commensurate with their abilities,
interests and aspirations. Procedures for selecting program. elements.
to be included in this paper were:
1. Problems that inhibit full employment of women were identified
by an analysis of documented evidence as reported by government and
individuals.4
2. Compendiums and other publications were searched for existing
career education programs and program elements which have been
2 Mitchell, Anita M., "Career Development Needs of 17-Year-Olds" (Washington, D.C.
NVGA, 1977).
Ginzberg, B., et al, "Life Styles of Educated Women" (New York, Columbia University
1966).
Rubinstein, Ellis, "Profiles in Persistence," IEEE Spectrum, November 1973.
Broverman, Broverman, Clarkson, Rosenkranz, and Bogel, "Sex Role Stereotypes and
Clinical Judgments of Mental Health," Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
34 (1), .1970.
Thomas; H., and N. R. Stewart, "Counselor Response to Female Clients With Deviate
and Conforming Career Goals," Journal of Counseling Psychology, 18, 1971.
Hawley, Peggy, "The State of the Art of Counseling High School Girls" (Ford Founda-
tion, 1975).
Hawley, Peggy, "Perceptions of Male Models of Femininity Related to Career Choice."
Journal of Counseling Psychology, 19 (4), 1972.
U.S. Department of Labor, Monthly Review (Washington. D.C., U.S. Government
Printing Office, June 1971).
Employment Training Administration, "Women and Work" (Washington, D.C. U.S.
Department of Labor, April 1976).
Sheehy, Gail, "Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life" (New York, E~ P. Dutton &.
Co.. Inc., 1976).
Editorial, "The Tug of War for Equality," Women in Business, May 1975.
Chisholm, Shirley, "Sexism and Racism: One Battle To Fight," Personnel and Guidance
Journal, vol. 51, No. 2, October 1972.
Women's Bureau, "Facts on Women Workers of Minority Races" (Washington, D.C.,
U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1975). .
PAGENO="0206"
198
found to produce outconies aimed at reducing the specific inhibitng
factors identified in the analysis of problems.5
3. These identified program elements were orgamzed around the
three components of career education to show how career education
could contribute to the realization of full employment of women.
The program elements are not arranged by educational level, as
most of the concepts, such as self-assessment, may be intrOduced at
any age level and refined as the individual matures; others are specific
to mature women, either entering the work force for the first time,
or reentering after an absence. Therefore, emphasis is not on the setting,
but on the content. It is understood that different delivery systems
would be appropriate for different levels of career development.
This author does not claim that any one current career education
program embraces all the career development outcomes presented.
However, the fact that each program element presented has been de-
veloped, implemented and validated in at least one setting, supports
the possibility that a total career education emphasis could contribute
substantially to the full employment of women. It would be space
consuming and inappropriate to identify specific materials and pro-
cedures of program elements here; other compendiums, including
those footnoted on the previous pages, have performed this. task.
III. CAREER EDUCATION FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT AND SELF-DEVELOPMENT
Among major inhibitors to full employment of women at levels corn-
rnen~urate with their abilities and interests are: women's concepts of
themselves as workers; their failure to develop personal traits and
worker traits that help them compete with men for existing jobs; and
stereotypical role expectations in the community.
The first component of career education, one that serve~ as a base
and a buttress for occupational skills development, includes the fol-
lowing program elements which could be expected to reduce the in-
hibitors to full employment named in the previous paragraph:
1. Exploration of strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures,
to help girls and women (a) clarify their values, attitudes and self-
perceptions, (b) sort out their own personal resources including abil-
ities, interests and personal characteristics; (c) mobilize strengths and
cope with areas in which they are weak; (d) evaluate their work ex-
periences; and (e) develop occupational self-understanding and self-
esteem.
McLaurhlin. Donald H., "Career Education in the Public Schools. 1974-7~-A National
Survey" (Palo Alto, Calif., American Institutes for Research. 1976).
Mitchell. Anita M., "The Use of Print and Nonprint Media in Cnreer/Occuuafional Edu-
cation" (Palo Alto, Calif., the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information Resources. 1976).
Arterbury. Elvis, John Collie. Dave Jones, and Jayne Morrell, "The Efficacy of Career
Education. Washinrton. D.C., NACCE. 1976.
Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co., "Instructional Materials for Career Education" (Wash-
ington. D.C.. USOE. 1974).
Ellis, Stephen H.. and others, "A Study of Career Centers in the State of California"
(La Mesa. Calif.. 1975).
Hoyt. Kenneth. "Career Education: How To Do It" (Washington, D.C. Office of Career
Education (DHEW/OE), 1974).
fTovt. Kenneth. "Career Education: The State of the Scene" (Washin~ton D.C. Office
of Career Education (DHEW/OE), 1974).
Smith. Keith E.. "A Summary of Commissioned Papers Prepared for the National Ad-
visory Council for Career Education" (Washington, D.C.. NACCE, 1976).
Herr, Edwin L.. "The Emerging History of Career Education: A Summary view" (W'ish-
ington. D.C., NACCE. 1976).
Begel. Elsie P., James A. Dunn, Robert M. Kaplan, John Kroll, Judith M. Melnotte and
Lauri Steel. "Career Education: An Annotated Bibliography for Teachers and Curriculur~
Developers (Palo Alto, Calif., American Institutes for Research, 1973).
PAGENO="0207"
199
2. Development of intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, basic in-
~trumental skills, how-to-learn skills, and skills in self-presentation
that will open career options.
3. Development of (a) women's awareness of the subtle but perva-
thve societal forces that continue to constrain women's opportunities
and roles in the labor market, and (b) resources, avenues and tech-
niques for combating these forces. (Example: Analysis of the biased
language and pictorial presentations in the catalogs of education/
training institutions, in classified help wanted ads, and in many na-
tionally distributed occupational briefs; identification of laws and
agencies which exist to facilitate equal training/placement access to
women.)
4. Development of the concept of education and training as invest-
ment in human capital (an investment in themselves, against which
they can draw at any point in their lives), and of continuing educa-
tion as a way to slow down the rate of deterioration, depreciation,
and obsolescence of themselves as human capital.
5. Institutional screening of educational materials and encourage-
ment of production of nonsexist materials to counteract the many
myths about women workers, the stereotypical roles portrayed in
textbooks and the mass media, and the biased selective information
presented by interests vested in specific occupations/professions.
IY. CAREER EDUCATION FOR OCCUPATIONAL AWARENESS AND JOB
PREPARATION
The second component of career education is aimed at increasing
women's occupational awareness and improving their job preparation,
as deficiencies in either or both of these areas affect women's employ-
ment.
Career education program elements for this component are orga-
nized into three sections: Job Preparation, Training and Employment,
and Special Populations.
A. Job Preparation
1. Provision of experiences and role models at all levels to increase
girls' and women's perceptions of their educational, training, and oc-
cupationa~l options. (Example: Classroom visits by successful career
women-including parents of students-such as scientists, machine
tool operators, or pilots.)
2. Development of generic skills that will be transferable when work
roles change.
3. Application of basic language and computation skills to the work
setting. (Example: Specific vocabulary used in a health setting such
as a doctor's or dentist's office; arithmetic used in a real estate or in-
surance office.)
4. Establishment of personal relevance in all curricular areas.
5. Development of skills for (a) maintaining awareness of present
and future occupational trends, opportunities and requirements, and
(h) identification of advanced occupations/professions for which
they can train either at, once or intermittently,, using the career ladder
concept.
PAGENO="0208"
200
6. Development of job choosing, job seeking, job getting, and job
maintenance skills.
7. Development of specific occupational sinus.
B. Training and Employment
1.. Development of realistic views of the "shelf life" of training,
and awareness of the need for continuing and recurrent education.
(Example: The rapid obsolescence of computer technology.)
2. Development of skills for locating resources and for testing and
using these resources to find economical ways to train and retram.
3. Awareness of women's rights under title IX of the Educational
Amendments of 1972, to counteract discriminatory practices still em-
ployed by some training institutions.6
4. Understanding of (a) the meaning of other antidiscrimination
laws, (b) the fact that their implementation is spotty, (C) enforce-
ment procedures, and (d) implications for women as workers.
5. Awareness of sources of help in problem areas such as financial
support, child care, and occupational evaluation.
6. Institutional support and flexibility for women of all ages to
receive technical and other occupation-related training.
U. Special Popuiatian.s
1. Development of the specific skills necessary for special populations
to gain access to education, training and 1ob opportunities. (Example:
upgrading the communication skills of the cerebral palsied, the deaf
and the retarded.)
2. Institutional provision of appropriate content, facilities and
equipment in career education for women from isolated rural areas
and from low socio-economic families, older women. and those with
physical, intellectual, developmental or emotional handicaps.
3. Institutional provision of linkages between education/training
and successful job placement.
V CAREER EImOATI0N FOR PLANNING AND DECIsI0X3IAKING
Women's failure to plan for a succession of work roles and to set
short-term and long-term goals frequently results in their being un-
ready for job mobility, job advancement, job entry or re-entry. Con-
`fusion surrounding the conflict between individual goals and societal
goals, and deficiencies in decisionmaking skills may cause women to
choose inappropriate education/training institutions or job options.
Career education program elements within this component that show
promise for removing these inhibitors to full employment of women
include the following:
1. Development of planning skills through application to current
educational and occupational goals.
2. Development of skills in goal setting, testing. and followthrough.
3. Development .of skills in adjusting short-term and long-term
goals and in knowing when such adjustments are desirable.
l~iernice Sandier, "Admissions in Higher Education and the Law." address delivered
at college Entrance Examination Board Conference, San Francisco, Calif., January 1975.
PAGENO="0209"
201
4. Development of realistic time plans for accomplishing goals, and
of productive implementation of these plans.
5. Identification of training and occupational alternatives, and of
the relationship of each to short-term and long-term goals and desired
life style.
6. Contingency planning for job change, job advancement and job
re-entry.
7. Development of skills in seeking and assessing the accuracy and
reliability of sources of information; of examining values; of clarify-
ing career objectives; of examining options and seeking alternate
routes to reaching objectives; of considering consequences of alternate
choices; and of using this total process in making career decisions.
8. Development of skills in reconciling conflicts between individual
goals and societal goals when confronted with negative statements in
the media such as the following:
President Carter's most immediate economic plans could be upset badly by one
of the most profound social changes in American history-the continued, dra-
matic rush of women away from the role of housewife and into the labor market.'
Bernstein continues by stating that factors such as newly created jobs
that entice "additional millions of women" out of their homes * * *
wOuld leave the Nation's unemployment rate at an intolerably high level and
effectively thwart Carter's plan.
The previous three sections listed some of the knowledges and skills
that have been developed through implementation of specific career
education program elements. Women's development of these knowi-
edges and skills could be expected to reduce specific barriers to their
full employment. Institutional actions which have been initiated as
part of the career education movement and which could contribute to
women's full employment are also reported.
With increased flexibility in terms of age, program, setting aud
schedule, these program elements could be delivered to girls and wo-
men of all ages and at all stages of career development. As suggested
above, career education is most effective when it becomes part of the
regular curriculum, instruction and counseling programs, relating
learning to current, emerging, and projected career roles.
VI. RECOMMENDATIONS
Since the content and process of career education have been defined.
and since career education could help remove many of the barriers to
full employment of women, it is recommended:
1. That career education be made mandatory in all the schools of
the Nation-kindergarten through higher education-and be encour-
aged in other community settings. H.R. 7-Elementary and Second-
ary Career Education Act-was recently passed by the House of Rep-
resentatives. A companion bill awaits action in the Senate.
2. That capital market investment, which encourages the develop-
ment of talent in women, e.g., tax and credit reform, provide long-term
private and public loans not only for initial training, but for retrain-
ing or upgrading skills at any time during women's working lives.
197 Bernstein, "Women at Work: U.S. Jobs Upheaval," Los Angeles Times, Feb. 6,
91-686---77----14
PAGENO="0210"
202
3. That day care services be made available for all women trainees
and workers needing this service.
4. That Community Career Education Action Councils be estab-
ii~hecl in each community, with representatives from local govermuent
agencies, labor unions, business and industry, schools, and other local
groups to plan and evaluate the community's career education efforts.
5. That incentives and disincentives be used to promote nondiscrimi-
nation in advertising and to encourage portrayal of women in other
than stereotypical social and occupational roles.
6. That licensing/accrediting agencies such as trade unions, higher
education institutions and government agencies establish policies
which give women credit for competencies developed outside of school,
and increased opportunities for training in early or midcareer.
7. That institutions training career educators incorporate career
~education concepts, skills, and methodologies in their programs.
8. That schools become open-entry, open-exit systems. available to
~women of all ages, and offering program and schedule flexibility.
PAGENO="0211"
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
B~ PAMELA ANN ROBY* **
CONTENTS
Page
I. Women in vocational education 203
II. Vocational education research and women 206
III. Proposals for researëh and development 209
A. Admission 210
B. Enrollment 213
C. Instruction - 214
D. Counseling 217
IV. Conclusion 221
Appendix 221
In the United States, lack of training or education has been over-
emphasized as a cause of unemployment and poverty.' The extremely
low unemployment rates of World War II testify to the fact that
many of those who are considered "unemployable" due to lack of
training and other factors in times of low labor force demand are in-
deed employable when the labor force demand is high enough. Never-
theless, individuals' rights to training for work in which they are in-
terested should not be overlooked. In an ideal future, when jobs are no
longer sharply differentiated by prestige and pay, trainiiig will allow
individuals to have vai~iety in their work by enabling them to move
from job to 1ob Tod'uv ti'uning iepiesents `t step tow `trd `t more intei
esting, prestigious or better-paying~ job. It is within this context that
w e will considei vocational educ ition for ~~onien `mci the full employ
ment economy.
I. WOMEN tN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
WThile school and college enrollments have been leveling off, voca-
tional education has been booming. State vocational and technical
education enrollments incie'tsed from ioughly 7 5 to 11 6 million from
*Assoeiate. professor of sociology, director of the Extended University, and chairperson
of Community Studies at the University of California, Santa Crux.
* ~This article is. a revised version of "Toward Full Equality: More Job Education for
women," School Review, Vol. 84, No. 2, nnd is reprinted with the permission of the author
and publisher. The author received financial assistance from the Russell Sage Founda-
tion and the University of California, Santa Cruz Academic Senate, which enabled her
to conduct the research.
`Compare S. M. Miller and Pamela, Roby, "The Future of Inequality" (New York: Basic
Books, 1.970), ch. 6; and Howard M. Wachtel. "Looking at Poverty From Radical, Conserva-
tive, and Liberal Perspectives." in Pamela Roby ed. "The Poverty Establishment" (Engle-
wood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall, 1974.)
Compare "Learning a Living Across the Nation," vol. IV, pt. 1. narrative report by Arthur
M. Lee; pt. 2. statistical almanac by Arthur M. Lee and Dorris Fitzgerald, Flagstaff, Ariz.
Project Baseline, fourth national report prepared for the National Advisory Council on
Vocational Education under U.S. Office of Education Contract OEC 0-72---04i4, (October
and December 1975).
(203)
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204
1968 to 1972.2 Even exceeding the growth in enrollment, funding for
vocational education has increased massively. In 1962 vocational edu-
cation received $262 million in Federal and $930 million in State and
local funding; in 1972, the figures were $464 million and $2.2 billion,
respectively.3 In addition, the Higher Education Act of 1972 author-
ized $950 million over the next 3 years for post-secondary occupational
(i.e., vocational) education. This sum was over three times that au-
thorized for the establishment of new community colleges and the
expansion of old ones-$275 million.4
Despite this very considerable growth, it appears that the needs of
women for vocational education have not yet been given serious at-
tention.5 Given Congress's definition of vocational education as "vo-
cational or technical training or retraining . . . given in schools or
classes.. . designed to prepare individuals for gainful employment as
semi-skilled or skilled workers, tecimicians [or] . . . subprofessionals
in recognized . . . and in new and emerging occupations or . . . for
enrollment in advanced technical education programs . . ." there is
considerable evidence that opportunities for women in vocational ed-
ucation are severely limited.5 A 1974 report of the Women in Appren-
ticeship Project of the U.S. Department of Labor observed that 98.5
percent of the enrollees in Wisconsin high school industrial classes
were male. The girls are given home economics or, if they are not on
the college track, business subjects. In most schools giils are either
overtly forbidden or subtly discouraged from seriously experiment-
ing with shop courses that lay the foundation for work in the skilled
trades: too great an interest in, or proficiency at, things technical are
considered "unfeminine." This puts most women at a disadvantage
2.These figures are for secondary and postsecondary education programs combined. Voca-
tional education enrollments In public secondary schools were nearly 6.4 million in 1912-73
(U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education, "Vocational
Education: Characteristics of Students and Staff," 1972, by Nicholas A. Osso (Washington.
D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1974), p. 1).
National and State Advisory Councils on Vocational Education, "The Impact of the
Vocational Education Amendments of 1968" (prepared for the U.S. congressional oversight
hearings on the Vocational Education Act, April 1974), mimeographed (Washington, D.C.:
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1974).
Money authorized by the Higher Education Act was specifically for training for "gain-
ful employment as semiskilled or skilled workers or technicians or subprofessionals in
recognized occupations (including new and emerging occupations) ; it prohibited the
funding of programs leading to a bachelors degree" (Jerome Karable, "Protecting the
Portals: Class and the Community College," Social Policy 5, No. 1 (May-June 1974)
p. 15-16).
Originally I intended this paper to be on the effect of vocational education on minori-
ties as well as on women, but I found that the vocational education issues affecting the two
groups are quite diverse. In fact, the effect of vocational education on and the needs of
various minority groups are also highly varied. Therefore. to confine this paper to reason-
able bounds, I am limiting it to women. But see Herbert E. Striner, "Toward a Funda-
mental Program for the Training, Employment, and Economic Equality of the American
Indian" (Washington, D.C.: Upjohn Institute. 1968), pp. 303-304; "The Negro and Voca-
tional Education," in "The Role of Secondary Schools in the Preparation of Youth for
Employment: A Comparative Study of the Vocational, Academic, and General Curricu-
lums," editors, Jacob J. Kaufman, Carl J. Schaefer, Morgan V. Lewis, David W. Stevens,
and Elaine W. House (University Park, Pa.: Institute for Research on Human Resources.
1967). A recent U.S. Office of Civil Rights sampling of 79 area vocational schools in Illi-
nois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio found that only 135 of the 2.612 instructors in these
schools were minority members (5.3 percent) despite the fact that the minority population
of these four States is more than 10 percent, the representation of minorities among all the
public elementary and secondary teachers of these four States approaches 10 percent. and
minorities are a high proportion of the work force at all levels of skill and competence in
these States (Peter E. Holmes. director, Office for Civil Rights. U.S. Department of Health.
Education, and Welfare. "Enforcement of Civil Rights Statutes in Area Vocational-Techni-
cal Schools" (paper prepared for the annual meeting of State directors of vocational educa-
tion. Washington, D.C., May 1, 1974), p. 11).
Sec. 108 of Public Law 90-576.
PAGENO="0213"
205
when taking selection tests that examine familiarity with the tools
and terms of the trade.7
Of the 6.4 million women and girls enrolled in public vocational
programs across the country in 1972, 49 percent were being trained
in home economics and another 28 percent in office practices.8 Table
1 provides a picture of the distribution of women and men in the sev-
eral areas of vocational education. The evidence is that very few
women are being trained for the 20.1 million jobs that the National
Planning Association estimates will occur by 1980 in what have been
viewed primarily as male occupations, including the better-paying
trades, industrial, and tecimical jobs for which high schools now offer
vocational courses with entry-level preparation.9
We do not have evidence that the clustering of women in vocationa.l
programs is only a matter of access and social influence. Nor do we
Irnow what proportion of women, given a real opportunity, would
choose to move into traditionally male jobs. However, all the inforina-
tion that we do have suggests that, given a real choice, women would
move into every level of the industrial hierarchy.'° Indeed, between
1960 and 1970 when some doors were opened to women, the rate of
increase of women in the skilled trades was eight times the rate of
increase for men.'1
U.S. Department of Labor, Manpower Administration, "Women in Apprenticeship-
Why Not?" Manpower Research Monograph No. 33 (Washington, D.C.: Government Print.
lug Office, 1974), p. 1.
These percentages include homemaking which does not fall within the definition of
vocational education used In No. 2 above and by the U.S. Congress. Despite the congres-
sional definition, most vocational education data provided by the U.S. Office of Education
includes homemaking, which is not "preparation for gainful employment" (data calculated
from Bureau of Adult, Vocational, and Technical Education, "Summary Data: Vocational
Education, Fiscal Year 1972" (Washington, D.C.: Office of Education, U.S. Department of
Health, Education, and Welfare, May 1973), p. 2).
Ibid., pp. 2, 14-17. Vocational education is composed of the following major program
areas: agriculture, distribution, health, home economics (gainful), office, technical, trades
and industry, and special programs. Among the 19 major instructional programs included
in the "distribution" area are advertising services, apparel and accessories, automotive,
~1nance and credit, floristry, and food distribution. Dental assistant, medical lab assistant,
practical nurse, and physica1 therapy are among the instructional programs in the health
area. Gainful home economics includes care and guidance of children and food management
service. The office area includes accounting and computing, filing and office machines, stenog-
Taphy, secretarial, and typing programs. Among the 21 major instructional programs in
the technical area are aeronautical. architectural, automotive, chemical, electrical, and
metallurgical technology. Among the 44 major Instructional programs in the trade and
industrial area are air-conditioning, appliance repair, auto mechanics, blueprint reading,
business-machine maintenance, carpentry, electricity, masonry, plumbing and pipefitting,
drafting, graphic arts, cosmetology, and textile production (Leonard A. Lecht, "Priorities
in Vocational Education: Recent Developments and Potentials for Change During the
1970's." Looking Ahead 20, No. 7 (November 1972) : 1; see Kaufman et al., op. cit., pp.
n-3d).
10 See Dixie Sommers, "Occupational Rankings for Men and Women by Earnings,"
Monthly Labor Review, vol. 97, No. S (August 1974), tables 1, 2.
11 Janice Neipert Hedges and Stephen E. Bemis, "Sex Stereotyping: Its Decline in the
Skilled Trades," Monthly Labor Review 97, No. 5 (May 1974) : 14.
PAGENO="0214"
206
TABLE 1.-DISTRIBUTION OF FEMALES AND MALES IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION FOR EACH PROGRAM AREA, 1972.
Females
Males
Gainful
(exclud-
ing Including
home- home-
making) making
(percent) (percent)
Including
home-
Gainful making
Number (percent) (percent)
Number
Agriculture 1 1
Distributive education 8 5
Health 8 4
Home economics gainful 7 4
Office 51 28
Tachnical education 1 1
Trades industry 8 4
Special program I 17 9
48, 153 17. 0 17. 0
293, 020 7. 0 7. 0
285, 071 1. 0 1. 0
240, 948 - 1 . 1
1 796,387 11.0 11.0
33, 006 6. 0 6. 0
279, 680 43. 0 43. 0
582, 715 15. 0 15. 0
848, 307
350, 403
51. 581
39, 018
555,491
304, 063.
2, 118, 288
721, 904
Total-gainful only 101
Home economics: homemaking 45
3, 505, 128 100 0
2, 916, 987 . 5
4, 931, 284
248, 745
Total gainful and homemaking 101
6, 422, 115 101. 0
5, 180, 029
I Includes prevocational, prepostsecondary, and remedial programs.
Source: Calculated from Bureau of Adult, Vocational and Technical Education Summary Data: Vocational Education,.
Fiscal Year 1972 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Office of Education, May 1973)
JJ~ ~ Em~cATIox RESEARCH AND Wo~iIN
Between 1965 and 1974 (inclusive), $250 million was spent for vo-
cational education research and development under the authority of the
Vocational Education Amendments of 1968 (PublicLaw 90_576)12 and
administered by the Bureau of Occupational and Adult Education.
of the U.S. Office of Education (TJSOE). Additional sums were ap-
propriated for vocational education research and development by~
the TJ.S. Department of Defense, the Department of Labor. the Na-
tional Institute of Education, other Federal agencies. the States in-
depent of State-administered Federal funds, and private foundations.
Little of this multimillion-dollar funding was devoted to projects
directly related to the needs of women.'3 In 1974, out of the 93 fed-
erally funded project under section 131(a), part C of the Vocational
Educational Amendments of 1969, only one pertained directly to
women (that, directed by Kaufman and Lewis, will be discussed be-
low) ~ The allocation of so few part C funds in 1974 to projects for~
i~ Congress authorized $152.5 million, or nearly 4 tImes as much as was appropriated,
for vocational education research and development for fiscal year 1974.
Committee oa Vocational Education Research and Development. Assembly of Behavioral
and Social Sciences, National Research Council, "Assessing Vocational Education Research
and Development" (Washington. D.C. : National Academy ol Sciences. 1976). pp. 20-21.
~ Monica K. Sinding (research associate, Committee on vocational Education R~seareis
and Development. Assembly of Behavioral and Social Sciences, National Research Council)
reports receipt of several letters from Government officials indicating that they have no
knowledge of plans for research In "how vocational education might be adjusted to better
meet the needs of girls and women" (letters from Ralph R. Canter, program manager. Life
Sciences Directorate, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, U.S. Department of the Air
Force: Glenn C. Boerrlgter, chief Research Branch, Division of Research and Demonstra-
tion, Office of Education, Sept. 16, 1974; Howard Rosen, Director, Office of Manpower
Research and Development, Manpower Administration, U.S. Departnient of Labor). The
Division of Manpower Development and Training of the U.S. Office of Education in 1974'
noted that "over 90 percent" of female trainees in MDTA institutional programs "have
been enrolled in either clerical, food services, or health related occupational training." and
that although "the income level of both men and women increases after MDTA train-
ing, `a * * the income level of women after training has never reached the pretraining
income level of men" (U.S. Department of Health. Education. and Welfare. Government
Contracting Office. Office of Education, "New Careers for Women," mimeographed (Wash-
ington, D.C. : HEW, 1974)).
`5U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Bureau of Occupational and
Adult Education, "Research Projects in Vocational Education: Fiscal Year 1974 Prorram,
Funded Under Sec. 131(a). Pt. C. Vocational Education Amendments of of r96S. Public
Law 90-576," mimeographed (Washington, D.C. : HEW, 1974).
PAGENO="0215"
207
women is all the more striking given the critical observation the previ-
oiis year by the National Advisory Council on Extension and Con-
tinuing Education that ". . . although the legislative language Lof
part C, section 132 of the Vocational Education Act] is general
enough to permit funding of demonstration projects relevant to the
needs of mature women . . . only one project has been funded with.
any relevance to the concerns of women." `~
Furthermore, no projects for women were funded in 1974 under the
federally administered part I or the regionally administered part D of
the amendments.1~ Of the 50 State offices of vocational education, only
three are currently sponsoring substantial research to determine how
vocational education might better serve girls and women.'7
To date, no survey has been made to determine what percentage of
the project directors funded under the vocational education amend-
ments are women. Such a survey would appear to be called for under
title IX of the 1972 education amendments. Women comprised 1?
percent of the members of the American Vocational Education Re-
search Association in 1973-74.'~ This figure would appear to be a
justifiable benchmark against which to evaluate whether or not women
are fairly represented as directors of research projects funded under
the vocational educational amendments.
In 1976, 56 percent of all women between 18 years of age and 64
were part of the labor force. They comprised 41 percent of the total
labor force, compared with 26 percent in 1940.19 Most of these women,.
the U.S. Department of Labor reports, work because they must. In
March 1976, of the 39 million women in the labor force, 43 percent
were either single, widowed, divorced, or separated. An additional
quarter of all women in labor force were married to men who earned
less than $10,500.20 In 1975, the median earnings before taxes, for
~ Kathryn L. Mulligan, "A Question of Opportunity: Women and Continuing Education"
(Washington, D.C.: National Advisory Council on Extension and Continuing Education,
March 1973), p. 25.
`~ Interview, Mary Wingrove, Curriculum Development Branch, Bureau of Occupational
and Adult Education. U.S. Department of Health Education, and Welfare. Aug. 12. 1974:
interview, Dr. Joyce Cook, acting chief. Demonstration Branch. Bureau of Occupational and
Adult Education, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Aug. 16. 1974.
17 Tile State of Illinois' Office of vocational Education in 1974 allocated $30,000 to JoAnn
M. Steiger of Steiger, Fink, and Smith, Inc., McLean, va., for curriculum materials to
encourage girls to consider a wider range of jobs. The same year, the New Hampshire
Office of vocational Education used part C moneys to fund instructional materials geared to
women on "Careers in Building Trades" (Langdom Pluiner, director of vocational education.
Exeter High School. Exeter, N.H., letter to Pamela Roby, Nov. 4, 1974). Tile Division of
Occupational Research and Development of the Texas Education Agency has used part C
moneys to develop means to recruit women into vocational programs traditionally domi-
nateci by men ("Equal Vocational Educational," a project by the Center for 1-luman Re-
sources, University of Houston. in cooperation with the Houston Independent School
District, sponsored by the Division of Occupational Research and Development. Texas
Education Agency, February i975~-June 1976, mimeographed (Houston, Tex.: University
of Houston), p.3).
18 Mary B. Kievit, president. American Vocational Education Research Association,
letter to Pamela Roby, Mar. 25. 1975.
1~ U.S. Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Employment and Earnings,"
January 1977 (Washington, D.C. : Government Printing Office. 1977).
20U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Lalor Statistics. "Marital and Family Charac-
teristics of the Labor Force," March 1976 (Washington, D.C. : Government Printing Office,
1976). The Bureau of Labor Statistics' "lower budget" income standard was $8,181. "inter-
mediate budget," $12626, and "high budget." $18,201 for an urban family of four in
autumn 1973 (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Autumn 1973
Lrban Family Budgets and Comparative Indexes for Selected Urban Areas," June 16, 1974,
press release, table A. p. 2). For a description of tile concepts and procedures used in the
development of the BLS budgets, see U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Three Standards of Living for an Urban Family of Four Persons," bulletin No. 1570-5
(Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1969), pp. 1-4.
PAGENO="0216"
208
full-time year-round (50-52 weeks a year, 35 hours or more a week)
female operatives was $6,251; of service workers (except private
household), $5,414; and of nonfarm laborers, S6~937.2'
Unequal pay for equal work. though important, is only a part of
the larger question of why women workers receive low wages. Follow-
ing an extensive analysis of census data, economist Mary Stevenson
concluded that sex "segregation in labor markets is the real problem
underlying the low wages that women receive. . . . Whenever women
are cordoned off into a circumscribed number of occupations and
industries, the consequences are low wages." 22 In line with Steven-
son's conclusions, Elizabeth Waldman and Beverly McEaddy re-
cently reported that although womeil, like men, find jobs in the fastest
growing industries, today, as in decades past, no matter what industry
women are in they remain clustered in fewer and lower paying occu-
pations than men.23
Furthermore, female-intensive industries continue to pay consider-
ably lower wages than male-intensive industries. For example, Wald-
man and McEaddy report: "In January 1973, most industries paying
average weekly earnings of less than $100 were female-intensive. Sev-
eral were paying under $90 a week. while the weekly paycheck for all
industries averaged $138. The average salary for all manufacturing
workers was $159 a week in January 1913. For those in manufactur-
ing industries that were female-intensive, the average was much
lower-for example the apparel industry~ in which 81 percent of the
employees were women, paid average weekly salaries of only $93." 24
Recently, women have been moving into the higher-paid skilled
trades in greater numbers, but their percentage in these jobs remains
small (1.6 percent of women over age 16 were employed in craft and
kindred jobs in May 1974) ~25 despite research that shows that many
women have the aptitudes to perform jobs that have been tradition-
ally held by men. In fact. research by the Human Engineering
Laboratory of the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation indicates
that no significant sex differences exist in fourteen of the aptitude
and knowledge areas studied, and of the remaining areas, men excel
in two and women in four.26
As more and more women need to earn enough to support them-
selves and their families, and as it becomes clear that their low wages
result largely from their being restricted to lower-paying jobs, voca-
tional education has failed to move significantly to prepare them for
21 U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, "Money Income and Poverty
Status of Families and Persons in the United States" (Washington, D.C.: Government
Printing Office, 1975).
22 Mary Stevenson, "Women's Wages: The Cost of Being Female" (paper presented to
the Society for the Study of Social Problems. August 1972), p. 8: see Mary Stevenson. `The
Determinants of Low Wages for Women Workers" (Ph. D. dissertation. University of
Michigan. 1974) Barry Bluestone, William M. Murphy, and Mary Stevenson, "Low Wages
and the Working Poor" (Ann Arbor: Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, Univer-
aity of Michigan, 19731.
Figures for hourly wages which exclude the effect of part-time and overtime work
support conclusions based on weekly earnings (Elizabeth Waidman and Beverly J. McEaddy,
~`Where Women Work-An Analysis by Industry and Occupation, Monthly Labor Review
~7. No. 5 (May 1974) : 7).
24 Ibid., p. 10.
25 In 1970 almost half a million women were working In skilled occupations, up from
277,000 in 1960 (Hedges and Bemis, p. 14) ; 524,000 females over age 16 were working in
craft and kindred jobs in May 1974 (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
~`Employment and Earnings: June 1974'~ (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office,
1974), pp. 31, 32, tables 820, 821).
26 John J. Durkin, "The Potential of Women." research bulletin No. 87 (Washington,
D.C. : Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation, 1972).
PAGENO="0217"
209
the wider range of occupations that pay higher wages. Vocational
education teachers and counselors, in fact, often discourage, or ac~u-
ally refuse to allow women to take courses that would pre.pare them
for these jobs. Even unwittingly they simply mislead women students
by encouraging them to believe that as wives and mothers they will
not need to work when, in fact, these students as young adults are
fairly likely to be divorced and have to support themselves and their
children or to have husbands who are unable to alone support a family.
Eradicating these barriers to women and girls in vocational educa-
tion is no longer a matter of gallantry, it is a matter of law. Title IX
of the 1972 U.S. education amendments states: "No persons in the
United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participating
in, be denied the benefits of or be subjected to discrimination under
any educational program or excluded from actively receiving federal
financial assistance. ~" 27 This passage, as well as the subsequent
antidiscrimination provisions with regard to admission, student. as-
signment, and faculty employment practices applies to public or pri-
irate institutions of vocational education.
III. Pnoros~ns FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Prejudices and outmoded customs act as barriers to the full realiza-
tion of women's basic rights which should be respected and fostered
as part of our Nation's commitment to human dignity. freedom. and
democracy . . . [John F. Kennedy, in establishing the President's
Commission of the Status of Women, 1961]
Both internalized and institutional barriers against women operate
in vocational education.28 Internalized barriers refer to social atti-
tudes and norms taught men and women about "feminine" and "mascu-
line" behavior that can serve to limit both sexes' ability to think flexibly
about what are appropriate abilities, activities, and social roles for men
and women. A. girl considering a career in what has been viewed as a
masculine occupation must overcome her own early socialization in
which she was taught that traits such as physical and intellectual prow-
ess and problem-solving ability were masculine.29 Despite much discus-
sion about sex stereotypes in school materials and despite the increasing
proportion of mothers in the national labor force, grade-school read-
~ Title IX, "Prohibition of Sex Discrimination," U.S. Education Amendments of 1972.
Public Law 92-318, 92) Cong., S. 659, June 23, 1972; proposed rules, Department of
Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of the Secretary, "Education Programs: Nonclis-
crimination on the Basis of Sex," Federal Register, No. 120, pt. 2 (June 20, 1974), pp.
22228-22240.
~8 Similar factors operate in higher education (see Pamela Roby, "Structural and Inter-
nalized Barriers to Women in Higher Education," in "Toward a Sociology of Women."
editor. Constantina Safflios-Rothscliild (Lexington. Mass.: Xerox College Publishing. 1972),
pp. 121-140, reprinted in Jo Freeman, editor, "Women: A Feminist Perspective" (Palo
Alto, Calif.: Mayfield Publishing Co., 1974), pp. 171-194: and "Institutional Barriers to
Women Students in Higher Education," in "Academic Women on the Move." editors, Alice
5. Rossi and Ann Calderwood (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1973), pp. 37-56).
29 Sandra L. Bems and Daryl J. Bems, "Training the Woman To Know Her Place";
Kathleen Barry, "A View From the Doll Corner"; Leah Hevn, "Children's Books": Jamie
K. Krisof, "Textbooks and Conditioning"; Donna Keek, "The Art of Maiming Women."
all in Women. vol. 1, No. 1 (fall 1969). Also see, Nancy Frazier and Myra Sadher, "Sexism
In School and Society" (New York: Harper & Row, 1973) : Scott, Foresman & Co.. "Gui(l"-
lines for Improving the Image of Women in Textbooks" (Glenview, Ill. : Scott, Foresman
& Co., 1972) ; M. B. U'Ren, "The Image of women in Textbooks." in "Woman in Sexist
Society: Studlei in Power and Powerlessness," editors, Vivian Gornick and B. K. Moran
(T~ew ~iork: Basic Books, 1971) ; D. B. Graebner, "A Decade of Sexism in Readers," Reading
Teacher, vol. 26 (October 1972).
PAGENO="0218"
210
ers still tend to portray mothers in the kitchen.30 Given this early so-
cialization, it is not surprising that a significant percentage of both
adolescent girls and boys have unrealistic expectations about women's
work lives. Indeed, a recent survey of high school seniors from fourteen
Arkansas public schools found that 22.6 percent of the girls and 38.9
percent of the boys believed that "most girls will become housewives
and never work outside the home." 31
Many believe that girls would be helped to consider a wider range of
vocational choices if school books portrayed women in a wider range of
roles and occupations. Changes in physical education courses, as well,
would contribute to a- greater flexibility for women in the vocational
choices. Courses in physical education that stress strength and en-
-durance would not only widen girls' views of their potentialities but
would also prepare them better to qualify for jobs that have these
requirements.
Internationalized barriers to women are buttressed liv institutional
barriers, those organizational patterns and practices that hinder the
efforts of girls to obtain preparation for teclmical jobs. the trades and
industry. Among these institutional barriers are admission practices
that exclude girls from traditionally male vocational education courses
and schools and pregnant girls from vocational education of any type;
the absence of women from faculties and administrations of schools,
except in home economics and business skills; inadequate job counsel-
ing for girls; and inadequate child care for the children of students.
In the following section. I will trace the paths of vocational educa-
tion students. For each step. I will examine barriers to women. review
vocational education research related to the barriers. and suggest re-
search and development projects to overcome the barriers.
A. A cimissiom
The first hurdle confronting girls and women seeking vocational ed-
ucati'on is admission. Girls must fulfill all the admission criteria- con-
corning intelligence and educational experience normally required of
men and, in addition, must overcome some barriers not experienced
by men. Jack Conrad WTillers observes that "the most- obvious and
comnion sexist school practice is to track male students into industrial
arts. agriculture. and technical trades. and female students into home-
making, health occupations, and business. High school girls receive vo-
- cationa.l training which prepares them for a very limited range of
30 See Leonore T. Weltzman, Deborah Elder, Elizabeth Hokada, and Catherine Ross. "Sex-
Role Socialization in Picture Books for Preschool Children," American Journal of Sociol-
`ogy 77. No. 6 (May 1072) : 1125-1151; Elizabeth Fisher. "children's Books: The Second
Sex, Junior Division," New York Times Book Review (1070), pp. 89-94: Ann Eliasberg,
Are You Hurting Your Daughter Without Knowing It?" Family Circle (February 19711.
For an extensive analysis of 2,760 stories In 134 children's readers, see Women on Words
and Images, "Dick and Jane as Victims: Sex Stereotyping in Children's Readers" (Prince-
ton. N.J.: Women on Words and Images, 1972). It found that the stories included hiogra-
`phies about S8 different men and 17 women. The overall ratio of stories about boys to
*stories about girls was five to two.
31 Of the girls, 29.4 percent. and of the boys, 45 percent believed that "women should
stick to women's jobs and not compete with men" (Peggy IV. Patrick. `Education and
`Counseling Status Report on Young Men and Women: A Survey of Senior Students From
14 Public Secondary Schools in Arkansas" (Governor's Commission on the Status of
Women. Little Rock, Ark., December 1972). cited in JoAnn M. Steiger. "Vocational Prepa-
ration for Women: A Critical Analysis" (prepared for the research arid development unit,
Division of Vocational and Technical Education. Board of Vocational Education and Reha-
bilitation. State of Illinois, under contract No. RDD A5-240), mimeographed (Springfield:
`State of IllinoIs, December 1974), p. 23).
PAGENO="0219"
211
careors, usually those with low pay potential, or even no pay as
housewives." 32
In a report of a survey of vocational schools, the director of the Of-
fice of Civil Rights of the TJ.S.iDepartment of I-Iealth, Educatioii, and
Welfare said that
[a] chronic problem in area vocational schools is the separation of programs
*and courses by sex. Even more serious is the existence of vocational schools that
-accept only students of one sex. So far the survey has identified 17 single-sex insti-
tutioas and I estimate we will have reports on about 40, most of them in the
Northeast where, like other parts of the Nation, some traditions do not change
* easily. Title IX of the education amendments provides for the elimination of
vocational school policies that discriminate on the basis of sex. Their eligibility
to participate in Federal programs is in danger until they adopt acceptable plans
to transform themselves into institution.s that admit both sexes without l)ias.
The other aspect of sex discrimination in vocational school has to do with segre-
gation by course. Of the 1,000 (Office of Civil nights institutional questionnaire)
forms surveyed so far, nearly all listed at least one course that was exclusive to
one sex and nearly 60 percent reported that a majority of the course programs in
the school were exclusively for males or exclusively for females.n
Furthermore, the General Accounting Office's 1974 report on Voca-
tional education stated:
Catalogs describing vocational programs used the exclusive pronoun "he" when
referring to course requirements in almost all subjects, and the exclusive pro-
noun "she" when describing secretarial and nursing courses. Vocational officials
agreed that potential students studying this material might get the impression
that courses were restricted to members of one sex.
Sometime.s classes were physically located in a manner which could encourage
sex role stereotyping. In one secondary area vocational school, clerical, health
and cosmetology courses were offered in one building and all other courses in an
adjacent building. Female students questioned by us about their vocational in-
terests said the courses they were taking did not necessarily coincide with what
they hoped to do later. They said their choices for training were limited because
girls were not allowed in the "boys" building. The school director agreed that
girls might get that impression but said that girls could apply for courses offered
in the other building.34
32 Jack Conrad Willers, "The Impact of Women's Liberation on Sexist Education and Its
Implications for Vocational-Technical and Career Education" (paper delivered to the
Regional Seminar/Workshop on Women in the World of Work conducted by the Technical
Education Research Centers), mimeographed (Nashville, Tenn. : Department of liistory
and Philosophy of Education, George Peabody College for Teachers, 1974), p. 8.
Holmes (note 5 above), PP. 11-12 (see U.S. Department of Health, Education, and
Welfare, Office for Civil Rights, "A Guide to Compliance Enforcement in Area Vocational-
Education Schools (AVES)," prepared by Policy and Program Development Branch. liMe-
-mentary and Secondary Education Division. mimeographed (Washington, D.C.: HEW.
1974)). For local studies of vocational school policies that discriminate on the basis of
-sex, see Jean L. Ambrose, "The Dual Problems of Sexism and Sex Discrimination in Voca-
tional Education in New Jersey," New Jersey Education Association Publication No:
ID-WIE-Ol (Trenton, N.J.: State Department of Education) ; Marcia Federhush. "Let
Them Aspire !" report of the Committee To Eliminate Sexual Discrimination in the Public
Schools, 3d edition (Ann Arbor, Mich., January 1973) ; Gail Byran. "Discrimination on the
lOuis of Sex in Occupational Education In the Boston Public Schools," mimeographed
(Boston: Boston Commission To Improve the Status of Women, 1972) : Massachusetts
Advisory Council on Vocational-Technical Education, "Status of Women In Occupational
Education," in "An Evaluation of Occupational Education in Massachusetts: The Fourth
Annual Report of the Massachusetts Advisory Council on Vocational-Technical Education"
(Boston: Massachusetts State Department of Education, 1973), Pp. 81-85: Regina Healy
and Diane Lund, "Chapter 622: One State's Mandate," Inequality in Education, No. 18
(October 1974), pp. 36-46; testimony of Raymond C. Parrot, executive director. Massa-
chusetts Advisory Council on Vocational-Technical Education, submitted to the House of
Representatives Committee on Education and Labor, Subcommittee on Elementary, Sec-
ondary, and Vocational Education. Mar. 17, 1975.
3-i The Comptroller General of the United States, "What Is the Role of Federal Assistance
for ~ ocational Education? Report to the Congress" (Washington D.C. : General Account-
lag Office, 1974), pp. 84, 86.
PAGENO="0220"
212
TABLE 2.-FEMALES AS A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL VOCATIONAL EDUCATION ENROLLEES FOR EACH PROGRAM
AREA, 1969 AND 1972
1969
1972
Agriculture 1
Distributive education 50
Health 96
6
52
81
Home economics: gainful 97
Office 38
Technical education 8
Trades/industry~_ 14
80
83
12
~
Subtotal, gainful only
Home economics: homemaking 97
40
60
Total, homemaking 51
55
Sources: 1969: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education, `Vocational Edu~
cation Characteristics of Teachers and Students, 1969," by Evelyn R. Kay (Washington, D.C., Government
Printing Office, 1970), p. 9, 1972; HEW, Office of Education, `Vocational Education: Characteristics of
Student and Staff 1972," pp. 11, 57.
Table 2 shows that the distribution of secondary level vocational
education feinaJe enrollees among program areas was slightly less
stereotyped in 1972 than in 1969, but progress needs to be made for
girls and boys to be equally distributed among program areas. Marilyn
Steele has pointed out that the concentration of girls within this nar-
row range of programs is discriminatory, not only because it results in
women having considerably lower wages than men, but. because the pro-
gram areas in which women are concentrated have a much higher
student/faculty ratio and lower per student expenditures than those
in which boys are concentrated. The program areas (health, homemak-
ing, gainful home economics, and office programs) in which girls
predominate had an average of 13 more students per teac.her than
those in which boys are concentrated (agriculture, distribution, tech-
nical, a.nd trades and industry) in 1972.~°
Quoting from a 1974 speech by HEW's acting assistant. secretary of
education, the GAO report identified the consequences of these forms
of discrimination: "In one city the average, expected-wage for trades
learned by girls was 47 perce.nt lower than for trades learned by boys.
So not only were students channeled into traditionally male or female
jobs, but girls were guided into employment `at lower income levels."
Law enforcement rather t.han research is needed to end these forms
of sex discrimination, and the Office of Civil Rights has only
begun to enforce the law. Women's organizations and individual
women have filed suit against officers of federal agencies who a.re re-
sponsible for enforcing the lairs, title. IX. title VII. VIII, and the
fifth amendment to the Constitution, which require that Federal funds
not be extended to educational institutions that have employment prac:
tices and education policies which discrimination on the basis of sex.3'
°5 Marilyn Steele "women in Vocational Education," Project Base1ine supplemental
report submitted under contract to Technical Education Research Centers, Inc. (Flagstaff,
Ariz., Oct. 30, 1974), pp. 45, 47, 48.
°~ Ibid.
°° The women's Equity Action League, the National Organization for Woa~eu, the National
Education Association, the Federation of Organizations for Professional women. tbe
Association of women in Science, and the U.S. National Student Association are the
plaintiffs in the case. Caspar weinberger, Secretary of the Department of Health. Educa-
tion, and Welfare; Peter Holmes, director of the Office for Civil Rights. HEW: Peter J.
Brennan, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor; and Philip J. Davis. director of the
Office of Federal Contract Compliance. Department of Labor, are the defendants (`Women's
Equity Action League et al. V. TVeinbergcr et a!., presently pending in the District Court
for the District of Columbia (civil action No. 74-1720)).
PAGENO="0221"
213
Adequate enforcement of these laws will require that a large number
of professional and clerical personnel be added to the 847 professional
and clerical workers who now staff the central and regional offices of
the U.S. Office of Civil Rights, and that the enforcement budget be
increased.35
Additional barriers confront pregnant girls when they seek to remain
in or be admitted to secondary vocational programs in many parts of
the Nation. Only anecdotal information is available so far on the ex-
tent to which pregnant, physically able girls are refused admission to
or retention in secondary vocational programs.
At the postsecondary level the admission process is more complex.
Many potential postsecondary women are not situated so that they can
readily enter a course of study. They are scattered. Some are employed.
Some are full-time housewives with infants or toddlers. Others have
reared their children. Consequently, the first major question involved
in the admission process of postsecondary vocational education pro-
grams is, who is notified of the program? Publicity about a program
relayed oniy through announcements in secondary schools and work-
places is less likely to reach unemployed housewives than if it is also
relayed through posters in laundromats and churches, PTA newslet-
ters, television advertisements, or articles in the women's section of
local newspapers. Likewise, at the workplace, publicity about voca-
tional education programs is more likely to reach women if it is related
through posters placed in those areas of the shop where they are likely
to see them. A useful model is provided by Florence Mintz's demon-
stration research project which used a multimedia approach including
newspapers, brochures, direct mailings, radio, and television to recruit
mature women (over age 30) into the drafting and design program
of the Union County Technical Institute in New Jersey.39
The second question relating to postsecondary admission is, what im-
pression does publicity concerning the program arid the pro~ram itself
make on its female audience? Are only men pictured on the posters?
Is the word "he" but not "she" used to describe applicants? Do women
students have the impression from their friends that they will not. be
welcome in particular programs? The third question is, how do post-
secondary vocational education admission counselors advise women of
various backgrounds? Do they recommend that mothers with young
children not. enter the program? Do they tell women,"Of course you
can enroll in the industrial course, hut I don't know why a. good-look-
ing girl like you woul.d want to"? The final question is, as at the sec-
ondary level, will teachers and admissions officers admit ~women to
traditionally male courses of study?
B. Eimroiiment
Assuming access, women are confronted by a series of questions about
the feasibility of enrollment in postsecondary vocational programs.
3S Statement of Nancy Penman, director of the Department of Program Development.
American Federation of State. county, and Municipal Employees, testifying on l)ehalf of
the Coalition of Labor Union Women on Sex Discrimination in Vocational Education before
the Subcommittee on Elementary. Secondary. and Vocational Education of the House
Committee on Education and Labor. Mar. 17. 1975. p. 9.
~ Florence Mintz. "Development of a Model for the Recruitment of Mature Women in
Traditionally Male-Oriented Occupational Education Programs" (dissertation proposal for
the Department of Vocational Education, Rutgers University, 1974), pp. 6, 5, 33.
PAGENO="0222"
214
Mothers are the hardest hit. Some may be unable to enroll simply be~-
cause schools are physically inaccessible or do not offer convenient
hours of operation. Locating programs near public transportation lines
and decentralizing them would enable larger numbers of women to~
take advantage of them.
Financial aid and child care are also crucial problems. While. men
need financial aid as much as women, the absence of adequate child-
care facilities makes it difficult for women to enroll in a.ny advanced
education offering, and even more difficult for those women with limited
finances.
These enrollment issues pertain primarily to women interested in
postsecondary vocational education programs. But with increasing
numbers of girls marrying early or becoming pregnant. inside, or out-
side of marriage, there is also a growing need for suitable programs
at the secondary level.40
0. Instruction
Following a survey of secondary-school curricula, Janice Law
Trecker concluded that "In perhaps no other area of the curriculum is
there more need for non-stereotyped information and for positive role
models for young women than in vocational training and career ediica-
tion . . . traditional stereotypes about the proper work for women
have combined with overt economic. discrimination to greatly restrict
the aspirations and opportunities of the female secondary school stu-
dent. . . . materials and programs which mi~ht enlarge the career
possibilities and raise the aspirations of young women should be. a..
high priority item in any responsible school program." 41 The first. step
along the way to supplying the kinds of materials and programs
Trecker refers to would be an effort to screen curricular materials for
sex stereotypes a.nd make revisions where the materials are found to~
be biased.
Another useful sten would be the introduct.ion~ in the first year of see-
ondary vocational education, of a course on the. changing career 1)at-
terns of women in the TJnitecl States. manpower proiections and their
implications for stu dents' occunational choices. the wage differentials
of various occupations, and Federal and State equal emnloyment. laws.
"A. Working Women's Guide to Her Job Rights." published by the
`[F.S. Department of Labor. is a useful basic text. for the latter part of
the course.42 In-service training programs that provide relevant in-
~° In 1969. the year for which the most recent statistics are available. there were 176.3Ofl
births among unmarried girls age 19 and youneer and about tl1e same number to marrl°d
girls. hut conceived prior to marriare. Approximately three-fourths of these girls said they
had not wanted to become pregnant, most were banned from high school during their
pregnancies, and many were unable to return after they gave birth (Lee Morris. "Estimat-
ing the Need for Family Planning Services Among Unwed Teenagers." Family Planniag
Perspectives 6. No. 2 (sprIng 1974) : 93 (hereafter F.P.P.) : see Sadja Golrismith. vary 0.
Gabrielson. Ira Gabrielson, Vicki Mathews. and Leah Potts. "Teenagers. Sex, and Contra--
ception." F.P.P.. vol. 4. No. 1 (January 1972) : Melvin Zelnick and John F. Kantner. `The
Resolution of Teenage First Pregnancies." F.P.P.. vol. (1. No. 2 (spring 1974) : end "Sexu-
alitv. Contraception, and Pregnancy Among Younc Unwed Females in the United States."
in Commission on Population Growth and the American Future Reports. vol. 1. Demo-
gr°nhie and Social Aspects of Population (irowth. editors, C. F. Westoff and R. Parke
(Washington. D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1972) : Mary E. Lane, "Contraception for
Adolescents," FTP., vol. 5. No, 1 (winter 1973) Elizabeth A. House and Sad4a Gold-
smith, "Planned Parenthood Services for the Young Teenager." F.P.P., vol. 4 No. 2 (AnriF
1972); Jane Menken, "The Health and Social Consequences of Teenage Childbearing,"
F.P.P., vol. 4, No. 3 (July 1972).
41 Jo nice Law Trecker, "Sex Stereotyping in the Secondary S~hioo1 Curriculum." Phi
Delta Kappan 55, No. 2 (October 1973) : 112.
42 U.S. Department of Labor..Women's Bureau, "A Working Woman'~ Gtiide to Her Job'
Rights" (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1974).
PAGENO="0223"
215
formation and guidelines for teachers, counselors, and administrators
would also be helpful.
Another very important factor, though not normally thought of as
part of instruction, is the presence of women in responsible positions
in the school. The absence of women in administrative and faculty po-
sitions outside of home economics, health, and business-related voca-
tional programs serves as a silent but potent message to female stu-
dents. Elizabeth Camp King found that, in public community junior
colleges, women comprise only 29 percent of the total faculty and that
92 percent of the female vocational education faculty is concentrated in
health (57 percent) , business (28 percent), and home economics (7 per-
cent) ~ The other vocational programs-agriculture, distribution,
technical, and trades and industry-are dominated by men.44 At the
secondary level, table 3 shows that, although nearly equal numbers of
men and women are vocational educators, men and women teachers are
distributed differently among the eight major teaching areas.45
TABLE 3.-PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTIONS OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION TEACHERS IN SECONDARY SCHOOL SYS
TEMS BY TEACHING AREA AND SEX, 1972-73
Teaching area
Women
98. 7
In each area
20. 5
Home economics (homemaking)
Home economics (occupational)
98. 2
5. 1
Health
88.2
3. 1
Office/business
71.8
22. 4
Distributive education
23.0
6. 7
Trades/industry
10.7
29. 1
Technical education
1.5
3.5
Agriculture
(1)
9. 6
Total
49. 1
100.0
I Less than 0.05 percent.
Source: HEW, Office of Education, `Vocational Education: Characteristics of Students and Staff, 1972," pp. 37, 45.
~ Elizabeth Camp King, "Perceptions of Female Vocational Faculty Members as Seen by
Themselves and College Administrators" (State College: State Departunent of Vocational
Education, Pennsylvania State University, 1974).
~ Ibid., p. 73.
~ Women received the following percentages of the degrees conferred in 1970-71
Bachelor
of arts
Master
of arts
Doctor of
philosophy
Industrial arts, vocational and vocational/technical educa-
tion
Agricultural education
Home economics education
1.5
1.0
98.5
5.3
4.7
90.4
5.7
2.3
90 4
Source: U.S. Department of I-Iealth, Education, and Welfare, National Center for
Educations Statistics, Office of Education, Earned Degrees Confered 19 70-71 by Mary
Evans Hooper (Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office, 1973), pp. 173-208;
cited in Steele, p. 113.
PAGENO="0224"
216
At high administrative and advisory council levels, women appear in
only token numbers. In a random sample of 400 area vocational
schools, Sites found that men comprised 93 percent of the directors.~6
Only one woman iscurrently employed as a State director of vocational
education or as a State supervisor outside of the fields of business, dis-
tribution, health, and home economics.~~
To upgrade vocational education, part F of the 1967 Educational
Professions Development Act (EPDA) and title II of the 1968 Voca-
tional Education Amendments provided for "leadership development
awards" for individuals to undertake graduate work in such areas as
administration, supervision, teacher education, research, and curricu-
lum development "in order to meet the needs in all the States for quali-
fied vocational education personnel" (section 552) 48 and for grants to
State boards "to pay the cost of carrying out cooperative" projects "for
the training or retraining of experienced vocational education person-
nel such as teachers, teacher educators, administrators, supervisors, and
coordinators, and other personnel, in order to strengthen education
programs and the administration of schools offering vocational edu-
cation" (section 553) .~ In 1970-72, the leadership development awards
were for 3-year doctoral studies; in 1973, they were used for 1-year
leadership development programs. Eleven institutions of higher edu-
cation received section 552 grants as well as State grants for section 553
programs.5° The directors and State coordinators for these programs.
who in all 11 institutions were selected from the ranks of existing staff,
were all white men.5' Of the 160 participants in the first 11, 3-year
EPDA doctoral programs, only 20 (12.5 percent) were women; of the
56 participants in the 7 subsequent 3-year EPDA doctoral programs
only 16 (28.6 percent) were female. Women, however, comprised a con-
siderable higher and increasing percentage of the participants of the
~The random sample of 400 directors was drawn from a total of 2.14S area vocational
school directors in the United States (Patricia Tucker Sites. "Perceptions of Professional
Female Vocational Faculty and Their Administrators of the Role of Professional Women in
Area Vocational Schools" (DR. dissertation, Pennsylvania State University. 1975). pp. 29.
441. In December 1972 the house of delegates of the American Vocational Association at its
Chicago convention passed a resolution that "the * Board of Directors authorize a
study of professional employment in vocational education with regard to the number of
males and females at every level of the profession, the salaries paid to each category of
employee, and any restrictions in promotional opportunities because of sex." However, the
board of directors did not authorize the study (Elizabeth Camp King. preface: and inter-
view, Angelo Gilli, vice president, American Vocational Association. Mar. til. 1975). The
Sites and the King studies are parts of a series on the status and roles of professional
women in vocational education being conducted in the Pennsylvania Department of Voca-
tional Education and Pennsylvania State University. Other studies under this aegis are
Thomas E. Long's "Vocational Female Faculty in Postseeondary Proprietory Schoolo."
and Eugenio Basualdo's dissertation (in process) on professional women and school
administrators in comprehensive high school vocational programs. The Pennsylvania State
University Department of Vocational Education has been granted only S3.S77 to conduct
all of these projects (by the Department of Vocational Education. State of Pennsylvania.
prolect No. 14-3064-School Unit 4-10-14-720-1"). Though it has been most productive
nationally in research on women, this department was denied funds to replicate a study
of men with women subjects (Angelo C. Gilli, Sr.. professor and chairman, graduate studies
and research, Department of Vocational Education, Pennsylvania State University. letter
to Pamela Roby, Apr. 1, 1975).
4' Carol Karasik, "Women: The Job Ahead" (Washington. D.C.: Technical Education
Research Centers, January 1974), p. 2. In May 1975. one woman, Wilma Ludwig, was
appointed New Mexico's State Director of Vocational Education.
4S Public Law 90-576, 90th Cong., HR. 18366, Oct. 16, 1968, an act to amend the Voca-
tional Education Act of 1963, sec. 552(a).
4~ Ibid., sec. 553(a).
~° The 11 institutions were University of California, Los Angeles: Colorado State: Con-
necticut: Georgia; Illinois; Minnesota; Rutgers; North Carolina State: Ohio State: Okla-
homa State: Oregon State (Phillyis D. Hamilton, Marian S. Stearns, Harold R. Winslow.
Georria Gillis, and Kathryn A. Preecs, "The Education Professions 1973-74: Personnel
Development Ia Vocational Education" (Menlo Park, Calif.: Stanford Research Institute,
Oct. 31. 1974. arepared for National Center for Educational Statistics). pp. 9. 10).
51 Ibid., pp. 89-90, 93.
PAGENO="0225"
217
less prestigious 1-year EPDA graduate programs (25.4 percent in fis-
cal year 1973 and 42.4 percent in fiscal year 1974) *52
Among the members of the 50 State advisory councils on vocational
education in 1974, less than 17 percent were women.53 Three women
(only one of whom was employed) and 18 men comprised the National
Advisory Council of Vocational Education in 1975.~~ The require-
ments for members of the council set by the Vocational Education
Amendments of 1968 attempt to satisfy such interest groups as labor,
management, State, and local vocational education program aciminis-
trators, representatives of the handicapped, representatives of the
"disadvantaged," and adult vocational education groups,55 but there
is no effort made to include persons familiar with the special problems
and needs of women. The inclusion of such a person would help assure
that issues relating to women are treated adequately. The inclusion of
more women on the advisory councils would obviously help to elimi-
nate the stereotype that women do not belong in positions of
responsibility.
D. Counseling
In their advice to students, counselors may, wittingly or not, re-
inforce stereotypes that prevent women from thinking more broadly
about career decisions.56
Much of the information they provide (in the tests and career in-
terest inventories they use), the literature they distribute, and the
films they show contain traditional views of occupational and career
opportunities for women.57 Counselors would benefit greatly in their
efforts to overcome their stereotyped materials from the National
~ Muriel Shay Tapman, education program specialist, vocational education personnel
development staff, Office of Education, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare,
letter to Pamela Roby, Mar. 13, 1975. (Note: fiscal year 1974 funds were utilized for
programs which began in September 1974 and terminated in August 1975.)
~ In 1974, 862 men, 149 women, 108 blacks (81 males), 25 Spanish surname (19 males),
17 American Indian (12 males), 15 "other" (Filipinos, Orientals, Hawaiians-all males),
and 846 caucasians (735 males) comprised the State advisory councils on vocational edu-
cation (data from JoAnn Steiger, National Advisory Council on Vocational Education staff
member, interview, Aug. 9, 1975).
~` The female members of the National Advisory Council on Vocational Education are
Joanne Cohen (student), Caroline Hughes, and Margo Thornly.
~ Public Law 90-576, sec. 104. Because appointments on State advisory councils on
vocational education are not restricted numerically, appointment to them is less competitive
than to the National Advisory Council. The State councils are appointed by th~ Governor.
except in those States where the State board of education is elected by the people, In which
case the council Is appointed by the president of the State board (Martha G. Bachman.
chairperson, Committee on Equal Educational Opportunity, National Advisory Council on
~Tocational Education, letter to Pamela Roby, Dec. 2, 1974).
° For a fine annotated bibliography on the determinants of women's career choices, see
Helen S. Astin, Nancy Sunlewick, and Susan Dweck, "Women: A Bibliography on Their
Education and Careers" (Washington, D.C.: Human Service Press, 1971), pp. 27-79.
Compare Ella Mae Bowen, "Factors Related to Teacher Assignment of Students to
School Curriculums," an Ed.D. dissertation, Department of Education, University of Illinois
at Urbana, 1975~; Margaret Mosure Torrie. "Identification of Student Employment Deter-
minants by Cluster Area and by Sex, Related to Participating and Nonparticipating
Cooperative Education Youth in Selected Urban Programs," an Ed.D. dissertation, Depart-
ment of Education, University of Illinois, Urbana, 1976.
~7 No indepth study has been made of the effect of counseling on girls' role development.
Results of a 4-year longitudinal study of female undergraduate students conducted at
Stanford University show that "women students need special encouragement to develop
Intellectual, artistic, and professional ambitions." The study revealed further that "some-
times e.ven a subtle form of consent or disapproval from a male served as a stimulus for a
young woman to advance or retreat" (Marjorie M. Lozoff, "Abstract of College Influences
on the Role Development of Female Undergraduates," mimeographed (Palo Alto, Calif.:
Stanford Institute for the Study of Human Problems, 1969), p. 3: compare Agnes C. Rezier,
"Characteristics of High School Girls Choosing Traditional or Pioneer Vocations," Person-
nel and Guidance Journal, vol. 45, pp. 659-665).
91-686---77----15
PAGENO="0226"
218
Institute of Education's recently developed "Guidelines for Assess-
ment of Sex Bias and Sex Fairness in Career Interest Inventories."
Another good resource for career counselors is the film on women in
apprenticable occupations entitled "Never Underestimate the Power
of a Woman," produced by the U.S. Department of Labor-snonsored
Wisconsin IiVomen in Apprenticeship project, which is available from
the 1Visconsin Employment Service. Though this film portrays only
women in their thirties or older, it would be appreciated as ~vell by
younger girls, especially in the absence. to date, of a similar film fo'r
younger women. The Sex Equality in Guidance. Opportunities project
(SEGO) of the American Personnel and Guidance Association
(APGA) funded by the U.S. Office of Education also offers elemen-
tary and secondary school counselors technical assistance in chan&ng
sex-role stereotypes.59
Vocational education counseling for women would be greatly en-
hanced by offering summer institutes or in-service training programs
to counselors to provide them with the most up-to-date information
and to assist them in finding new means to help junior and senior
high school girls consider a wide range of job possibilities and enroll
in courses that will help them to qualify for jobs other than those
traditionally viewed as women's.
At the point that a girl decides she would like a career in the labor
force, a counselor can be very helpful. Considering her earlier social-
ization, a girl may begin to experience self-doubt, the result of "inter-
nalized ba.rriers"-is this the proper thing for a. woman to do? Will
men still like me? Will I lose my femininity? Will I be able to do a
good job? She may also discover that she cannot gain access to the
courses she wants, and that she is unable to find a counselor who has
more than a minimum of information or support for her.60 Indeed,
Bailey and Stadt point out that the knowledge base required for
effective, informed occupational advising of girls has yet to be devel-
oped. They explain that "major theoretical formulations have not
distinguished between the sexes, and empirical tests for these theories
have been limited almost entirely to boys and men. Only a few studies
have approched female vocational behavior from the standpoint of the
currently accepted theories." 61 Certainly, McAlister as well as Bailey
58 National Institute of Education, "Guidelines for Assessment of Sex Bias and Sex Fair-
ness in Career Interest Inventories,'~ in Issues of Sex Bias and Sex Fairness in Career
Interest Measurement, editor, Esther B. Diamond (Washington, D.C.: Government Print-
ing Office 1975, available from Career Education Program, National Institute of Educa-
tion, Washington, D.C. 20208), pp. xxlil-xxiX; compare Carol B. Crump, editor, Report of
Proceedings: Workshop on Sex Bias and Sex Fairness in Career Interest Inventories
(Washington, D.C.: National Institute of EducatIon, November 1974).
~° In its descriptive brochure, "The Sex Equality in Guidance Opportunities Project."
SEGO states, "In considering the question of sex equality, it is important to recognize that
sex bias need not be blatant or malicious before it can be damaging. Counselors and other
educators are key individuals who motivate and guide students in the selection of course
offerings and careers. Their programs and materials should be free of sex bias. To reach
these key persons 5 8 8 the State trainers of the SEGO project (one from each State and
the District of Columbia), were selected and brought to Washington, D.C., for an intensive
4-day training workshop (on various questions related to sex discrimination 8 8 * and
strategies for change. 8 8 8 [T]he State trainers 8 8 * will go back to their States and
conduct local workshops C * 8 under the project's direction and funding. 8 8 8 [A] multi-
media kit for [their] * C C use ~ * ~ contains nearly 100 Items of print materials, a
new filmstrip, [a] booklet [which] lists organizations, publishers and reports [about] C C *
sex bias * [and] a list of the 51 State trainers. * * * A final report of the project
will be available In the fall of 1975." Copies of this booklet or information about the project
can be obtained from the SEGO project, APGA, Sex Equality in Guidance Opportunities
Project, 1607 New Hampshire Avenue, NW., Washington, D.C. 20009.
6O Compare Kaufman et al (note 5 above), pp. 10-14; JoAnn Gardner, `Sexist Counsel-
ing Must Stop," Personnel and Guidance Journal 49 (1971) : 705-715.
~ Larry J. Bailey and Ronald W. Stadt, "Career Education: New Approaches to Human
Development (Bloomington, Ill. : McKnight Publishing Co., 1973), p. 140.
PAGENO="0227"
219
and Stadt suggest that research needs to be undertaken on the manner
in which females make career decisions and on how career advising
processes for girls and women may be improved.02
Improved career counseling, Bailey and Stadt suggest, should begin
with the concept of total life planning. Since, they write, a shift has
occurred from the "traditionally organized family where the husband
was the sole breadwinner and the wife was the sole homeniaker, to
multiple-role families in which both partners share responsibilities
for the household tasks and for earning * * * young women need to
prepare for multiple roles during different periods of their lives." ~
Girls might also be given the opportunity to consider being, and to
prepare for being, single most or all their Jives. Bailey and Stadt
recommend two areas in which changes should begin. The first is to
expose myths about women. The U.S. Department of Labor's hand-
out entitled "The Myth and the Reality" provides accurate informa-
tion in a readable form about such myths as "women work only for
`pin money,'" women cost companies more because they are "ill more
than male workers," and "men do not like to work for women super-
visors." ~ The se.cond area is "expansion of educational programs and
services to help girls and women become aware of the broader oppor-
tunities open to them." Here, they suggest that consciousness-raising
group meetings might expedite "recognition of the fact that many of
women's problems are universal and not individual" and that this
recognition might accelerate "individual discovery and self-develop-
ment." 65 This process can be enriched by occasional meetings with
counselors who utilize informational brochures and slide shows con-
cerning vocational and educational opportunities.
I would add seven suggestions. Vocational education counselors
might provide girls with tours of a variety of vocational classrooms
and visits to a variety of industries so that they may learn not only
about the nature of specific jobs but also about wage differentials
among jobs and industries.66 Women employed in a wide range of
traditionally male and female occupations might be invited to discuss
their experiences with students. Although boys are generally better
informed than girls about industrial and other jobs, such tours and
discussions would also be useful to them. Counselors could provide
girls and women with information about occupational trends. Be-
cause we do not know enough about how sex-role stereotypes dam-
pen girls' motivations to pursue traditionally male careers, imagina-
tive research is needed. For example, a series of posters showing
women in different kinds of work with various kinds of slogans could
be tested for varying responses among girls of differing ages.67 Girls
and women already in a traditionally male vocational education pro-
gram could serve as "big sisters" to those newly entering the program.
~ Bernard Milton McAlister, "Curriculum Selection Success of 10th Grade Girls as Re-
lated to Selected Ninth Grade Characteristics" (State College: State Department of \Toca~
tional Education, Pennsylvania State University, 1974), pp. 92-03; H. A. Rose and C. F.
Elton, "Sex and Occupational Choice," Tournal of Counseling Psychology, vol. IS, No. 5
(1971).
°~ Bailey and Stadt, p. 143.
~ U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau, "The Myth and the Reality" (Washing-
ton. D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1971).
~ Bailey and Stadt, p. 146.
~ Sally Hillsman Baker conducted an In-depth study of a large New York City vocational
high school and found that, through a variety of actions, the school sorted women into
different levels of work according to their racial and ethnic background (Sally Hillsman
Baker, "Entry Into the Labor Market: The Preparation of Negro and White Vocational
High School Graduates" (Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 1970).
°~ I am indebted to Norma Wikler for this idea.
PAGENO="0228"
220
Simulated job-experience programs like those developed by John
Krumboltz et al. in medical laboratory technology, X-ray technology,
sales, and banking could be developed for girls and women in job
areas in which expansion is projected. The Krumboltz Career Kits
present problems "typical of those encountered by workers in the five
occupations. The materials present the information necessary to solve
the problems," give "subjects an opportunity to solve the problems,"
and allow "them to compare their answers with the correct ones." The
Krumboltz Kits "consistently produced more interest and more occu-
pational information seeking" among students than control treat-
ments.68 Joseph Champagne has pointed out that, to insure the accept-
tance of such counseling and educational programs by parents and
community members, counselors should educate these groups about
the need to open traditionally male occupations to women. Open
houses and meetings with parents; addresses to community groups;
television, radio, and newspaper exposure; film and/or slide presen-
tations; and the distribution of informational brochures may all be
useful.69
The counselor's role in vocational education for women needs to be
`expanded to include actual job counseling. In many communities,
despite equal employment laws, jobs in traditionally male occupations
are still not made available to women. Kaufman's study shows that
men are considerably more likely than women to obtain their first job
through a relative or friend.70 Because this "old boy" system main-
tains prejudices, and because many employers have thefr own sexist
inclinations, vocational education counselors need to develop strate-
gies to encourage local employers to hire women and to increase
t~he number of women they hire directly from vocational education
schools for nontraditional occupations.
Along with increasing employers' willingness to hire women and
helping women students to find jobs, counselors could teach students
techniques for applying and interviewing for jobs. Because of their
early socialization, many women are overly modest about their abili-
ties. They need to be taught that a bit of honest boasting is called
for on job applications and in interviews.
68 The Krumboltz kits are now being distributed by Science Research Associates under
the name "Job Experience Kits" (see John D. Krumboltz, Lawrence E. Sheppard, G. Brian
Jones. Richard G. Johnson, and Ronald D. Baker, "vocational Problem-Solving Experiences
for Stimulating Career Exploration and Interest," final report to U.S. Office of Education
under contract No. OE-5-S5-059 (School of Education, Stanford university, August
1967) Krumboltz, Ronald D. Baker, and Richard G. Johnson, "vocational Problem-Solving
Experiences for Stimulating Career Exploration and Interest: Phase II," final report to
U.S. Office of Education under contract No. OEG-4-7-070111-2890 (School of Education.
Stanford University, August 1968) ; documents Ed015517 and Ed029101. available from the
ERIC Document Reproduction Service, P.O. Drawer 0, Bethesda, Md. 20044). Cf. Linda B.
Stebbins, Nancy L. Ames, Ilana Rhodes, "Sex Fairness in Career Guidance: A Learning
Kit," Cambridge, Mass.: Abt Publications, 1976; Louise Vetter, Alice J. Brown, Barbara
J. Sethney, "Women in the Work Force: Followup Study of Curriculum Materials," Colum-
bus, Ohio: Center for Vocational Education, Ohio State University, 1975.
69 "Equal Vocational Education," a project by the Center for Human Resources, Uni-
versity of Houston, in cooperation with the Houston Independent School District, sponsored
by the Division of Occupational Research and Development, Texas Education Agency,
February 1975-June 1976, mimeographe.d (Houston, Tex.: University of Houston. 1976),
p. 5; cf. Jane Lerner, Fredell Bergstrom, and Joseph E. Champagne, "Equal Vocational Edu-
cation, Houston, Tex.: Center for Human Resources, University of Houston, 1976.
PAGENO="0229"
221
IV. CoNcLusIoN
Civil rights laws now state that women may participate fully and
equally in the labor market. The industrial and social fabric of this
nation requires that women be granted training to qualify for full
participation and to be self-supporting. What is required now to help
fulfill the Federal mandate is the extension of all types of vocational
education to women. In the appendix, I offer a series of suggestions
for amending of the U.S. "Vocational Education Amendments of
168" which are designed (a) to include the female sex specifically,
(b) to treat women with equality in all aspects of vocational educa-
tion, and (c) to take various steps to advance opportunities for girls
and women and to overcome sex stereotyping and sexual biases within
vocational education programs. In addition, recommendations are
made for Federal and State policy on affirmative action matters, as
well as the development and use of quality films to broaden women's
participation in vocational education and jobs. Finally, suggestions
are offered to guarantee equity to women in research and develop-
ment programs in the vocational education field.
At the local level, policymakers, administrators, and program de-
velopers could assist high school girls by removing barriers to their
entry into schools and courses for which they otherwise qualify, by
reviewing the curriculum and counseling materials for misleading
stereotypes, and by providing inservice training programs for teach-
ers and counselors.
At the postsecondary vocational education level, policymakers and
administrators could help women by providing child care at low
sliding-scale rates, by examining who is notified by postsecondary vo-
cational education programs and extending publicity to all groups of
women currently not reached, and by examining all public informa-
tion materials for sex bias. They might also locate vocational, pro-
grams near public transportation lines and decentralize programs so
that women without cars may participate in them, form student sup-
port groups of women who have returned to school after several years
of absence, and ascertain that all students receive information con-
cerning recent equal employment laws and opportunities for women
in traditionally male occupations.
We can hope that when Federal, State, and local legislators and
administrators establish a full employment economy, they will also
provide women with equal vocational education opportunities.
APPENDIX
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AMENDMENTS
TouTard the goal of guaranteeing equity for women in vocational education,
I recommend that the Vocational Educational Amendments of 10~8 be further
amended as follows:
Section 101 ("Declaration of Purpose") to state that "members of both
sexes shall be given equal educational opportunities in all areas of voca-
tional education."
Section 104 ("National and State Advisory Councils"-subsections [a]
[1] and [b] [1]) of the Amendments to state that the National and the
State Advisory Councils on Vocational Education "shall include persons
(a) who are familiar with the special problems women must confront in
vocational education, and (b) wli o are representative of women."
PAGENO="0230"
222
Section 106 ("Labor Standards") which states: "All laborers and me-
chanics employed by contractors or subcontractors on all construction
projects assisted under this title shall be paid wages at rates not less than
those prevailing as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance
with the Davis-Bacon Act, as amended (40 U.S.C. 276a-276a-5) " to state,
`and shall be hired, promoted and paid wages without regard to sex, race,
color, religion or national origin."
Section 107 ("Limitation on Payments under This Title") to include a sub-
section (c) which states: "Nothing contained in this title shall be construed
to authorize the making of any payment under this title for sexually segre~
gated instruction, or for the construction, operation, or maintenance of any
facility which is used or is to be used for sexually segregated instruction."
Section 122 ("Uses of Federal Funds"), subsection (a) (6) ("Grants to
States for Vocational Guidance and Counseling") to authorize, as Steiger has
recommended, the use of funds to educate guidance counselors about the
changing wOrk patterns of women, to train them in ways of effectively con-
fronting occupational sex stereotyping and of helping girls and women base
their career choices on their occupational needs and interests rather than on
sex stereotypes,1 and to develop career-counseling materials which are free
of sexual bias.
Section 122 (a) (8) to authorize the use of funds for the development of
curriculum materials and in-service training programs to overcome sex bias
in vocational education programs and to enable teachers to meet the voca-
tional education needs of female students.2
Section 122 (b) to authorize 100 percent federal funding to states for the
establishment of an Office for Women within the State Departments of Vo-
cational Education which would (a) gather and analyze data on the status
of female students and employees throughout the state vocational educa-
tion system: (b) coordinate actions to correct the problems uncovered by
the data analysis: (e) review the dissemination of grants by the State De-
partment of Vocational Education and assure that women's interests and
needs are addressed by the projects funded; (a) review vocational educa-
tion programs in the state for sex bias; (e) review all hiring, firing, and
promotion procedures within the state vocational education system for
sex discrimination; (f) review and submit recommendations for the annual
State Vocational Education Plan; (g) assist local school systems and
others in the state in improving vocational education opportunities for
women: and (it) develop an annual report on the status of women within
the state's vocational education system; submit it to the State Commis-
sioner Of Vocational Education. the State Board of Vocational Education,
the State and the National Advisory Councils on Vocational Education, the
State Commission on the Status of Women, and the Commissioner of the
U.S. Office of Education; and make it available to all interested parties.3
Section 1.23 ("State Plans") subsection (a) (3) which reads: "Any State
dessring to receive the amount for which it is eligible for any fiscal year
pursuant to this title shall submit a State plan at such time, in such detail.
and containing such information as the Commissioner deems necessary.
which meets the requirements set forth in this title. The Commissioner
shall approve a plan submitted by a State if he determines that the plan
submitted for that year . . . (3) has been submitted only after the state
hoard . . ." to also state: (C) has assured the review of the Plan by the
Office for Women of the State Department of Vocational Education, has
itself given due consideration to the needs of female students, and has as-
sured that all programs and projects included under the plan are designed
to attract persons of both sexes and that no ~ex stereotyping exists in the
programs and projects included under the plan.
Section 123. subsection (a) (6) to specify that 5 percent of Part B funds
be set aside for a State incentive program for local school districts to en-
courage schools to overcome sex bias in vocational education.
1 JoAnn M. Steicer, "Overcoming Sex Stereotyping in Vocational EducatIon: Ilecom-
menilations for Revising the Vocational Education Amendments of 196S." mimeographed
(McLean. Va.: Steiger, Fink, 1974), p. 6.
lJhici p.5.
Wisconsin and North Carolina now have State-funded positions to review all voentional
education programs anti research for sexual and racial bias and to encourage positive pro-
grams for women anti minorities.
PAGENO="0231"
223
Section 123, subsection (a) (17) to require the submision of employment
and enrollment data by sex for all vocational education programs.
Section 131 ("Research and Training in Vocational Education-Author-
ization of Grants and Contracts") subsections (a) and (b) to provide for
5 percent of all grant funds to be set aside to be used as incentives to grant
and contract recipients to include females in their (1) research and train-
ing programs, (2) experimental, developmental, or pilot programs, and (3)
dissemination of information derived from the foregoing programs or re-
search.
Section 132 ("Research and Training in Vocational Education-Uses of
Federal Funds") to include a subsection stating that funds may be used
to investigate sex bias in the vocational education system; and to develop
research, training, experimental, developmental, and pilot programs; eval-
uation, demonstration, and dissemination projects; and new vocational ed-
ucation curricula and counseling materials designed to equalize vocational
education opportunities for male and female students and eliminate sex
stereotyping within vocational education.
Section 133 ("Applications for Research and Training Funds") to include
a subsection (c) stating that the Commissioner `shall encourage both sexes
to apply for grants and contracts under Part C.
Section 143 ("Exemplary Programs and Projects-Users of Funds")
subsection (a) (2) to additionally include funding for (F) programs de-
signed to overcome traditional sex stereotyping in vocational education
programs, in placement services, and in programs and projects th achieve
the purposes of this part, including those of manpower agencies and in-
dustry.
Section 143, subsection (b) (1) to include a provision (D) that effective
procedures and policies will be adopted by grantees and contractors to as-
sure that no sex stereotyping exists within their programs or projects in-
cluding the exclusive use of the term "he" in materials developed under
the program or projects.
Section 143, subsection (b) to include a provision stating (5) that the Com-
missioner shall encourage both sexes to apply for grants and contracts under
Part D.
Section 161 ("Consumer and Homemaking Education") subsection (b) to
additionally state that for purposes of this part the state plan approved under
Section 123 shall set forth a program under which federal funds paid to state
from its allotment under subsection (a) will be expended solely for (3)
educational programs and ancillary services designed to attract students of
both sexes.
Section 173 ("Cooperative Vocational Education Programs-Plan Require-
ments") subsection (a) to specify that (1) funds will be used only for de-
veloping and operating cooperative work-study programs as defined in Sec-
tion 175 which . . . are free of sex stereotyping; and (8) accounting. evalua-
tion, and follow-up procedures as the Commissioner deems necessary will be
provided including evaluation of the program's benefit to both sexes.
Section 182 ("Work-Study Programs for Vocational Education Students-
Plan Requirement") subsection (b) to state that a work-study program
shall . . . (2) provide that employment under such work-study program shall
be furnished only to a student who . . . (D) has been selected without regard
to sex, race, color, religion, or national origin.
Section 191 ("Curriculum Development in Vocational and Technical Edu-
cation-Authorization") subsection (c) (1) to additionally state that sums
appropriated pursuant to subsection (b) shall be used by the Commis-
sioner . . . (G) to promote the development and dissemination of vocational
education curriculum materials which are free of sex stereotyping and which
aid both sexes in learning about a wide range of occupational subjects
regardless of the sexual stereotypes previously associated with them, to train
personnel in the use of these curricular materials, and to evaluate existing
vocational-technical education curriculum materials as to sex bias.
Section 552 ("Training and Development Programs for Vocational Educa-
tion Personnel-Leadership Development Awards") subsection (a) to specify
that the Commissioner shall make available leadership development awards
in accordance with the provisions of this part only upon his determination
that . . . (D) adequate provision has been made for appropriate selection
procedures without regard to sex, race, color, religion, or national origin.
PAGENO="0232"
224
Section 553 ("Exchange Programs, Institutes, and Inservice Education for
Vocational Education Teachers, Supervisors, Coordinators, and Adminis-
trators") subsection (b) (2) to state that Grants under this section may be
used for projects and activities such as . . . (2) in-service training programs
for vocational education teachers and other staff members to prove the
quality of instruction, supervision, and administration of vocational educa-
tion programs; and to overcome sex stereotyping and sexual biases within
vocational education programs.
Recommendations for Improved Federal and State Policies and Practices
The U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare should fully
implement the guidelines for Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of
~t972 (P.L. 92-318).
The Administration should increase its appropriations for Federal and re-
gional enforcement budgets for the U.S. Office of Civil Rights and the U.S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to the full amount authorized
by the U.S. Congress so that Federal civil rights laws may be enforced in
vocational education and elsewhere; state administrations should do likewise
for the enforcement of state civil rights laws.
The U.S. Commissioner of Education should take steps to assure that ap-
propriate affirmative action procedures are followed in the hiring and pro-
motion of state vocational education directors, state vocational education
supervisors, area vocational school directors, state vocational education coor-
dinators, state research coordinating unit directors, institutional directors
of EPDA (Education Professional Development Act) programs, and voca-
tional education teachers and counselors; in the selection and placement
follow-up of participants for EPDA programs; and in the selection of voca-
tional education research and training project directors.
The U.S. Office of Education should develop and distribute quality films
for high school girls and their parents on opportunities for women in appren-
ticeship programs and in traditionally male courses of study and jobs, on
women's needs for good-paying work today, and on equal employment laws
and women's job rights. To guarantee equity to women in vocational educa-
tion the following efforts need to be made:
The U.S. Commissioner of Education and State Directors of Vocational
Education: assure that a statement that "sex discrimination including sex
stereotyping is illegal in any form" is prominantly positioned on all an-
nouncements of, applications for, and approvals of research and development
grants.
The U.S. Commissioner of Education: keep annual status reports on the
percentage of research and development grant or contract directors who are
women: provide for the dissemination of all research findings on means of
improving the effectiveness of vocational education for women to all state
vocational education directors, all directors of state vocational education
offices for women, and all directors of vocational education systems within
the United States.
PAGENO="0233"
APPRENTICESHIP
B~ NORMA BRIGGS *
CONTENTS
Page
I. Introduction 225
II. The picture today 225
III. Exclusion of women from apprenticeship 226
IV. "Women's Work": Underrated, so not apprenticeable~_____ 228
V. Some recommendations 230
VI. Modest progress 231
I. INTRODtTCTION
Apprenticeship is an avenue to skilled, responsible, and well-paid
employment which has been, and is, blocked to most women. After
analyzing current apprenticeship statistics and discussing the reasons
for the virtual exclusion of women from apprenticeship, this paper
makes recommendations for action to encourage women's participa-
tion. Without full employment, however, efforts to increase women's
participation in apprenticeship will be less than effective, the paper
concludes. Apprenticeship opportunities tend to decrease as unem-
ployment increases; women also tend to suffer unemployment dispro-
portionately.
II. THE PICTURE TODAY
The most recent Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training report
listed 3,545 women as registered apprentices in the United. States as
of June 1976.1 Women constituted slightly over 1 percent of all 267,645
registered apprentices.
There are 415 different trades and crafts learned through appren-
ticeship at this time.~ Nationally the 21 construction trades account
for approximately 64 percent of all apprentices. Another 32 trades
account for all but 3 percent of apprentices.
The distribution of women apprentices throughout the 53 major
trades continues to be quite different than that of men. In 1975 there
were only 8 groupings listed with more than 100 women apprentices:
barbers and beauticians, bookbinders and bindery workers, carpenters,
typesetters, cooks and bakers, electricians, machinists, and toolmakers
and diemakers. Eleven percent of all women apprentices were pre-
paring to be barbers or beauticians, the only trade that had more
women (496 or 54.5 percent) than men apprentices. Seventeen percent
*Executive secretary. Wisconsin Commission on the Status of Women, Madison, Wis.
1 Data rathere~l by the State and National Apprentice System (SNAPS). Telephone
conversation with the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training (BAT), Department of
Labor.
in Apprenticeship Is a formal on-the-job training program by private industry. usually
under labor-management agreement, which requires a minimum of 1 year or 2.000 hours
of training and offers established graduated compensaaon. It is carried out by the Bureau
of Apprenticeship and Training (BAT), Department of Labor.
(225)
PAGENO="0234"
226
of all bookbinders and bindery workers were women, 9.7 percent of all
typesetters, 7.9 percent of all medical and dental technicians 5.9 per-
cent of all cooks and bakers, 5.6 percent of all electronic technicians,
5.3 percent of all industrial technicians, and 4.2 percent of all optical
workers. Of the remaining major trades, there was more than 1
woman out of every 100 apprentices only among aircraft me-
chanics, butchers and meatcutters, cabinetmakers and milirnen, drafts-
men, linemen (light and power), lithographers and photoengravers,
office machine servicemen,2 painters, patternma.kers, printing and pub-
lishing workers, and taping and dry-wall installers. Only thirty-six
hundredths of 1 percent (0.36) of all construction trades apprentices
were women.
In 1973, the first year in which the State-National Apprenticeship
Reporting System was in operation, 2,378 women were counted,
slightly less than 1 percent of that year's 243~956 registered appren-
tices. There were at that time significantly smaller numbers of women
apprentices registered as barbers and beauticians, bindery workers,
meatcutters, carpenters, cooks and bakers, linemen (light and power),
machinists, medical and dental technicians, office machine servicemen,
painters, pipefitters, printing and publishing workers, and tool and
diemakers. There were, however, larger munbers of women registered
as auto and related mechanics, bricklayers, cabinetmakers, electricians,
industrial technicians, insulation workers, lithographers, mechanics
and repairmen, plumbers and roofers than in 1975. In 19Th women
comprised thirty-five hundredths of 1 percent (0.35) of all construc-
tion trades apprentices.
III. Excr~usio~ OF WOMEN FROM APPRENTICESHIP
For the first 60 years of this century there was virtually unanimous
acceptance of the fact that the skilled trades and the apprenticeship
training that led to journeyperson status was a "male only" preserve.
With the exception of one occupation-that of beautician-almost all
employers, journeymen, apprentices and related training classroom
instructors were men. Since the first State passed a law in 1911 man-
dating the registration of all apprentice contracts, and Congress pa.ssed
the National Apprenticeship Act in 1937, all but a handful of the
Government-employed apprentice representatives were men, fre-
quently men who themselves had been trained for a trade through
apprenticeship.
It has been common knowledge among blue-collar level individuals
that workers in the skilled trades commanded good wages. Though this
was somewhat mortifying to many who spent a great. deal of time and
money obtaining college degrees as a passport to the good life, they
were able to comfort themselves with the fact that their degrees con-
ferred on them a higher status, even if no higher earning ability. The
fact is that for high school graduates who did not have the financial
resources to continue their education in the classroom, apprenticeship
2 Despite the fact that the [IS. Bureau of the Census modified titles in its occupational
classification system in 1973 to remove sex-stereotyped occupational titles, as of October
1W1G the Bureau of Apprenticeihip and Training (BAT) was still using tho old ~px:1iulctl
terminology. Nine of the fifty-three trades were listed as men of one kind or another in
reports generated by the State-National Apprentice Reporting System even thouch other
BAT publications had converted to sex-neutral terminology (for example, cabinetmaker-
machinist, wood; drafter; line installer-repairer; o~ce-machines mechanic).
PAGENO="0235"
227
training in a trade was a bargain. It offered an unparalleled oppor-
tunity to learn while earning a wage, and at the end of the 2- to 5-year
learning period, to be publicly recognized as having a valuable-if
relative low status-skill that would `be rewarded with wages sufficient
to keep a family at a satisfactory standard of living. The extraordi-
nary value of a completed apprenticeship is attested to by: (1) the
large numbers of hopefuls on the waiting lists for openings; (2) the
stories, some no doubt apocryphal, that the only way to get into a
certain trade in a given city was to be the son of a journeyman already
in it; and (3) until the affirmative action push of the past 12 years, the
almost complete absence of minorities from the skilled trades.
The reawakening of the women's movement in the late 1960's re-cre-
ated an awareness of the large-and rising-numbers of women who
headed families and who needed to become adequate breadwinners. It
was also the time when growing numbers of feminists were looking
about with new vision and exclaiming in shock at the stratification and.
segregation of society by sex. One of them, inevitably, turned her eyes
toward the blue-collar workers.
In 1970 the Manpower Administration funded a very modest re-
search and demonstration project, Women in Wisconsin Apprentice-
ships. Its goal was to isolate, analyze, and minimize the barriers to
women's entry into the skilled trades via apprenticeship.
Some of the project's findings, as summarized in the subsequent
Manpower Research Monograph No. 33, "Women in Apprenticeship-
Why Not?" ~ were unsurprising: that since the world of the skilled
trades was populated entirely by niales it simply did not occur to most
women, girls, or their counselors that they should seek to enter it. One
survey of 78 establishments that trained Wisconsin State-registered
apprentices discovered not only that all of the current apprentices
were male, but that in the memory of everyone concerned, only two
women had ever applied for an apprenticeship and both of these had
been turned down.
The survey showed that perceptions of women as workers disadvan-
taged them: almost half the respondents in all-male establishments
thought that women were not as satisfactory in production work as
men; over a quarter of all respondents felt there were sonic jobs in
their plant that no woman could ppssibly do; over three-quarters felt
there were some skilled trades particularly suited to women-most fre-
quently mentioned were sewing, upholstery, interior decorating and
drafting-while two-thirds said they would hesitate to consider a
woman for some apprenticeable trades. Over half explained that their
reluctance was due to the "unsuitable" working conditions of the trade:
the work involved long hours, was "dirty" or "heavy."
The irony of the situation was that side by side with the deepl.y held
chivalrous notions of the respondents that precluded their seriously
considering women for apprenticeship skill-training opportunities,
the same survey found that 34 of the 78 establishments employed
women on the shop floor doing unskilled work under precisely those
"unsuitable" working conditions. Thirty-two percent of the establish-
ments had women doing "dirty" work, 41 percent "noisy," 47 percent
"messy," 47 percent had women working irregular hours. These women
Norma Briggs, `Women in Apprenticeship-why Not?" Manpower Research Monograph
No. 33 (washington, D.C. 11.5. Department of Labor, 1974).
PAGENO="0236"
228
were invisible, however, since the following proportions of respondents
from the all-male shops in the same towns did not know that women
anywhere did dirty work (46 percent), worked under noisy conditions
(41 percent), did messy work (38 percent), or worked irregular hours
(29 percent).
Women were not perceived as "skilled" workers. Though all the
establishments reported some male employees doing skilled work, only
one-tenth reported employing women in a skilled capacity. When ques-
tioned in detail, however, 50 percent of the establishments that had
women on the shop floor employed them in jobs requiring mechanical
aptitude, 38 percent employed them in work requiring technical abil-
ity, and 18 percent used women in jobs that demanded mechanical skill
and experience. Once again re.spondents from the all-male shops in
the same communities demonstrated the invisibility of fa.cts when they
controvert the popular wisdom, for 44 percent of them did not know of
women anywhere who performed work that required meclia.nica.l apti-
tude, 37 percent knew of no women doing work that required techni-
cal ability, and 42 percent were ignorant of any woman doing a. job
that called for mechanical skill a.nd experience.
The misconception that commonly held stereotypes coincided with
fact was not limited to employers and apprentice supervisors. The
proj ect found evidence throughout the skilled-trade training hierarchy
that: Newspapers commonly divided help wanted classified advertise-
ments into separate male and female columns; employment service
staff-for convenience-put cards recording employment openings
into different boxes according to skilled or unskilled and male or
female; schools steered non-college-bound boys into industrial arts
classes and non-college-bound girls into home economics or typing
classes; even manpower training programs. which had the express
aim of helping families get off welfare, continued to develop dead-
end traditional women's jobs for single women heads of households
that paid them less than their welfare check entitled them to; at the
same time, men, even without families to support, were placed in
jobs with better base pay and more chance for future mobility.
IV. "WOMEN'S WORK": UNDERRATED, So NOT APPRENTICEABLE
Some of the other findings of t.he Women in Wisconsin Apprentice-
ships project were quite unexpected and have yet to be acted upon.
One discovery was that the two-volume Department of Labor publi-
cation, "The Dictionary of Occupational Titles" (DOT) was not
a.s reliable as might be expected. It described the workplace and
jobs of different complexity about as accurately as the famous New
Yorker's map of the United States, in which the South, Midwest,
and West are depicted as being so small and unimportant that New
York City and State dominate the page. In the case of the DOT,
it is jobs which develop from homemaking and parent skills that
are treated as being unimportant; occupational areas which are over-
whelmingly female, such as office and derical work, are classified in
the same negative manner. Ratings in the DOT classify the jobs of
restroom attendant, newspaper carrier. and parking lot attendant
as being comparable in complexity and level of skills as those of nurs-
ery school teacher, practical nurse, foster parent, or houseparent in
PAGENO="0237"
229
a government institution. Dog trainer and hotel clerk are rated
as far more responsible and complex than any of the above four jobs
mentioned-even more skilled than a general duty `hospital nurse.
One of the practical effects of this underrating of "women's work"
is the unrealistic automatic limitation set on training periods which
are reimbursable under federally funded employment programs. For
at least the last half-dozen years a formula to compute appropriate
length of time needed for on-the-job training for any rated jobs has
been set by a "DOT code conversion chart." The principle is simple-
the lower the complexity of the job, the less time needed to train
for it. According to this conversion chart, a person off the street
should be able to be fully trained and qualified to function as a nursery
school teacher with 4 weeks of on-the-job training. According to
Department of Labor policy, all Comprehensive Employment and
Training Act (CETA) prime sponsors offering on-the-job training
are limited to the period of time indicated by the DOT conversion
chart.
Another practical effect of the underrating of many traditional
women's jobs is virtually to exclude them from consideration for
apprenticeship. Government apprentice officials who are responsible
for registration and approval of apprentice training programs argue.
reasonably, that they cannot approve jobs classified as requiring few
or no skills as eligible for a system that requires a minimum of 1
year or 2,000 hours of on-the-job training.
Another somewhat unexpected situation that still needs to be acted
upon decisively is the following. Although there are large numbers
of skilled and paraprofessional jobs that fit criteria for apprentice-
ship,4 with one or maybe two outstanding exceptions, all trades that
have been recognized and approved for formal apprenticeships have
been in "traditionally male" occupations. Traditionally female occu-
pations have been overlooked and neglected for apprenticeship. This
is despite the fact that in some-practical nursing, for example-
there have been jobs for the already trained going begging, while
there have been women on long waiting lists for trainee slots in insti-
tutions offering formal classroom teaching that the potential trainees
can ill-afford.
When one considers the rapidly rising numbers of women heading
households and of displaced homemakers, it makes eminent sense for
government enthusiastically to sponsor apprenticeship programs in
which these women can learn new skills or sharpen old ones so that
they can be paid at the skilled level.
The women in Wisconsin apprenticeships project demonstrated
what could be done along these lines with the occupation of day care
teacher. Day care in 1971 was a rapidly expanding industry, with
most centers operating on a shoestring while expecting a massive
influx of Federal funds. Industry aims were generally high; the larger
centers were administered by idealistic child development specialists
who had no intention of simply running babysitting services, but
29 CFR, pt. 29-4 (as proposed Oct. 19, 1976) defines an apprenticeable occupation as
a skilled trade which possesses all the following: (a) It is customarily learned in a prac-
tical way through a structured, systematic program of on-the-job supervised training. (b)
It is clearly identified and commonly recognized throughout an industry. (c) It involves
manual, mechanical, or technical skills and knowledge which require a minimum of 2,000
hours of on-the-job work experience. (d) It requires related instruction to supplement the
on-the-job training.
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230
whose budgets precluded them from competing for university-trained
professional teachers. Those that received Federal funding were en-
couraged to hire parents and develop competency-based career ladders.
Many centers were struggling to provide extensive in-service training
programs on their own. As a service industry, day care was caught
in society's conflicting values; deep concern for high-quality coin-
prehensive child care, with a concomitant unwillingness to provide
adequate funds. Consequently, day care centers could not afford ap-
prenticeship's financial obligations-the payment of periodic salary
increments and of wages to both apprentices and substitute workers
during related instruction classes.
In this Wisconsin project, program startup funds were given to
employers by the Federal Government through its "jobs optional" pro-
grain for training and upgrading disadvantaged employees; assur-
ances of relevant related instruction were provided by the vocational,
technicaL and adult education system.5 These incentives more than off-
set skepticism at becoming involved in an experiment as i.mfamiliar
as apprenticeship, with its strange terminology and association (in
some employers' minds) with union control. There were, inevitably,
some program setbacks and surprises-and some innovative responses
to unprecedented situations. The experienced practitioners in an occu-
pation new to apprenticeship had little experience in passing on their
skills in an on-the-job situation and none in coordinating their work
training with the theoretical material given weekly to the apprentices
by the technical school instructors from the newly devised curriculum.
A pilot "journeyperson upgrade" program was sponsored so that those
who found themselves in an entirely new role as on-t*he-j oh trainers of
apprentices were able to improve the quality of their contribution by
becoming familiar with the. overall program and its interlocking
parts. By June 1973, over 100 people had been registered as da.y care
apprentices and 10 had successfully completed the prOgTam.
The project recommended that the Federal Government provide
funding to set up similar programs involving trainees, industry, and
Government representatives in this and other occupations in other
States. it suggested that health related occupations would be a good
place to start. Certainly health facility administrators, caught in the
squeeze between meeting Federal standards of accreditation and keep-
ing down costs, are eager to explore ways of capitalizing on the skills
already informally developed by their staff. They are interested in
gaining recognition for their inservice training programs and obtain-
ing subsidized help from local vocational-technical schools.
V. SOME RECOMMENDATIOXS
Other recommendations made by the women in Wisconsin appren-
ticeship project were:
1. That government should make participation in registered, newly
established programs attractive to participants through tax credits
or reductions to employers. Registration of programs makes feasible
both quality control and compliance with equa.l employment oppor-
tunity guidelines. One other highly successful incentive for the regis-
In Wisconsin, related Instruction classes must be provided by the vocational, technical.
and adult education system at almost no cost to apprentices or their employers if
they are in a State-registered apprenticeship program.
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231
tration of apprenticeship programs has been the payment of a stipend
to veterans who are in registered apprenticeship and training pro-
grams. In order to receive his stipend, the veteran makes sure the pro-
gram he enters is registered. In 1975, 351/2 percent of all apprentices
registered were receiving veterans' stipends.
2. That apprenticeship outreach programs be established for women
modeled along the lines of those established for minority males. Since
1967, increasing numbers of apprenticeship outreach programs had
been funded by the Department of Labor under the Manpower De-
velopment and Training Act. In `the 5 fiscal years from 1970 through
1974, contracts totaling $45.88 million were let for their operation with
price sponsors such as the Urban League (which operates outreach
programs under the name of LEAP-labor education `advancement
program), the recruitment and training program (an outgrowth of
the workers defense league outreach program), the Human Re-
sources Development Institute (`a creation of the AFL-CIO) and
individual Building Trades Councils. In February 1975, there were
apprenticeship outreach programs in 105 locations in the United
States disseminating information on how to enter apprenticeable
trades to potential recruits, and tutoring `and counseling minority
males who needed these services in `order to qualify and gain admis-
sion to apprentice'ships. From 1967 through 1973, the apprenticeship
outreach programs were reported as having assisted in inden'turing
25,815 minority individuals-almost all of whom were men.
3. That affirmative action for women be included in the equal em-
ployment opportunity in apprenticeship `and training `order, Title
29 CFR (Code of Federal Regulation), part 30, as part `of an inte-
grated, across-the-board governmental thrust to eliminate the stereo-
typing of occupations by sex and to encourage both men and women
to consider the full range of jobs. That the direction of this thrust
should not only be outward, through the impact of Labor Department
policies in `administering training programs, but also inward. That
there should be affirmative action for women employees, specifically
in apprenticeship agencies.
4. That, as part of this thrust to eliminate occupational sex-stereo-
typing, there should be a concerted effort to influence guidance coun-
selors and the educational system in general to reexamine those prac-
tices within the system which have contributed toward the persistence
of sex-stereotypes. That current career and vocational materials
should be revised, new materials developed and a film or films pro-
duced for the purpose of showing high school students that women
can `and are working successfully in traditional male skilled occii-
pations.
Finally, it was observed that the real facts of the world of work,
labor force participation, pattern of life expectancies `and occupa-
tional needs `and trends should be communicated to the schools so that
it would be possible for youngsters to plan and prepare for careers
realistically.
VI. MODEST PROGRESS
There has been progress since 1970, though it has been small. In 1970
there were two women `apprenticeship `and training representatives-
ATR's-in the Department of Labor, Bureau of Apprenticeship and
Training. Within the past year 9 additional trainees were recruited
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232
for a 1976 total of 14. (There is a total of 240 male ATR's.) In 1971,
"Better Jobs for Women," a pilot recruitment and placement program
for women, began in Denver, Cob., using funds supplied by the U.S.
Department of Labor's Office of National Programs. Since then, the
program has recruited some 400 women, primarily heads of house-
holds, for training in nontraditional occupations. Apprenticeship sta-
tistics do not, however, include most of them, since many are in non-
registered programs or in nonapprenticeable occupations. In 1974, the
Manpower Administration amended its apprenticeship outreach pro-
gram to include special emphasis on recruiting, counseling and tutor-
ing women for apprenticeships in six selected cities. By 1976, similar
efforts were underway in a total of 27 cities. A study of these. outreach
programs for women by the Civil Rights Commission (1974) con-
cluded that they had "produced modest results" only. This it attrib-
uted to "inherent limitations": the Commission estimated that ap-
proximately one-half of all those admitted to craft unions were white
males admitted directly, without having served an apprenticeship; it
found no women or minorities admitted directly in this manner. Other
factors limiting the impact of outreach programs for women were lack
of cooperation on the part of some joint apprenticeship committees,
the continued lack of inclusion of goals and timetables for women in
the equal employment opportunity order governing apprenticeship,
and high unemployment.
As of August 12, 1976, after some years of increasing pressure from
women's groups, the Department of Labor published an interpreta-
tion of its 1971 Equal Employment Opportunity in apprenticeship and
training order. It states that "Each program sponsor shall anaylze the
availability of female applicants for its program and shall suggest
appropriate goals for the year 1977 for women * the contem-
plated goal shall preserve the integrity of the minority goals and time-
table provided in title 29 CFR, part 30, as amended April 8, 1971."
This is a step in the right direction, but the regulations are still in-
consistent with their stated scope and purpose. Specifically, the pro-
visions relating to "affirmative action plans" (sec. 30.4), including
outreach efforts, goals and timetables; the "selection of apprentices"
(sec. 30.5) ; and "existing lists of eligibles and public notice" (sec 30.6),
should be revised to include women. The International Women's Year
Con'imission in its June 1976 report, "~ * To Form a More Perfect
Union," also recommends that sec. 30.4(c) (9), which calls for "ad-
mitting to apprenticeship persons whose age exceeds the maximum
age for admission t.o the progra.m, where such action is necessary to
assist the sponsor in achieving its affirmative action obligations," be
fully implemented with regard to the admission of women.
It is quite clear that when there is not full employment women and
minorities suffer unemployment disproportionately. It is also evident
that the effectiveness of affirmative action and outreach programs is
severely diminished in times of high unemployment. Another fact, less
widely known, is that the overall numbers of apprenticeships avail-
able decrease during periods of recession. A full employment economy
is an essential underpinning to the full utilization of women in the
work force. However, full employment in and of itself is not enough.
o National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year. ~ 0 0 To
Form a More Perfect Union * * °,~ Justice for American Women" (Washington D.C.
Government Printing Office, June 1976).
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233
Occupational segregation is the result of the iiiteraction of a complex
of our traditional social institutions and does not stem from just the
labor market itself. To quote Martha Griffiths: "Underutilization of
women will continue to be a problem unless plans are implemented
now to expand women's opportunities in technical, trade and industrial
apprenticeship programs leading to higher-paying opportunities."
What is needed is full employment, vigorous affirmative action efforts,
and new initiatives to develop the apprenticeship system itself.
~ "Can We Still Afford Occupational Segregation? Some Remarks," "Women and the
Workplace," editors, Martha Blaxall and Barbara Reagan (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1976).
O1-6S6-77----16
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Part V. KEY FACTORS: TAX TREATMENT AND
MEDIA IMAGES
(235)
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FEDERAL INCOME TAX AND SOCIAL SECURITY LAW
Br GRACE GANZ BrIUMBERG*
CONTENTS
Page
I. Tax treatment of the two-earner family 237
A. Child care expenses 238
II. Social security system 240
A. A brief description of the social security system 240
B. Six basic problems 241
1. Differential treatment based on sex 241
2. Achieving parity among identically situated families.. 343
3. The dual status of married working women 244
4. Provisions for protecting homeowners 245
C. Basic solution 246
It has long been recognized that a number of Federal income tax
and social security provisions are unfair to working women and two-
earner families. With a view toward clarifying the issues, this paper
will summarize briefly the effect of Federal tax law 1 and will discuss
recent developments. Additionally, the paper will describe the major
inequities in social security treatment of working women and couples,
and will propose a legislative solution to these and other problems
presented by our current social insurance system.
I. TAX TREATMENT OF THE TWO-EARNER FAMILY
There are three major difficulties in our tax treatment of the two-
earner family: (1) the so-called marriage penalty, that is, that mar-
riage may substantially increase the total tax bill of two wage earners;
(2) the fiscal inequity arising from inadequate tax law differentiation
between the traditional worker-housewife couple and the emergent
two-earner couple; 2 and (3) the work disincentive for a prospective
second family earners. Fiscal inequity and work disincentive result
froiu failure to credit the traditional couple with imputed housewife
income as well as failure to allow the emergent couple a deduction for
the additional job-related expenses incurred by the second family
earner, such as transportation, lunch, and, until recently in many
cases, child care expenses. An additional disincentive for potential
second earners arises from our system of aggregating husband-wife
*Faculty of Law, State University of New York at Buffalo.
1 The author testified In 1973 before the Joint Economic Committee on the subject of tax
law. For a more complete treatment of this subject, see Grace Ganz Blumberg, "Features
of Federal Income Tax Law Which Have a Disparate Impact on Women and Working
Couples" and `Households and Dependent Care Services: Section 214," in Economic
Problems or Women, hearings before U.S. Congress, Joint Economic Committee, 93d Cong.,
1st sess. (Washington, D.C. : Government Printing Office, 1973), 228-253.
2 In 1940, less than 15 percent of married women with husbands present were in the
labor force. This proportion has been steadily growing, reaching 30 percent in 1960 and
45 percent in 1976. 1975 handbook on Women Workers, bulletin 297 (Washington, D.C.:
U.S. Department of Labor, 1975), 17. Also by telephone, U.S. Department of Labor.
(237)
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238
income, which effectively taxes the second family earner's first taxable
dollar at the first earner's highest (marginal) tax rate.
This author advocates a three-pronged solution: 2a That we follow
the lead of Sweden and return to a system of individual tax treatment
of earned income or, alternatively, that we allow married taxpayers
the option of individual treatment of earned income, as do England,
Norway, Israel, Greece, Argentina, and Venezuela; that we consider
the possibility of enacting a second earner's income allowance to reflect
the working couple's higher cost of earning income; and that we basi-
cally revise our approach to employment-related child care expenses.
A. Child Care Expenses
CongTess has been somewhat responsive to such suggestions. A major
breakthrough has occurred in the 1976 Tax Reform Act treatment
of dependent care expenses. Congress has finally rejected the view that
employment-necessitated child care expenditure ought to be treated
as a personal expense deductible from taxable income only in certam
hardship cases, and has instead espoused the idea that such expendi-
ture (with reasonable limits)5 should be understood as a cost of earn-
ing income properly taken into account in determining tax liability.6
Congress has, therefore, removed the income limitation beyond which
taxpayers were formerly unable to claim such expenses. In an effort to
make favorable tax treatment available to all who incur this work-
related expense, Congress has also changed the allowance from a de-
duction available only to those who itemize, mainly middle-income
taxpayers, to a 20-percent credit against taxes equally available to
all taxpayers. In addition to making the benefit available to those who
claim the standard deduction, mainly lower income taxpayers, the use
of a credit results in the same tax-saving for all taxpayers spending
the same amount for child care. Thus, with a 20 percent tax credit.
the maximum credit for one child is $400 (maximum claimable expense
is $2,000) and for two or more children $800 (maxiiuum claimable
expense is $4~000). In contrast, under prior law, the tax saving result-
ing from a deduction was a function of the taxpayer's income: the
wealthier the taxpayer, the greater his saving.
Congress has also liberalized the provision in other ways that will
facilitate women's entry and reentry into the labor force. The deduc-
tion was formerly available to married couples only when both spouses
worked full time, apparently to deter one spouse from seeking nominal
employment in order to claim a substantial deduction.T Such treat-
2a Blumberg, op. cit.
Public Law 94-455, sec. 504, creating new Internal Revenue Code see. 44A. For prior
law, see Internal Revenue Code of 1954, sec. 2i4, as amended by Public Law 92-i7S, sec.
2i0 (1971).
It should be noted that the dependent care provision has, from Its inception in 1934.
encompassed employment-necessitated care for dependents other than children. In athil-
tion to covering in-home and out-of-home care provided to dependents under the a3e of 13.
the 1970 act allows the credit for in-home care provided to a dependent or spouse of the
taxpayer "physically or mentally incapable of caring for himself." Sec. 44A(c (1) and
(21 (B).
Dependent care expenses are. however, mainly claimed for care provided to children, and
the provision is generally understood as a "child care" measure. For these reasons, th~
term "child" rather than "dependent" is used.
The limits relate both to the amount of expense claimable per dependent ($2000 for
1 dependent, $4,000 for 2 or more dependents) and the extent to which an additional
child (dependent) will increase the maximum amount claimable (no increase after 2). With
respect to the latter limitation, see discussion in text at note 6 infra.
~U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Finance, HR. i06i2. S. Rept. 94-938, 94th Cong.,
2c1 sess. 132-133 (Washington, D.C. : Government Printing Office, 1976).
Ibid. at 133.
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239
ment, however, was likely to deter mothers of young children from
seeking part-time work by encouraging them to defer any employment
until such time, if ever, as they felt able to undertake full-tune em-
ployment. A somewhat more indirect effect may have been to discour-
age the parents of young children from sharing both economic and
child care responsibilities on a part-time basis, since they were unable
to claim any child care expenses incurred when they were simultane-
ously working. The new provision more narrowly avoids the poten-
ti al for taxpayer abuse by limiting claimable expenses to the earn-
ings of the spouse with the lesser income.
Also of interest to women contemplating eventual return to the labor
force is the section allowing child care expenses when one spouse works
and the other is a full-time student. To satisfy the provision which
disallows expenses in excess of the lower earning spouse's income, a
full-time student is deemed to have earned the maximum amount al-
lowable for child care expenses.
Other reforms will properly reflect the needs and inclinations of
lower-income persons, taxpayers belonging to certain ethnic groups,
parents favoring group care, and divorced taxpayers. The previous
blanket disallowance of child care payments made to certain relatives
has been modified to prohibit such claims only when the taxpayer
claiming the child care expense or his spouse is entitled to claim the
relative as a tax dependent. This change seems desirable because it rec-
ognizes that many persons, particularly those belonging to groups hav-
ing strong kin networks, do wish to employ relatives for child care and
should not be deterred from doing so, both in terms of the child's inter-
ests and family solidarity. Another instance in which the parent's
freedom of choice has been augmented is the repeal of the distinction
between in-home and out-of-home care. The prior provision encour-
aged parents of one or two children to choose in-home care because up
to $400 per month could be deducted for services provided in the tax-
payer's household but only $200 per month (for one child) or $300
(for two children) could be deducted for care provided outside the
taxpayer's household. The new provision, appropriately, is neutral in
this respect.
Divorced persons under prior law, found that neither was eligible
for the deduction (the noncustolial parent was entitled to claim the
children as tax dependents, that is, the mother had custody and the
father made financial contributions sufficient to warrant a tax depend-
ency claim). Tinder the new provision, employment-related child care
expenses may be claimed by the parent who has dominant custody.
Finally, a subtle but significant change is reflected in the new pro-
vision. Female labor force participation is, in part, a function of pop-
ulation policy. The prior provision, enacted in 1971, contemplated a
family of three children, or, more accurately, demonstrated congres-
sional willingness to expand the allowance until the family reached
a maximum of three children.8 The 1976 provision sets the norm of
a two-child family.9 This is, of course, in accord with a "replacement"
or "zero growth" population policy.'° To the extent that our laws
S with respect to out-of-home care, sec. 214 allowed $200 per month for 1 child, $300
for 2, and $400 for 3 or more. Internal Revenue Code of 1954, sec. 214(c) (2) (B), as
amended by Public Law 92-178, sec. 210 (1971).
Maximum allowable expenditure, $4,000, Is claimable by a 2-child family.
~° See, generally, note, `Legal Analysis and Population Control: The Problem of Coer-
cion," 84 Harvard Law Review 1856 (1971).
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reflect and encourage this norm, we should expect increasing labor
force participation by women.
II. SOCIAL SECuRITY SYsmM
Reform of the American social security system, some provisions of
which have been repeatedly identified as inequitable to working wives
and two earner families, has the potential for effecting partial or total
solutions to basic and wide ranging social problems. A review of testi-
mony given before the Joint Economic Committee in its 1973 hearings
on the Economic Problems of Women" indicates that the expert wit-
nesses identified the same problems in current social security law. I-low-
ever, the solutions proffered, if any, turned on the witnesses' percep-
tion of the extent to which changing patterns of American economic
and family life, and new approaches to "women's work" make it desir-
able to review the underlying premises of our social security system,
and to enhance the system's capacity for providing economic security
to individuals and families.
A. A Brief Description of the Social Security Syste~m
The social security system provides monthly benefits to insured
workers and, in certain instances, their dependents in a manner de-
signed to replace partially income lost on account of death, severe
disability or retirement. Payments are made from current contribu-
tions which are paid by both employee and employer. The present rate
is 5.85 percent from each on annual income up to $15,300.
In general, to achieve minimum eligibility for himself and his de-
pendents, that is, to to achieve fully insured status, a worker now must
have engaged in covered employment one quarter of the time from
1950 or age 21, whichever is later, until he dies, is disabled or reaches
retirement age. In addition, to be eligible for disability benefits, a
worker must have engaged in covered employment during half the
quarters in. the 10-year period immediately preceding disability. As a.n
exception to the fully insured rule, survivors' benefits for deceased's
dependent children and their surviving parent are available if the
deceased wa.ge earner had 6 quarters of coverage during the last 13
quarters before his death.
Once basic eligibility is established, the level of payments is com-
puted by averaging monthly earnings in covered employment since
1950, after excluding from consideration the lowest 5 years. The f or-
inula for calculating benefits favors low-income workers because the
insured receives a markedly higher percentage of his first $110 of
average monthly earnings than lie does of the rest. The amount payable
to an insured worker at retirement age is called the primary insurance
amount (PTA). All benefits payable to the insured's dependents are
U "Economic Problems of Women," hearings before the ITS. Congress. Joint Economic
Committee. 93d Cong.. ist sess. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. i973).
The statutory provisions relating to Federal old age, survivors, and disability insurance
benefits are codified at 42 U.S.C. 40i et seq. For regulations enacted thereunder. see 20
CFR, pt. 404. Good descriptions of the system are found in Dalmer Hoskins and Lenore E.
Bixhy, "Women and Social Security: Law and Policy In Five Countries." U.S. Department
of Health, Education, and Welfare. Social Security Administration. Office of Research and
Statistics, research report No. 42 at 73-88 (i973), and Robert M. Ball. "The Treatment
of Women Under Social Security." Economic Problems of Women. hearings before the U.S.
Congress. Joint E'onomie Committee, 93cl Cong., ist sess. (Washington, D.C.; Government
Priiiting Office, 1973), 311-313.
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computed as a percentage of the primary insurance amount. For ex-
ample, a dependent spouse's benefit is 50 percent of the insured's PTA
and a surviving dependent child's benefit is 75 percent of his deceased
parent's PTA.
B. Six Basic Problems
There are six basic problems in the present scheme, four of which
directly involve issues of female labor force participation and two
which do not involve such issues, but which should be taken into
account when choosing among the various solutions proposed for the
first four problems. The difficulties are as follows:
§ 1. There remain, at this late date, explicitly sex-based social secu-
rity provisions which have the effect of giving more family protection
to male insured workers than to equally situated female insured
workers;
§ 2. A working couple frequently receives substantially less in
monthly retirement benefits than a worker-housewife couple, even
though both couples had the same total average monthly earnings and
made equal social security contributions;
§ 3. The married working woman is fully taxed by social security
but, because of her simultaneous eligibility as a dependent on her hus-
band's account, realizes little or no retirement benefits on her own
account;
§ 4. Benefits generally designed to replace some uniform portion of
actual wages do not do so with respect to many employed wives and
mothers because of the practice .of determining the insured's average
monthly wage upon which benefits are based by averaging earnings for
all 12 but the lowest five;
§ 5. Our social security system does not protect families aeainst the
loss of imputed service income caused by the death or disability of the
stay-at-home spouse who cares for the insured worker's dependent
children; and
~ 6. Although some limited dependency provision has been made,
divorce leaves many housewives entirely without retirement income.
1. DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT BASED ON SEX
The act, on its face, make a number of significant gender-based
distinctions which have the effect of giving more family protection to
male insured workers than to equally situated female workers. A
widow, but not a widower, may claim "mother's" benefits when she
cares for a dependent child of a deceased insured worker and her
earned income does not exceed a certain level.13 The U.S. Su-
preme Court declared this gender distinction unconstitutional in
TVeinberger v. T4Tiesenfeld.14 TTTiesenfeici, read together with the Sn-
l)reme Court's decision in Frontiero v. Richardson,'5 suggests that the
remaming sex-based provisions are equally unconstitutional.
A surviving divorced mother who cares for decedent insured's de-
pendent child is eligible for "mother's" benefits, but a surviving
divorced father who cares lor a child of the deceased insured mother is
~ The years for which earnings are averaged include those since 1950 or the insured's
2l~t birthday, whichever is later, after eliminating the 5 years of lowest earnings. 42
u.s.c. § 415(b) (1974).
1342 USC 402(g) (1974).
14420 U.S. 636 (1975).
`~ 411 U.S. 677 (i973).
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not eligible for this caretaker's benefit.16 Similarly, a divorced woman
who was married to an insured worker for more than 20 years is
treated, for the purpose of claiming derivative benefits, as the insured's
wife or widow while an identically situated divorced man is not eligible
to claim such derivative benefits on his former wife's account.17 The
rationale of Wiesenfeld would seem equally applicable to these sex-
based distinctions: it is constitutionally impermissible to require equal
contribution from women workers and then refuse them equal economic
protection for their families.~s
Analogous, but not identical. are the provisions which grant. widow's
benefits to the. aged or disabled widow of a fully insured worker with-
out an showing that the widow was actually economically dependent 19
upon decedent, but al]ow derivative benefits to a widower only if he can
show that he received at least one-half his support from his deceased
insured wife.2° Similarly, a wife, without any showing of actual de-
penclency, may claim derivative benefits when her insured husband
retires or is disabled,2' but a husband must establish that he was eco-
nomically dependent upon his insured wife in order to claim derivative
"husband's insurance benefits." 22 Unlike the absolute exclusion of
fathers in Wiesenfe7cl, the widower's and husband's provisions allow
for a showing of actual dependency. In view of the male claimant's
opportunity to establish actual dependency, the conclusive pre&imp-
t.ion of female dependency is. arguably. only an overly generous and
hence harmless defect.
The Supreme Court has, however, disapproved an identical sex-
based presumption of dependency in a. context which. although dif-
ferent, seems conceptually indistinguishable. In Frontie'ro v. Rick ard-
son,23 the Air Force paid its married employees substantial depend-
cuts' benefits, presuming dependency with respect to the spouses of
male employees, but requiring a. showing of actual dependency for the
spouses of female employees. The Court disapproved the use of this
sexually differential standard in the distribution of benefits that. were
intended as a form of compensation for services rendered. While. the
Court did not dispute that, in the generality of cases, women are more
likely to be economically dependent upon men than men upon women,
the Court found this generalization and the administrative conveni-
ence resulting therefrom inadequate to support a distinction that has
the effect of making a woman's employment effort less economically
productive than that of a similarly situated male.
The only distinction between the challenged provisions in Fi~on-
hero and those in the Social Security Act would seem to be that the
former involved direct compensation for employment while social
security is, at least in part, a redistrihutive economic scheme which.
arguably. should tolerate a greater number of broad-based generali-
zations. Such nn argument was, however, made by the Government
~ See 42 U.S.C. 402(g) (1) and 410(d) (3) (1974).
17S~42TJ.5.C. 402 (b)(1) and (e)(l),and4lG(cl) (1) and (2).
~ 420 U.S. at G4~.
~ Dependency is established by a showing that the claimant was receiving at least one-
half his/her support from the insured wage earner. 42 U.S.C. 402 (f) (1) (D). (c) (1) (C).
`° Compare 42 U.S.C. 402(e), widow's insurance benefits. with 42 U.S.C. 402(f).
widower's insurance benefits. See particularly sec. 402(f) (1) (D). There is also a gender
distinction with respect to the effect of remarriage. Compare sec. 402(e) (1) (A) with sec.
402(fl (1) (A).
"42 U.S.C. 402(b) (1).
"42 U.S.C. 402(c) (1) (C).
"4i1 U.S. 077 (1973).
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243
in TViesenfeld, and was rejected by the Supreme Court as an made-
quate justification for gender-based distinctions which determine
issues of basic social security eligibility.24
[Since this paper was prepared for publication, the Supreme Court has in-
validated the dependency provisions for both husband's and widower's deriva-
tive benefits. The Court reasoned that "Wiesenf aid thus inescapably compels
the conclusion . . . that the gender-based differentiation . . . that results in the
efforts of female workers required to pay social security taxes producing less
protection for their spouses than is produced by men-is forbidden by the Con-
stitution, at least when supported by no more substantial justification than
"archaic and overbroad" generalizations . . . or "old-notions" . . . such as "as-
sumptions as to dependency" . . . that are more consistent with "the role-typing
society has long imposed . . . than with contemporary reality." Calif ano V.
Goldfa'rb, 97 SOt. 1021, 1026-27 (1977). Golclfarb invalidated the dependency
requirement for widowers. The same requirement for husband's derivative
benefits was disapproved in Calif ano v. $ilbowitz and Califano V. Jablon, 97
SOt. 1539 (1977), affirmed without opinion.] 24a
In view of the patent unconstitutionality 25 of these gender-based
distinctions, it seems unnecessary to repeat the policy arguments that
have been made elsewhere 26 in favor of their repeal. Suffice it to say
that the cost of repeal is low because widowers and divorced men will
claim such benefits only when they are not themselves covered by
social security, or in the very rare event that they are covered l)ut can
more profitably claim on their deceased wife's account than on their
own.
2. ACHIEVING PARITY AMONG 11)ENTICALLY SiTUATED FAMILIES
It has been noted that a low or low-middle income working couple
often receives lower retirement benefits than a family in which the sole
breadwinner earned the total income of the working couple and macIc
the. same contributions to the system. For example, where only one
spouse worked and had average yearly earnings of $9,000, under the
1973 tables,27 the benefit payable to the spouse wou]d be $393.50 with
~` 420 U.S. at 646-647. With respect to the factors that may permissibly be taken into
account in determining the exact amount of benefits (the redistributive aspect of the
scheme). consider Gruenwald v. Gardner, 390 F. 2d 591 (2d Cir. 1968). certiorari denied
393 U.S. 982 (1968), cited approvingly in Frontiero V. Richardson, 411 U.S. 677, 689
note 22.
24a \\`jth these cases, compare Califano v. Webster, 97 5. Ct. 1192 (1977), sustainIng a
gender-based distinction in the computation of benefits of those workers who reached age
32 before 1972. This provision, which excludes from consideration additional low earning
years of women workers, results in greater benefits for women than for men with the same
earnings record. The court sustained this differential treatment on the ground that it
was designed to compensate for past employment discrimination against women, ibid. at
1195. This result is consistent with the Court's decisions in Schlesinger v. Ballard, 419
U.S. 498 (1975) and Kahn V. Shevin, 416 U.S. 351 (1974). In both cases the Court sus-
tained gender-based distinctions that ostensibly favored women and had a benign, com-
pensatory purpose. See also Gruenwald v. Gardner, discussed in note 24. Webster has no
bearing on the gender-based distinctions discussed in the text, all of which tend to afford
less protection for female workers and their families than for similarly situated male
workers and their families.
The gender-based dependency distinctions have been successfully challenged in 5
reported district court cases: Moss v. Secretary of HEW, 408 F. Supp. 403, 410-411 (M.D.
Fla. 1976) Coffin v. Secretary of HEW, 400 F. Supp. 953 (D.D.C. 1975) ,Jablon v. Secre-
tory of HEW, 399 F. Supp. 118 (D. Md.) ; Silbowitz v. Secretary of HEW, 397 F. Snpp.
862 (S.D. F1a. 1975) ; and Goldfarb v. Secretary of flEW, 396 F. Supp. 308 (E.D.N.Y.
1975). The Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare has appealed all of these 3-judge
district courtdecisions.
[Since this paper was prepared for publication, Calif ano v. Silbowit2 and Califano v.
Jablon. were affirmed without opinion, 97 S. Ct. 1539 (1977). See text addendum immedi-
ately above.]
22 See, for example, Ball, supra note 11 at 314-316.
nThese computations are based on the table found at 42 U.S.C. 415 (1974), which
mncorporates the increases effected by the 1973 amendments, Public Law 93-233, sec. 2(a).
The primary insurance amounts found therein have been subject to across-the board
increases based on specified increases in the Consumer Price Index, 42 U.S.C. 415(i)
PAGENO="0252"
244
an additional $196.75 as a. dependency allowance 2S for the wife, yield-
ing total monthly benefits of $590.25. In contrast, if one spouse had
average yearly earnings of ~6,000 and the other had average earnings
of $3,000, they would receive $299.40 and $194.10.~~ for a total of
$493.50. There would seem to be no justification for distinguishing be-
tween these two couples in a social insurance system to which each
family has made equal financial contribution and in which the goal
is replacement of family income lost by retirement. To achieve parity,
working couples should, for the purpose of determining benefits, be
allowed to cumulate earnings up to the maximum taxable wage base.
A limited provision to this effect was passed by the House of Repre-
tentatives in 1971 but was abandoned in conference,3° presumably be-
cause execution of the parity measure would have created aciministra-
tive difficulties and entailed payment of additional benefits. Such
objections, however, seem inadequately responsive to the basic unfair-
ness. In any event, the panacea which the author will suggest shortly
would obviate the need for such an equity provision.
3. TI-JR DUAL STATUS OF MARRIED WORKING WOMEN
The problem of inequality with respect to retirement benefits p~ic1
to equally contributing one- and two-earner couples has its mirror
image in the problem of unequal contributions exacted from middle-
and upper-income one- and two-earner couples. Thus, for example. if
a husband earns the. maximum taxable base income,3' now $15,300. and
his wife earns less than one-third of that. say $4.500 a. year. they will
contribute a total of 5.85 percent of all their income but collect no more
retirement benefits than the family in which one spouse earns their
total income of $19~800 but contributes 5.85 percent of only his maxi-
mum tax base of $15,300. if the workimr wife were to earn more than
one-third her husband's average earnings, the couple would receive
some incremental payment, but the size of the difference would hardly
be reflective of the wife's contribution record.32
These apparent inequities arise from the second working spouse's
dual status under our social security system. For purposes of contribu-
tions, this second spouse is treated as a sole earner and taxed on every
dollar of income up to the maximum taxable base. Adult benefits are
not, however, claimable only on the basis of personal contribution. De-
rivative spouse's benefits can also be claimed on the ground of marital
relationship to an insured worker. Thus, although married women are
fully taxed by social security, they realize little or no retirement bene-
fits on their own accounts (because of their simultaneous eligibility
as dependents on their husbands' accounts). The lack of correspond-
ence between the payments made by married women and the benefits
received by them might be justified as a reclistributive. rather than an
insurance aspect of the social security system; nevertheless, it would
28 The wife's derivative benefit Is one-half her husband's primary insurance amount,
42 U.S.C. 402(b) (2).
29 If she were to claim on her husband's account rather than her own, she would, of
course, only receive $149.70. See note 28 supra.
30 1972 U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News 4997, 5372.
~` Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 409, 430, the maximum taxable base for years after 1974 is
$13,200 plus additional amounts necessary to offset the cost-of-living increases provided
to beneficiaries. For 1976, maxImum taxable earnings are $15,300.
32 See, for example, information supplied by the Department of Health, Education, and
Welfare in "Economic Problems of Women," hearings before the Joint Economic Con1mittee,
93d Cong., 1st sess., 423 (1973).
~ See comment of Arthur Hess, ibid. at 424.
PAGENO="0253"
245
seem to be a most regressive ~ redistribution to tax a group subject to
pervasive employment discriinmation in order to maximize paynients
made on the accounts of persons who ale not subject to such discriini-
nation and, are, arguably, the beneficiaries of sex-based employment
discrimination.
More reasonably, it has been suggested that it is erroneous to look
at retirement benefits alone,35 although such benefits do form the pre-
ponderant payout of the system.36 The married woman is more corn-
preliensively insured on her own account than she is as her husband's
dependent. She is insured against her own disability, and can provide
for survivors and dependents from her account. This argument is per-
suasive as far as it goes. It suggests, however, that the married wom-
an's contributions should be reduced to reflect tile coverage she is
actually purchasing. A more extreme solution has been adopted in
Great Britain. A married working woman may opt out of tile system.
She makes 110 contributions and collects only on her husband's account.
Most working women elect this option.37
Complete withdrawal, however, has obvious disadvantages. In the
event of tile wife's death or disability, the family receives no replace-
ment income. In the event of divorce, the wife has no account of her
own upon which to build an adequate earnings record. While some of
the defects of complete withdrawal can be removed by a more care-
fully tailored approach, the contingency of divorce 38 makes it desir-
able that each married woman have complete individual coverage. Ad-
ditionally, the concept of treating even the working wife simply as her
husband's economic dependent runs counter to the trend in favor of
encouraging economic self-sufficiency in married women.39
4. PROVISIONS FOIl PROTECTING HOMEOWNERS
The last three deficiencies of our social security provisions can con-
veniently be discussed together. The first two relate to the inability of
~ Assessed contribution to social security is, of course, generally regressive In that the
tax is a fixed percentage of wages and there is a ceiling on the amount of wages subject to
taxation. Thus, a low-Income earner pays a higher percentage of total earned income than
does a high-income earner. Carolyn Shaw Bell has pointed out that women disproportion-
ately bear the burden of this general regressivity because very few women earn more than
the `social security base income. "Women and Social Security: Contributions and Benefits,"
In "Economic Problems of Women," hearings before the Joint Economic Committee, 93d
Cong., ist sess., 303 (1973).
Ball, "The Treatment of Women Under Social Security," Economic Problems of Wromen,
supra note 34 at 315.
~ See colloquy of Mr. Ball and Representative Barber B. Conable, Jr., Economic Prob-
lems of Women, supra note 34 at 323.
~ Hoskins and Bixby, supra note ii at 53-55, 62.
~ For the years 1972-74, the number of divorces in the United States (907,000) was more
than half the number of first marriages (1,662,000). "A Statistical Portrait of Women in
the United States," U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, special studies
series P-23. No. 58 at 16 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1976), citing
Bureau of the Census current population reports, series P-20, Nos. 212 and 225, and U.S.
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. "Vital Statistics Reports." This does not
mean, of course, that more than half of all first marriages for the 1972-74 perIod will
terminate In divorce, because the divorces obtained during that period generally termi-
nated marriages contracted earlier.
Comparative divorce figures are measured in terms of rate per 1,000 population. In 1974,
the U.S. rate was 4.6 per 1,000 populatIon, compared to 1.5 for West Germany, 2.1 for
England and Wales, and 3.3 for Sweden. "United Nations Statistical Yearbook, 1975,"
(New York City: United Nations Statistical Office, 1976), pp. 79-82.
° It is not merely that married women face a substantial probability of divorce but
that, once divorced, they are Increasingly expected to provide for themselves. Concerning
the infrequency with which the courts award alimony, see studies collected in Caleb Foote.
Robert I. Levy, and Frank E. A. Sander, "Cases and Materials on Family Law" at 838-845
2d edition (Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown & Co., 1976). With respect to current legislative
expectations and guidelines for alimony awards, see, for example, see. 308 of the Uniform
Marriage and Divorce Act, National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws
(1974) and sec. 236 of the New York domestic relations law.
PAGENO="0254"
246
our present system to meet the retirement needs of many women, both
those employed outside the home and those employed exclusively in
the home. With respect to gainfully employed working wives and
mothers, determining benefits by averaging earnings for all years but
the lowest 5 40 tends to give married working women disproportion-
ately low replacement of actual income, because they are likely to have
been absent from the work force for more than 5 years in order to per-
form child rearing and housekeeping functions.4' To the extent that
child rearing is perceived as a valuable social function, time so devoted
should not serve to depress a working woman's benefits. Some countries
have responded to this concern by treating work force absence due to
pregnancy and child rearing as covered employment and crediting the
married woman's account with some ascribed earnings.42
The remaining two problems are, strictly speaking, beyond the scope
of this article because they concern difficulties encountered by women
who are not gainfully employed outside the home, and by the families
of such women. These problems are included, however, because they
should be taken into account when weighing the desirability of funda-
mentally overhauling our approach to individual and family social
insurance protection. First, a wife's dependency status is, in many
cases,43 terminated by divorce. While this effect of divorce is of rela-
tively limited concern to the working wife with a. good earnings rec-
ord, many older housewives are left entirely without retirement in-
come, and younger housewives are left without any basis for building
au adequate average earnings record. Second. when a full-time home-
maker dies or is severely disabled, the family loses her imputed service
income, but does not receive any social security replacement income
because the value of her services is not taken into account by the
system.44
0. Basic Solution
The basic solution to aI.l these problems was suggested by Prof.
Carolyn Shaw Bell in her testimony before the ,Joint Economic Com-
mittee in 1973: Abolish the very notion of dependency and treat all
housewives (housespouses) as earners, ascribing hypothetical dollar
earnings to their account for all quarters of household employment.45
Former Representative Martha Griffiths very cogently asked who
would pay for their coverage.40 While extension of coverage to house-
wives would have the desirable effect of recognizing the economic value
40 Supra note 12.
41 See, generally Ball, supra note ii at SiG-317. xote also Ball's discussion of the sexually
disparate effect of the disability insurance requirement that one must have worked 5 years
out of the 10 immediately preceding the onset of disability.
~ See, for example, Hoskins and Bixby, supra note ii at 22, regarding West Germanys
attribution of hypothetical earnings for periods of nonemployment due to maternity. See
also discussion of the French system of pension coverage for the housewife. ibid., at 46-47.
While pronatalist concerns would seem to underlie the French and German provisions.
such measures are also appropriate simply as recognition that procreation and child rear-
ing (albeit at no more than "replacement" level) are socially necessary functions.
~` A divorced wife is eligible for "mother's" benefits if she has in her care a child of
insured decedent who is entitled to "children's" benefits. 42 1~T.S.C. 402(g). 416(d) (3~.
Otherwise a divorced wife is eligible for benefits on her ox-husbands account only if their
marriage lasted at least 20 years. 42 u.s~c. 416(d) (1) and (2).
"It does not seem an adequate response to say that this is simply an event arainet
which the system does not insure. When a working wIfe or mother is severely disabled or
dies, social security replacement income purchases household and child care services just
as her wages probably did during her period of gainful employment. To the extent, there-
fore, that working wives' wages do purchase household and child care services, the social
security system insures against loss of these vital services for the families of wage
earning wives and mothers.
~ Bell, supra note 34 at 305-307.
"Ibid. at 321.
PAGENO="0255"
247
of housework, would not working women, already burdened, be paying
for their stay-at-home sisters? ~
Professor Bell's basic idea is sound. However, it would not be equi-
table, in a system that basically purports to be a social insurance plan,
to recognize the value of services performed in the home by requiring
all the gainfully employed to make contributions on behalf of house-
wives. It would be appropriate, however, to require contribution from
the households directly benefited by receipt of household service in-
come. One approach is to apportion the earnings of the sole earner be-
tween two accounts, one for the wage earner and one for the house-
spouse. Hypothetical earnings, for example, full-time employment at
the minimum wage 48 but no more than one-half the wage earner's total
earnings, could be attributed to the housespouse's account and the
remainder to the gainfully employed spouse's account. It might be
desirable to raise the maximum taxable base for such families in
recognition of the imputed income the family receives in the form of
full-time housekeeper services. An alternative solution, easier to ad-
minister and more profoundly reflective of the view that marriage is an
economic partnership,49 would apportion equally between husband and
wife all of a spouse's contributions based on wages.5° In terms of cost,
neither proposal should present any insuperable problems.51
Apportionment, whether partial or complete, of a spouse's earn-
ings is recommended because it would solve a number of otherwise
seemingly intractable problems. Such a plan is consistent with the basic
social security principle that beneficiaries should largely pay their own
way; it also reflects social fact and belief, increasingly expressed in
our laws as well, that is, that each spouse has an interest in all income
~ Ibid.
40 Minimum wage is the basis for establishing the contribution level in French pension
coverage for the housewife. Contribution Is then made by the government rather than from
apportionment of the husband's contribution, as suggested here. Hoskins and Bixby, supra
note 11 at 47.
~ The economic partnership view of marriage has most clearly been adopted by the
eight western community property States. It is also reflected in those 28 common law
States which provide, at divorce, for an equitable distribution of property held individually
by the spouses. See, for example, Minnesota Statutes 518.58 and 518.59. See sec. 307,
alternatives A and B, of the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act, National Conference of
Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.
The economic partnership view is also expressed in our tax system's aggregation of
spouses' income. See Blumberg, supra note 1 at 230.
50 This proposal forms a part of HR. 14119, introduced by Representative Frsfser on
June 1, 1976. See sec. 3(b). Congressman Fraser's bill would, however, credit one-earner
couples and some two-earner couples with more contributions than they actually made,
effectively continuing the 150-percent retirement and disability payments to such families,
and shifting the cost of housewife coverage to wage earning contributors. I do not approve
this approach.
51 Relatively minor increases in coverage would be offset by widespread moderate de-
creases in the amount of benefits presently paid to adult dependents. Under the present in-
come replacement formula, families with a wife who would presently claim as her husband's
dependent rather than on her own account would receive somewhat lower benefits under
either proposal. (while the total of individual retirement benefits payable on each appor-
tioned account which would be greater than those individual benefits payable on the hus-
band's present account, the total is less than 150 percent of the husband's individual bene-
fits, which is what that couple collects today. See discussion in text at notes 28-30 supra.)
Under the first proposal, some families in which each spouse presently claims on his own
account would receive slightly higher benefits, reflecting allocation of spouses' earnings for
those periods during which the wife was absent from the labor market. Under the second
proposal, virtually all families in which each spouse would presently claim on his own
account would receive slightly higher total benefits, reflecting the result of equal allocation
nader the present replacement formula. Since most women who presently receive benefits
do so derivatively rather than on their own account, there would result a sizable fund
surplus which would be offset by increased costs resulting from extensions of coverage.
The primary beneficiaries of new coverage would be the families of disabled aad deceased
homemakers on whose accounts death and disability benefits would he payable. Additionally,
divorced housewives unable to satisfy the present 20-year rule (supra note 43) mi'ht
receive minimum coverage and/or greater benefits than they do now.
PAGENO="0256"
248
generated during a marriage 52 and that the housewife does make a
valuable economic contribution to her family.53
In conclusion, in keeping with the current national concern with
providing adequate employment for all those who want it, a definitive
reevaluation of family income taxation and social security benefits
would appear to be timely. Changes suggested would not only make
for greater equality, a goal toward which our democracy strives, but
would also help women maintain individual identity and independence,
and would provide women with a neutral tax context in which to make
decisions about gainful employment.
52 Supra note 49.
~ See generally, Bell, supra siote 34 at 305-307. See also see. 307 of the Uniform Mar-
riage and Divorce Act, National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.
PAGENO="0257"
THE IMPACT OF MASS-MEDIA STEREOTYPES UPON THE
FULL EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN
Br GAYE TUCHMAN*
CONTENTS
Page
I. Introduction 249
II. Television 251
A. Commercial television -- 251
B. Public television - 255
C. Television commercials - 256
III. Women's magazines 257
IV. Newspapers and their women's pages 259
V. The effect of the media upon labor force participation 261
A. The violence studies 262
B. The sex role studies - 263
VI. Policy suggestions 265
I. INTRoDUcTIoN
As Harold Lasswell pointed out 30 years ago, mass media pass on
the social heritage from one generation to the next.' The societal need
for continuity and transmission of dominant values may be particu-
larly acute in times of rapid social change, such as our own. Individu-
als not only need some familiarity with the past, but must also be pre-
pared to meet changing social conditions. Nowhere is that need as
readily identifiable as in the area of sex roles. Nowhere else have social
expectations and social conditions been changing as rapidly.
In 1930, less than 20 percent of the nation's adult women worked for
pay outside the home, most of them unmarried. In 1976, 56 percent of
all American women between the ages of 18 and 64 were in the labor
force, most of them married, many with preschool children. Presently
41 percent of the American labor force are women. In the face of such
change, the portrayal of sex roles in the mass media is a topic of great
social, political, and economic importance.
This essay discusses the portrayal of sex roles in the mass media and
the effect of that portrayal on the employment pattern of American
women. It argues that the depiction of women by the media, including
the portrayal of working women, serves as a damper upon the full utili-
zation of women in the economy because it discourages women's occu-
pational aspirations and encourages their underemployment. This
negative effect results because of the perpetration of the outmoded
sex-role stereotype that women's place is in the home and that the
ideal American women is dependent and ineffectual in her attempts to
*Associate professor of sociology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flush-
lnr, N.Y.
`Harold Lasswell, "The Structure and Function of Communication in Society," in
L. Bryson (editor), "The Communication of Ideas" (New York: Harper & Bros., 1948),
pp. 3~-o1.
(249)
91-686--.77-------17
PAGENO="0258"
250
direct her own life. These stereotypes may influence women as prospec-
tive employees, as well as employers who may limit women's job
opportunities.
There has been no full-scale study of the effects of the mass media on
sex role stereotypes. Rather, since `1970, a series of content analyses of
TV, women's magazines and newspapers and a series of studies con-
cerning the effects of television upon children have yielded results con-
grtient with my argument. Additionally, my conclusions are confirmed
by the theories of communications experts, as indicated by the follow-
ing documented example.
Suppose that children's television programs primarily present adult
women as housewives, nonparticipants in the paid labor force. Also
suppose that girls in the television audience model their behavior and
expectations on that of TV women. Such a supposition is quite
plausible according to the psychological theory of modeling. This
theory states that modeling occurs simply by watching others, with-
out any direct reinforcement for learning and without any overt prac-
tice. The child imitates the model without being induced or compelled
to do so. This concept differs from earlier theories, which regard
reward or punishment as indispe.nsable to learning. There now is con-
siderable evidence, however, that children do learn by watching a.nd
listening to others, even in the absence of reinforcement and overt prac-
tice.2 Psychologists note that "opportunities for modeling have been
vastly increased by television." It is then equally plausible that girls
exposed to TV women may hope to be homemakers as adults, but not
workers outside the home. Indeed, as adults, these girls may resist work
outside the home unless it is necessary for their families economic well-
*being. Encouraging such an attitude in girls can present an economic
problem to them and to the Nation in the future. Active participation
of women in the labor force is vital to the maintenance of the American
economy. In the past decade, the greatest expansion of the economy
has been within the sectors that employ women. Yet. because of its neg-
ative effect, mass-media stereotypes of women as housewives may be
detrimental to the future recruitment of women to the active labor
force.
This example is a "mere supposition" about the possible impact of
the mass-media sex-role stereotypes upon national life. However, as
studies cited later indicate, this "mere supposition" may accurately
Predict the future. In supporting this hypothesis, this essay examines
the media used by an American girl as she goes through school and
becomes a worker and probably a spouse and mother. (Today's young
`woman is more likely to be working full or part time at age 20 than
she is to be married.) This paper will start with an examination of
America's dominant media form-television. Women's magazines and
women's pages of newspapers will be considered next. Th~ paper will
conclude with a review of studies of the impact of the media, upon girls
and women, and offer some policy recommendations.
2 Muriel Cantor "Children's Television: Sex-Role Portrayals and Employment Discrimi-
nation in The Feder'sl Role in Funding Children s Tele'i ision Piogr~iming vol II edited
by K. Mielke et al. (Washington, D.C. : U.S. Office of Education, 1975), p. 5.
2 G. S. Lesser quoted In Cantor, ibid.
Handbook on Women Workers" (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Labor,
PAGENO="0259"
251
IT. TELEVISION
To identify television as the dominant form of media in American life
is to engage in a vast understatement. In the average American house-
hold, television sets are turned on more than 6 hours each winter day.
More American homes have television sets than have private bath-
rooms, according to the 1970 census. Typically, by the time an Ameri-
can child goes to school, she/he has spent more hours watching tele-
vision than she/he will spend in grammar school classrooms. Yet, all
forms of television-commercial programing, public broadcasting,
and advertisements-perpetrate sex-role stereotypes. The message de-
rived from the program is that women aie not integral members of
American society and are not essential participants in the labor, force.
A. Commercial Television
From 1954, the date of the earliest systematic analysis of television's
content, through 1975, researchers have found that males dominate
the TV screen. Although men are 49 percent of the population, televi-
sion has shown and continues to show two men for every woman. (An
exception is soap operas, where men are a "mere majority" of the fic-.
tional population.) As chart I-i shows, the 2-to-i proportion has been
relatively constant. The little variation that exists occurs as a result
of the type of program studied-whether all prime time shows, drama~
or comedy. In 1952, 68 percent of the characters in prime-time drama~
were male. In 1973, 74 percent of those characters were male. Women
seem to be cOncentrated in comedies, where men make up "only" 60
Percent of the fictional world. Children's cartoons include even fewer
female characters, including animals, than adult's primetime pro-
grams do. The paucity of women on American TV may suggest t~
viewers that women don't matter much in American society.
PAGENO="0260"
i-i
CD
CD
CD
CD
Ce
0
Sb
CD
Ce
`1
0
Ce
ilUic'
prim.,
time
drama
H
` ear of Anai~ sis: 1952
Publication: Ik'ad
(1954)
S0~
nfl
icadins all
roles in 1 V
prime plays
time (all hours)
1969-72
Tedesco
(1974)
rrh
drama comedy
prune pnmne
timid'.,
Cal
SouRcEs
(eorge Gerbner an(1 Tarry Gross, "Progress Report: on Cultural mdi-
c:m ore Rosen rch PN)ject,''lI mm iversity of Pennsylvania, in I moo, 1974.
loan C. McNeil, "lfemlnlsmn, Femininity, and the Television Series,"
Ton i-nal of BI-oa(lcasting, 1975, 257-269.
Mark Miller and Byron Reeves, "Children's Occupational Sex Role
Stereotypes," Journal of Broadcasting, in press.
Sydney head, "Content A nalysis of Television 1)rama Programs,"
Qmiarl;erty of Film, Radio, and TV, 1954, 175-194.
1967-73 1973 Nov. 1974 1973
Gvrhncli 1 uriw Miller. McNeil
& Gross (1974) & Reeves (19751
(1974) tin `rr~s)
Nancy Tedesco, "Patterns in Prime Time," Journal of Communication,
24, .t19-124.
.Ioseplm `l'urow, "Advising and Ordering," .Tournal of Communical:ion,
1:15-141.
.1\IeIvln l)eFleur, "Occupational Roles as Portrayed on TV," Public Opin-
ion Quarterly, 19(14, 57-74.
i\Iildred 1)owning, "heroine of the Daytime Serial," Journal of Corn-
))))) nicatIon, 1974, 130-137.
mliii Seogar and Penny Wheeler, ``World of Work on TV," Journal of
Tlroadcasting, 1973, 201-214.
PAGENO="0261"
253
* The negative i~ess~gé. ot TVincliide~ minimizing the i'ole of worn~
en in the labor force. As chart 1-2 indicates, when TV shows reveal
someone's occupation, the worker is most likely to be male. Despite
the fact that 41 percent of the labor force is female, television sug-
gests that only 20 percent of the labor force is female. TV program~
ing also suggests that working women are likely to be less competent
at their jobs, especially when a man in the same TV show holds
the same or similar job.
CHART 1-2.-Percentage of males among those portrayed as employed on TV,
1903-1973.
3:30 - 11 ~).fl1.
weekdays
&
10 a.ni. 11 p.ni.
weekdays
George Gerbner and Larry Gross, "Progress Report on Cultural Indicators Research
Project, University of Pennsylvania," mimeo, 1974.
Jean C. McNeil, "Feminism, Femininity, and the Television Series," Journal of Broad-
casting, 1975,. 257-269.
Mark Miller and Byron Reeves, "Children's Occupational Sex Role Stereotypes," Journal
of Broadcasting, in press.
Sydney Head, "Content Analysis of Television Drama Programs," Quarterly of Film,
Radio, and TV, 1954, 175-194.
Nancy Tedesco, "Patterns in Prime Time," Journal of Communication, 24, 119-124.
Joseph Turow, "Advising and Ordering," Journal of Communication, 138-141.
Melvin DeFleur, "Occupational Roles as Portrayed on TV," Public Opinion Quarterly,,
1964, 57-74.
Mildred Downing, "Heroine of the Daytime Serial," Journal of Communication, 1974,,
130-137.
John Seegar and Penny Wheeler, "World of Work on TV," Journal of Broadcasting
1973, 201-214.
Sl.7'.~
ii
same as
DeFleur
Li
1971
See~ar &
\V1ic~Ier
(1973)
SOuRCES
soap opern
(people ri
P" Iesski rat
jobs only)
1973
Do~vnin~
U 974)
1963
DeFleur
(1964)
PAGENO="0262"
254
Gerbner5 points out that this is a characteristic of women who are
the: main characters of adventure shows. As Pepper, the "Policewom-
an" on the show of the same name, star Angie Dickinson is continu-
ally rescued from dire and deadly situations by her male colleagues.
The pattern also emerges forcefully on soap operas, a particularly
significant finding, since soa.p operas treitt working women as more
competent than do other forms of TV entertainment. For instance,
on the soap opera "The Doctors," surgical procedures are performed
by male physicians. Although the female doctors are said to be com-
petent at their work, they are shown pulling case histories from file
cabinets or filling out forms. Much of the same pattern is found on
other soap operas, where male lawyers try cases and female lawyers
research briefs for them. More generally, women do not appear in the
same professions as men: men are doctors-women, nurses; men are
lawyers-women, secretaries; men work in corporations-women tend
boutiques.~ Women are also shown in a narrower range of occupations
than are men.
Instead of recognizing the importance of married women in the
labor force, television presents the idea that women's place is in the
home. This idea is conveyed in two ways. First, womeii are usually
placed in a sexual context or in a romantic or family role.7 Two out
of every three TV women are married, were married or are engaged
to be married. Most TV men, by way of contrast, are single and have
~dways been single. Second, by disposing of single and working wom-
en through murder, accidents and other forms of violence. TV sym-
bolically states that they are less worthy than married homemakers.
Thus, positive characteristics are ascribed to married women who
are not active in the labor force by not letting any harm befall them.
Negative characteristics are ascribed to single and working women
by violent mistreatment of them.
Portrayal of violence is a crucial consideration, not only because
of its pervasiveness on television, but also because it can be interpreted
as a symbol of power.8 Aggressors have power; victims are powerless.
Therefore, since women are more likely to be victims in TV programs
and men are more likely to be aggressors, this could be interpreted
symbolically-women have no power. Married women who do not
-work rarely have any direct relationship to TV's mayhem. Rather,
the female victims of violence are likely to be single, suggesting that
~Jliances with a man protect a woman from involvement with the
"evils" of the world. Finally, on those rare occasions that women are
portrayed as (symbolically powerful) villains~ the women are likely
to be working womem not housewives protected by their husbands.
This description of TV violence does not indicate that women must
be violent in order to be included among powerful people. Rather. ~t
is meant to convey the fact that TV can and does svmbolically infer,
Geor~re Gerbner, "The Dynamics of cultural Resistance." in Gaye Tuckman. Arlene
Kaplan Daniels. and James Benet. editors. "Hearth and Home: Images of Women in the
M~ss Media" (New York: Oxford University Press, 197S).
Melvin DeFleur. "Occupational Roles as Portrayed on Television," Public Opinion
Quarterly 28 (sprIng 1964). 57-74.
George Gerbner, "Violence In Television Drama: Trends and Symbolic Functions." In
G. A. Conistock and E. A. Rubenstein. editors, "Television and Social Behavior," yol, I;
28-187 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1972).
Robert Liehert et al.. "The Early Window: Effects of Television on Children and Youth"
(New York: Perramon Press, 1973).
S Gerbner, 1972, op. cit.
PAGENO="0263"
255
by means of violence, that single and working women are powerless
and dispensable individuals.
In sum, TV violence contrasts married women with single women
to suggest:
1. Single women work; married women do not.
2. Single working women are more likely to encounter evil be-
cause they are not protected by a man.
3. Single working women are more likely to do evil and so depart
from stereotypes of soft, appealing femininity.
4. By implication, TV content recommends that a woman should
both marry `and stay out of the labor force in order to retain her
femininity.
Finally, children's programing banishes women from the labor
force. Although these programs present roughly as many girls as
boys, they portray fewer women than men, and the occupational pat-
terns depicted in adult programing are also found in children's pro-
grams. It is as though a young girl were being told that growing up
means disappearance from active social (occupational) life.
B. Public Television
The only existing study on the subject finds that public television
also perpetuates sex-role stereotypes. However, because of its different
organizational structure and manifest content, public television does
not portray sex-roles through the use of violence, but rather through
assigned areas of expertise.
First, like commercial television, public broadcasting presents a
world that is predominantly male. Eighty-five percent of those par-
ticipating in adult spoken programing, other than plays (Masterpiece
Theatre, et cetera), are male. Second, of those persons identified as
having occupations, roughly 80 percent are male-the same propor-
tion found by studies of commercial television. Third, when men are
identified as having occupations, they are in appropriately sex-typed
jobs. (Occupations may be sex-typed by examining the proportion of
men and women in a specific occupation in comparison t~o their re-
spective shares of the over-all labor force.) Thus, 76 percent of the
men were in "male" jobs and 24 percent in "neuter" jobs; none iii
"female" jobs.
This distribution results from public television's extensive use of
journalists and professional "experts" in its programs. The women,
who appear have similar jobs (62 percent male jobs; 32 percent neu-
tral jobs; 6 percent female jobs). But, they are called upon to discuss
areas of expertise associated with women. Men overwhelmingly dis-
cuss business, economics, law and government (56 percent of male ex-
perts) and science (10 percent of male experts), areas in which only
26 percent and 3 percent, respectively, of the female experts are found.
Women, as experts, are concentrated in such areas as education and
career planning, (16 nercent of the women, 3 percent of `the men) ; art,
music and culture (11 percent of the women, 4 percent of the men);
personalities and biographies (14 percent of the women, 4 percent of
the men) ; and items of general interest (16 percent of the women,
13 percent of the men).
Caroline Isber and Muriel Cantor, "Report of the Task Force on Women In Public
Broadcasting" (Washington, D.C.: Corporation for Public BroadcastIng, 1975).
PAGENO="0264"
256
Cantor concludes that "although they differ in their structure and
purposes, both commercial and public television disseminate the same
message about women." `~ Women's place is in the home, not in the
labor force. Women who do work should deal with topics and cOncerns
"appropriate" for women.
C. Television Co~mmercials
TV ads are both more stringent and strident in their depiction of
sex-role stereotypes than is either commercial or public programing.
Where programing merely wants to appeal to stereotypes to attract
an audience, ads invoke stereotypes at their most fundamental levels
in order to sell a product. A daring comedy might show two women
discussing the relative merits of power-lawn mowers; it would be bad
business for a commercial to do so.
Three characteristics of TV ads demonstrate that they show women
as nonparticipants in the labor force. First, like television programs~
commercials emphasize the role of men and minimize the role of
women in our society. For instance. there are more all-male than all-
female commercials on children's TV; the ratio of all-male to all-
female ads is approximately three to one.'1 Second, males dominate in
voice-ovei~s. (A "voice-over" is an unseen person vocalizing about a
product, for example an unseen person proclaims "two out of three
doctors recommend . . ." or "now on sale at your local . . .") In 1972,
Dominick and Rauch found that of 946 ads with voice-overs, "only 6
percent used a female voice.12 Both prior and subsequent studies report
similar findings.13
Third, by emphasizing women's role in the home and virtually ig-
noring her role in the labor force, the commercials strongly encourage
sex-role stereotyping. Although research findings are not strictly com-
parable to those on TV programs because of the dissimilar "plots,"
the portrayals of women may be said to be even more limited than
those presented on TV dramas and comedies. In an excellent review
article, Linda Busby summarized findings of four major studies of
TV ads. One study found that:
37.5 percent of the ads showed women as men's domestic adjuncts.
33.9 percent showed women as dependent on men.
24.3 percent showed women as submissive.
42.6 percent showed women as household functionaries.14
1O Muriel Cantor. "Where Are the Women in Public Television~" in (1. Tuchmnn et nl..
eds.. "Hearth and Home: Images of Women in the Mass Media" (New York: Oxford Uni-
versity Press. i978).
11 Stephen Schuetz and Joyce Sprafkin. "Spot Messages on Saturday Morning Television
Programs: A Content Analysis." in G. Tuehman et al.. eds.. "Hearth and Home: Images of
Women in the Mass Media" (New York: Oxford University Press. 19781.
ie Joseph Dominick and Gail Ranch. "The Image of Women in Network TV Commercials,"
Journal of Broadcasting 16 (3). (10721. 259-265.
*~ Judith Bardwick and Suzanne Schumann. "Portrait of American Men and Women in
TV Commercials." Psychology IV (4) (1067). 18-23.
Arthur Jay Silverstein and Rebecca Silverstein, "The Portrayal of Women in Television
Advertising." FCC Bar Journal (1974). 71-OS.
14 Linda J. Busby, "Sex-Role Research on the Mass Media," Journal of Communication
25 (4) (1975), 107-131.
PAGENO="0265"
257
Busby's summary of Dominick and Rauch's work reveals a similar
concentration upon women as homemakers, rather than as active mem-
bers of the labor force:
Women were seven times more likely to appear in ads for personal bygi~ne
products than not to appear [in those ads].
Seventy-five percent of all ads using females were for products found in the
iritchen or in the bathroom.
Thirty-eight percent of all females in the television ads were shown inside
the home, compared to fourteen percent of the males.
Men were significantly more likely to be shown outdoors or in business settings
than were women.
Twice as many w-omen were shown with children [than] were men.
Fifty-six percent of the women in the ads were judged to be [only] housewives.
Forty-three percent different occupations were [associated with] men, 18 with
women."
Dominick and Ranch's work is confirm~cl by several other studies,
all reviewed and assessed by Courtney and Whipple.1~ Both Busby
and Courtney and Whipple point out that several of the studies might
be challenged, because they were undertaken by feminists who had a
preestablished viewpoint, rather than by more objective researchers.
Furthermore, each study used different categories to code the data for
`subsequent analysis. Nonetheless, Busby and Courtney and Whipple
independently conclude that all available studies of women's portrayal
in TV commercials, including those of avowed feminists, have strong
~`face validity." "Face validity" means, that the findings are so similar
they appear .to be the result of real patterns on TV, rather than being
the result of the researchers' methods and predispositions.
In sum, all aspects of television-commercial programing, public
programing and advertisements-emphasize woman's role in the home
at the expense of her role in the labor force.
III. WoMv~'s MAGAZINES
As the American girl grows to womanhoocL she, like her counter-
parts elsewhere in indnstria]ized nations, has at her disposal maga-
zines designed especially for her use. Some, like Seventeen whose
readers tend to be young adolescents, seek to teach her about contem-
porary fashions and dating sty].es. Others, like Cosmopolitan and
Redbook, aim to instruct her in survival as a young woman-whether
as a single woman supposedly hunting a mate in the city or a young
married coping with home and hearth. One fact stands out about
women's magazines. Like the television programs just discussed, from
the earliest analyses of magazine fiction in 1949 16 to analyses pub-
].ished in the early 197O~s,17 researchers have reported an emphasis on
home and hearth and a denigration of the working woman. The ideal
woman, according to these magazines, is passive and dependent.' Her
15 N. E. Courtney and T. W. Whipple, "Women in TV Commercials," Journal of Commu-
nication 24 (2) (1974), 110-118.
1~ p* John-Heine and H. Gerth, "Values in Mass Periodical FIction, 1921-40," Public
Opinion Quarterly 13 (spring 1949), 105-113.
17 Helen Franzwa. "Working Women In Fact and Fiction," Journal of Communication 24
(2) (1974), 104-109.
Helen Franzwa, "Pronatalism in Women's Magazine Fiction," in Ellen Peale and Judith
Denderowitz. editors, "Pronatalism: The Myth of Motherhood and Apple Pie" (New York:
T. Y. Crowell 1974 h), 68-77.
Helen Franzwa, "Female Holes in Women's Magnzine Fiction. 1940-70." in H. K. TTnger
nncl F. L. Denmark, editors. "Women: Dependent or Independent Variable" (New York:
Psychological Dimensions 1975), 42-53.
PAGENO="0266"
258
fate and her happiness lie in the arms of a man, not in participation in
-the labor force.
Particularly in middle class magazines, fiction depicts women "as
creatures * * * defined by the men in their lives." ~ Studying a ran-
dom sample of issues of Ladies Home Journal, McCalls, and Good
Housekeeping between the years 1940 and 1970, Helen Franzwa
found four roles for women: "Single and looking for a husband,
housewife-mother, spinister, and widowed or divorced-soon to re-
marry." 17b All the women were defined by the men in their lives, or
by the absence of a man. Flora 18 confirms this finding in her study
of middle class (Redbook and Cosmopolitan) and working class (True
Story and Modern Romances) fiction. She adds that female depend-
ence and passivity are lauded; on the rare occasions that male depend-
ence is portrayed, it is seen as undesirable.
As might be expected of characterization that define women in
terms of men, American magazine fiction denigrates the working
woman. Franzwa 19 puts it this way: Work is shown to play "a dis-
tinctly secondary part in women's lives. When work is portrayed as
important to them, there is a concomitant disintegration of their
lives." Of the 155 major female characters in Franzwa's sample, only
65 or 41 percent were employed out-side the home. Seven of the 65 held
high-status positions. Of these seven, only two were married. Three
others were spinsters whose "failure to marry was of far greater im-
portance to the story line than their apparent success in their careers."
One single woman with a high status career was lauded: She gave up
her careerto marry.
From 1940 through 1950, Franzwa found working mothers and
working wives were condemned. Instead, the magazines emphasized
that husbands should support their spouses. One story summary sym-
bolizes the magazines' viewpoint:
In a 1940 story, a young couple realized that they couldn't live on his salary.
She offered to work; he replied, "I don't think that's so good. I know some fel-
lows whose wives work and they might just as well not be married." 20
Magazines after 1950 are less forthright about work: In 1955,
1960, 1965, and 1970, not one married woman who worked appeared
in the stories Franzwa sampled. (Franzwa selected stories from
magazines using 5-year intervals to enhance the possibility of find-
ing changes.)
Fiction designed for working-class women also projects a nega-
tive image of working women. Comparing fiction in magazines for
the middle class and working class, Flora- 21 found that all middle-
class women depicted dropped from the labor force when they had
a man present; 94 percent of the working-class women did so. Flora
explains that for both groups:
The plot of the majority of stories centered upon tile female achieving the
proper dependent status, either by marrying or manipulating existing depend-
ency relationships to reaffirm the heroine's subordinate position. The male sup-
port-monetary, social, and psychological-which the heroine gains was gen-
erally seen as well worth any independence or seifhood given up in the process.~
17a Franzwa, "Working Women in Fact and Fiction.'
17~ Franzwa, "Working Women in Fact and Fiction."
18 Cornelia Flora, "The Passive Female: Her Comparative Image by Class and Culture
In Women's Magazine Fiction," Journal of Marriage and the Family" (August 1971),
435-444;.
19Franzwa, "Working Women in Fact and Fiction."
20 Ibid., pp. 106-108.
~ Flora. op. cit.
~ Flora, op. cit., p. 441.
PAGENO="0267"
259
How6ver, it must be emphasized that the depiction of women in.
these magazines has changed, as a 1'Lrger proportion of women have
entered the. labor force. Studies published in 1958 23 and 1966 24 dis-
cuss nonfiction articles in middle-class ~women's magazines that involve
jobs for women. Both sets of researchers criticize the women's maga-
zines for being unrealistic. The earlier study complains that Made-
moiselle, Glamour, and Charm were unduly optimistic in their eval-
uationof physical and emotional strains upon working women. The
magazines assume that every woman is superwoman and can com-
bine a demanding full-time job, family life and social life without
various forms of assistance. The 1966 study criticizes Mademoiselle,.
Glamour, and Cosmopolitan for "an extraordinary heavy use of male
motivational themes" 25-such as amassing power-when describing
professional work. They feel those magazines ignore factors which
influence women to work and the kinds of jobs actually available to
women.
Additionally, there is limited evidence of change since the advint
of the modern women's movement, which began with the publication
of Friedan's Feminine Mystique.26 (Its analysis of sexism-"the prob-
lem with no name"-was based in part on an analysis of women's
magazines.) Stolz and her colleagues 27 found no changes in the
portrayal of women between 1940 and 1972. However, Franzwa reports
than an impressionistic study of the magazines she had analyzed
earlier suggested more sympathy with working women by 1975.28
Sheila Silver and others find a sympathetic attitude toward working
women in McCall's and other magazines.29 Nonetheless, these maga-
zines continue to concentrate on helping women as housewives, not
as workers in the labor force. Although their message varies slightly
according to the social class of their readers,3° magazines continue to
assume that every woman will marry, bear children, and make a home.
They do not assume that every woman will work some time in her
life-despite the increasing probability that t.his is indeed the case.31
IV. NEWSPAPERS AND TI-TEIR WOMEN'S PAGES
The very existence of women's magazines indicates that sex roles
are stereotyped, because they imply that men and women have separate
interests and concerns. One author points out that men's maga~ines
include items a.bout sports, occupations. and the general Americp~n
culture; items also of interest to women.32 But women's magazines
are not designed to appeal to men.33
~ M. G. Hatch and D. L. Hatch, "Problems of Married and Working Women as Presented
by Three Popular Working Women's Magazines." Social Forces 37 (1058), 148-153.
~° P. clarke and v. Esposito, "A Study of Occupational Advice for Women in Magazines,"
Journalism Quarterly 43 (1066), 477-485.
Clark and Esposito, quoted in Busby, op. cit.
28 Betty Friedan, "The Feminine Mystique" (New York: Norton Co., 1963).
~ Gale K. Stolz et al., "The Occupational Roles of Women in Magazines and Books," un-
published manuscript (Chicago: Loyola University, n.d.g.).
28 Franzwa. personal communication, October 1976.
~° Sheila Silver, "Then and Now-Content Analysis of McCall's Magazine." paper pre-
sented `it the `innual meeting~ of the ~s oci'ition foi Educ'ition in Tourn'ihsm 1976
Margaret Davis, "The Ladies' Home Journal and Esquire: A Comparison," unpublished
manuscript, Stanford University, Department of Sociology, 1976.
~° Carole Lopate, "Jackie," in G. Tuchman et al., editors, "Hearth and Home: Images of
Women in the Mass Media (New York: Oxford University Press, 1978).
ii Several new magazines which are addressed to the working woman are being published,
such as Workinc Woman, New Woman, and Ms.
32 Davis, op. cit. -
~ Marjorie Ferguson, "Imagery and Ideology: The Cover Photographs of `Traditional
Women's Magazines." in G. Tuchman et al., editors, "Hearth and Home: Images of Women
in the Mass Media" (New York: Oxford University Press, 1978).
PAGENO="0268"
260.
The same distinction betwen general interests hncl women's interests
is found in newspapers.34 Women are presumed to be interested in
men's activities, but the reverse* iS not held to be true. IVoinen's con-
ceriis are depicted to be the home, faimly. fashions, furnishings, recipes~
society p~irties, and marriages-topics supposedily beyond the pale fo~'
men who have confonnecl to their appropriate sex-role stereotype. The
distinction is historically grounded: stories on sex-typed women's
topics were first carried in the 1880's on pages with ad~ertisenients of
interest to women. They were. viewed as a novelty, akin to sports news
and cartoons. whicli were also introduced to build readership at that
time. As novelt~es. they were viewed as nonnews by professional jour-
nalist~, a definition that still exists.33 Today's women's ~ do not
view women as interested or involved in the labor force. except when
their paid occupations have an adverse affect on their ability to fulfill
home and family responsibilities.36 .
Five recent studies are critical to understanding contemporary
women's pages: One. survey of the Nation's women's pages found a
great emphasis upon marriage, recipes. and traditional women's con-
cerris.37 A second author noted that urban newspapers cover society
parties and dinners: they hold up the social activities of wealthy
women (nonparticipants in the labor force) as examples of behavior
toward which all women should aspire.~ A third author suggested
that women's pages tend to feature women who are important only
because they arc the wives of important men-that is. satellites-
leading to the inference that this type of dependent woman is the
`~ideal." The most admired women list features, for the most part,
satellite women. Recently some satellite wives have. tried to l)ecome
activitists or personalities in their own right by having their famous
husbands or fathers sponsor their activity or pro~ect.~°
A fourth author noted the emphasis upon home. marriage and
wealth and the minimalization of concern with participation in the
1abor force. She adds that recent attempts to upgrade the women's
page by converting it to a people or family page have similarly played
clown women's economic activities. Rather than increasing coverage of
women's participation in the labor force and of the women's movement,
the people pages have incorpoi'at.ed other items formerly found else-
where. in newspapers, such a~ movie reviews. restaurant reviews, and
stories about celebrities.40
Finally,, one study finds some coverage of women in the labor force
in the New York Times, primarily coverage of the womens move-
ment.41 It suggests that coverage of the women's movement went
~ Cynthia Fuchs Epstein, "The Women's Movement and the Women's Paces: Separate:
Unequal and Unspectacular," in G. Tuchman et al. editors. "Hearth and Home: Images of
Women in the Mass Media" (New York: Oxford University Press. 197s1.
`~ Harvey L. Molotch, "Men's Work, Women's News." in G. Tuchman et al. editors,
"Hearth and Home: Images of Women in the Mass Media" (New York: Oxford University
Press, 197S).
~ Zena B. Guenin, "Women's Pages In Contemporary Newspapers: Missing Out on Con-
temporary Content," Journalism Quarterly (1974). 66-69. 75.
~` Lindsay Van Gelder. "Women's Pages: Ya Can't Make News Out of a Silk Purse."
MS (November 1974), 112-116.
~S G. William Domhoff. "The Women's Page as a Window on the Ruling Class." in G.
Tuchman et ai., editors, "Hearth and Home: Images of Women in the Mass Media" (New
York: Oxford University Press, 19781.
`~ Gladys Engel Lang, "The Most Admired Woman." in G. Tuchman et al.. editors.
"Hearth and Home: Images of Women in the Mass Media" (New York: Oxford University
Press, 1978).
4° Guenin, op. cit.
4' Gnye Tucliman, "The Newspaper as a Social Movement's Resource." in Gaye Tuchman
~t al., editors, "Flearth and Home: Image of Women in the Mass Media" (New York:
Oxford University Press, 1978).
PAGENO="0269"
261
through several stages~ first, ridicule and ostracism; second, restric~
tionto the women's page; and third, coverage of POlitIcal and economic
activities, including participation in the labor force, on general iiews
pages as issues introduced by feminists were brought into the institu-
tionalized congressional and legal arenas.
Yet here, too, all recent studies find that newspapers, like other
media, perpetuate sex-role stereotyping. Images presented of women
lag well behind the actual participation of women in the labor force.
They reflect dominant attittides that women's task is to tend the home.
V. TIlE EFFECT OF TI-IE MEDIA Tirox LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION
A dilemma remains. All the media discussed laud nonworking wives~
Yet women continue to enter the labor force at a rate that has far
exceeded the predictions of demographers and specialists on the labor
force.
What are we to make of this discrepancy between the sex-roTe ster~O-
types reflected ~fl the media and the employment Pattern of women?
Does the discrepancy mean that the mass media reflect attitudes dis-
carded by the iopulation and have no effect on the behavior of women?
This htttei possibility is qmte seducti\ e gu en the p~ttein of women's
high labor force participation. But that conclusion conflicts with
every existing theory about the mass media.. Communications theorists
agree that mass media are the cement of American social life-a source
of common interest and of conversation. Children and adults may
schedule their activities arouncT favorite television programs. The mass
media serve to coordinate the activities of diverse societal institutions,
and they pass on the social heritage from one generation to the next.
The view that the media influence work patterns seems plausible,
because most women enter tile labor force out of perceived economic
necessity; yet they continue to maiiitain traditional beliefs about
women's role in the home.42 1\Toineii enter the labor force despite the
stereotypes perpetrated by the mass media.
The mass medha probably inhibits women's employment, discour-
ages women's educational audi occupational aspirations, and facilitates
the underemployment of women by encouraging piospective employers
to identify women workers with low-paying traditional female jobs,
This analysis of the role of the media is substantiatedi by all available
evidence about the impact of the media upon sex-role stereotyping.
Aimee Dorr. Leifer points out that television provides many of
the same socialization processes as the family. It may even compete
with the family as a socializing agent. The im act of television upon
children is particulari~r clear regardling the effect of television, violence.
This evidence is available because of the national push for such re-
search after the. political assassinations amid riots of the 1960's. Because
there has not been a similar push to learn about the impact of tele-
vised sex-role stereotypes, oiie must draw upon the violence studies
to discuss sex roles.
42 Karen Oppenheim Mason, John L. Czajk-a, and Sara Arher, "Change in U.S. Women's Sex
Role Attitudes." American Sociological Review 41 (4) (i9Ttm). 5ui-~Oa. -
~ Aimee Dorr Leifer, "Socialization Processes in the Family," paper presented at Pr1~
Jeunesse Seminar, Munich, Germany, 1975.
PAGENO="0270"
262
A. The Violence Stud'~eg
Social science researchers frequently disagree about which methods
of research are appropriate to gain insight into a problem. All ~cm
ready to admit that the ideal way to explore television's impact would
be to perform a controlled experiment in a natural setting. Ideaily,
one would isolate a group that did not watch television, matching
`characteristics of individuals in that group with the characteristics
`of others whose viewing was designed by the researchers. The groups
Would be studied over a period of some yea.rs to see whether the effects
~f TV are cumulative.
Unfortunately, such a research design is impossible.. Because virtu-
* ally all American homes have at least one television set, one cannot
locate children to be in the "control group"-children who have not
been exposed to television. To circumvent this problem, the violence
* researchers used both laboratory and field experiments. In the former,
* children were exposed to carefully selected (and sometimes specially
;prepared) videotapes, lasting anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour.
Their behavior was analyzed before, during and after viewing the
4ape. By carefully controlling which children would see what tape
~(designing "control groups"), the experimenters could comment upon
the effect of televised violence on the children. Unfortunately, such
studies are artificial. Researchers cannot state definitively the extent to
which the research findings are related to behavior in the real world.
Although the second approach, field experiments, does not "smell of
the laboratory," it too has difficulties. First, such studies are invariably
"correlational." That means the studies demonstrate that two kinds
of behavior are found together; the studies cannot state whether one
behavior causes the other or whether both behaviors are caused by a
third characteristic of the children being studied. For instance, in the
violence studies, teams of researchers asked youths and children about
their viewing habits (and in one case tried to control those habits) a.nd
also measured (in a variety of ways) their antisocial behavior. Al-
though viewing `aggression and antisocial behavior were invariably
found to be associated, it remains possible that some third factor ac-
counted for the variation.
The fact that different research teams interviewed children of dif-
ferent sexes, ages, social classes, and races living in different parts of
the country makes it fairly certain that a third factor was not responsi-
ble for the association of TV viewing and antisocial behavior. This
conclusion is strengthened `by evidence from the laboratory studies:
The conclusions from `both types.of research dovetail, rather than con-
tradict one another. Furthermore, since the U.S. Surgeon General
issued his report in 1973, additional field studies have found:
That viewing televised or filmed violence in a naturalistic setting increases the
incidence of naturally occurring aggression, that long-term exposure to television
may increase one's `aggressiveness. and that exposure to televised violence may
increase one's tolerance for everyday aggression.~
~ Ibid., p. 15.
PAGENO="0271"
263
B. The Sex Role Studies S
Studies of the impact of televised sex role stereotypes draw on the
same methods and research reasoning as the violence studies. First,
content analyses document the extent of stereotyping. Second, labora-
tory experiments seek to document the impact of controlled viewing
upon research subjects. Third, field studies (including attitudinal
surveys) try to locate differences between the attitudes of children
who are light TV viewers and those who are heavy viewers, while
controlling for other pertinent variables. Like the violence studies,
those concerning sex roles draw on the concept of socialization. They
ask, do girls model their own behavior on that observed on television?
This general question may be broken down into five component
questions:
1. Do girls pay closer attention to female characters than to m~ale
characters Y-Joyce Sprafkin and Robert Liebert report the results of
three laboratory experiments designed to see whether (a) boys and
girls each prefer TV programs featuring actors of their own sex, (b)
whether' the children pay closer attention when someone of the same
sex is on the TV screen, and (c) whether the children prefer to watch
members of their own sex engaging in sex-typed behavior (playing
with dolls or footballs, reading with one's parents) ~ To gather in-
formation, they enabled the child being tested to switch a dial, choos-
ing between an episode of "Nanny and the Professor" `and one of the
"Brady Bunch." (Children like to watch situation `comedies.) 46 For
each program, episodes featuring male or female characters were
selected with different episodes showing a boy or girl engaged in a sex-
typed or non-sex-typed behavior. The findings are clear: In their view
habits, children prefer sex-typing. They prefer programs featuring
actors of their own sex; they watch members of their own sex more
closely; they also pay more attention when a member of their own sex
engages in sex-typed behavior. According to Sprafkin and Liebert,
such behavior probably involves learning, because according `to psy-
chological theories, children prefer to expose-
themselves to same-sex models as an information-seeking strategy; children are
presumed to attend to same-sex peers because they already sense that much social
reinforcement is sex-typed, and want to discover the contingencies that apply to
their own gender.'7
2. Do girls value the attributes of female characters or of male
characters Y-The evidence on evaluation is not as clear. A variety of
communications researchers, particularly groups working at Michigan
State University `and University of Wisconsin, `have performed a
series of laboratory experiments to determine which specific characters
boys and girls prefer, and why. They find th'at invariably boys identify
with male characters. Sometimes though (about 30 percent of `the time)
~ Joyce Sprafkln and Robert Liebert. "Sex and Sex Roles as Determinants of Children's
Television Program Selections and Attention," unpublished manuscript, State University
of New York at Stonybrook, 1976.
~° J. Lyle and H. R. Hoffman, "Children's Use of Television and Other Media," in Tele-
vision and Social Behavior, vol. 4 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office,
1972).
~ Sp'rofkin and Liebert, op. cit., p. 22. Cf., J. B. Grusec and D. B. Brinker, Jr., "Reinforce-
ment for Imitation as a Social Learning Determinant With Implications for Sex-Role
Development," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 21. (1972), 149-158.
PAGENO="0272"
264
girls also identify with or pvefer male charactérs.4S When girls choos&
a TV character as a model, they are grnded by the characters physical
~ttractivenéss; boys are guided by strength. Indeed, even when girls:
select a male character, they flppea.r to be guided by his physical attrac-
tivenêss. Girls who select male characters do not stat.e that the feniale
characters do the same kind of things as they, themselves, do.4°
3. Does TV viewing have an impact on the attitudes of young chil-
dren tOward sex roles ?-Here the evidence is clearer. Freuh and Me-
Ghèe ~° interviewed children in kindergarten through sixth grade,
asking them about the amount of time they speiid watching TV and
testing the extent and direction of their occupational sex-typing. The
children who viewed the most TV (25 hours or more each week) were
significantly more traditional in their occupational sex-typing than
those who viewed the least (10 hours or less per week). Because this
study is correlational, one cannot know whether viewing determines.
sex-typing or vice versa. But Beuf reports similar correlational find-
ings TV does seem to be the culprit, according to laboratory studies:
on TV ~ iewmg `md occupational pi eferences
Millei `md Reeves `tsked clnldien to watch TV ch'mracteis in tiadi-
tion'ml and nonti `mdition'd 1 oles ~incl then `tskecl them wh'mt kinds of jobs
boys and girls could hold when they grow up. Children exposed to pro-
gi~ams about female police officers, for instance, were significantly
inor~ likely to state, that a women could be a police officer than were
children who watched more traditional fare. Pingree reports similar
laboratory results for nonsexist commercials.
4. Do these attitvcies continue as children n?atu.re?-It is known that
sex-typing increases as children mature. Second-graders are more
insistent in their sex-typing than first graders are. Adolescent boys and
girls insist upon discriminating betwen behavior by sex. But nobody
knows about the impact of TV on this process. Teenagers claim the
ability to differentiate between what is real and what is fantasy in
entertainment shows. (Medical shows are supposedly real; a flying nun
is phoney.) ~ But no one has asked the children about sex-typing. If the
research on violence is any indication, however, continued exposure
should lead to a greater impact.
4S Byron Reeves and Bradley Greenberg, "children's Perceptions of TV Characters.'
paper presented at the anilual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism,
College Park, Md., 1976.
Mark M. Miller and. Byron Reeves. "Children's Occupational Sex-Role Stereotypes:
The Linkage Between Television Content and Perception," Journal of Brodcastin~ (in
press), 1976.
Mark M. Miller, "Factors Affecting Children's Cl1oices of TV Characters as Sex-Role
Models," paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education in Jour-
nalism, College Park. Md.. 1976.
Byron Reeves, "The Dimensional Structure of Children's Perception of TV Characters,'~
unpublished doctoral dissertation, Michigan State University, 1976.
~` Reeves. op. cit.
5° T. Frueh and P. E. McGhee. "Traditional Sex-Role Develonment and Amount of
Time Spent Watching Television." Developmental Psychology 11 (1975). 109.
5tAnn Beuf. "Doctor, Lawyer, Household Drudge," Journal of Communication 24 (2)
(19~4). 142-14u.
Miller and Reeves, op. cit.
~ Suzanne Pingree, "The Effects of Nonsexist Television Commercials and Perceptions
of Reality on Children's Attitudes Toward women." paper presented at the annual meetings
of the International Communication Association, Portland, Oreg. 1976.
°` Leifer, op. cit., pp. 33-39.
PAGENO="0273"
265
5; Does TT~ viewing influence the ambitions of aciol~scent giris.~-
Woik by Gioss `Lnd Jeffues Fox indicates, definitely ~ es In their
lEield study, they find:
TV ~ iew ing is negatn ely associated w ith educition'tl aspir `itions
The daughters of the college educ'ited who `ne high TV ~iew ers are happy at
the thought of being a full-time mother at age 30; low TV viewers are not.
High-viewing is also associated with being happy at the thought of having
four children by age 30. Low-viewing is associated with smaller family size.
Heavy television viewing is particularly likely to be associated with traditional
responses (that is, to become wives and mothers) by the daughters of the college-
educated. These patterns do not hold for sons.
Finally, it is possible that the impact of heavy television viewing
will continue when these adolescents become adults, providing they are
still heavy viewers and TV stereotyping persists. As social psycholo-
gists stress, socialization is an ongoing process. In summary, mass
media have an adverse effect on the self-image of girls and women as
capable contributors to the economy and to society.
VI. POLICY SUGGESTIONS
Taken together, the preceding materials suggest that the image of
women projected by mass media may exert a conservative force upon
the employment of women. The lessons provided .by the mass media
probably:
1. Prevent some affluent and other classes of women from seeking employment.
2. Discourage women who must w-ork from seeking better jobs or setting higher
goals.
However, it is impossible to prove this statement because there are no
studies about the relationship between media use and labor force par-
ticipation. The closest approximation to such research is a dissertation
on media use and the occupational aspIrations of adolescent girls and
boys.56 Conversely, nothing is known about the impact of the~ media
upon employers. Therefore:
1?ecommenclation 1: Congress should fund a full-scale analysis of
the effect of mass-media images upon children and adults.. Funded on
the scale of the "Surgeon General's Report on Violence and Children,"
such a study would provide benefits beyond the discovery of new infor-
mation. By generating publicity, it would help to establish the equal-
ity of women as a national priority.
Additionally, other actions should `be undertaken even before such
an inquiry is completed. They are more than justified by the known
influence of the mass media upon children's sex-role stereotyping.
These other measures, however, are more complex to initiate because
of the nature of the agencies responsible for the regulation of the
media.
1. Newspapers and news magazines are regulated by the Post Office and Federal
Trade Commission.
~ Larry Gross and Suzanne Jeffries-Fox. 1978. "What Do You Want To Be When You
Grow Up Little Girl?" A paper presented at the symposium on women arid the news media
sponsored by the National Science Foundation, San Francisco, April 1975. For additional
and somewhat contradictory data, see a later draft of this naper in G. Tuchman et al.
"Hearth and Home: Images of Women in the Mass Media" (New York: Oxford University
Press, 1978).
5~ Suzanne Jeifries-Fox, "Television and Adolescent Girls' Occupational Aspirations,"
Ph. D. dissertation, in process, Annenberg School of Communication University of
Pennsylvania.
91-GSG-77----1s
PAGENO="0274"
266
2. Advertising on the electronic media is scrutinized by the Federal Traae
Commission (FTC) and is also under the aegis of the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC).
3. The FCC provides the primary regulation of radio and television, although
there is some overlap with other agencies, that is, the U.S. Commission of Civil
Rights in such matters as Equal Employment Opportunities. Generally, the FCC
encourages self-regulation through the National Association of Broadcasters and
the N.A.B. Code.~
Recommendation 2: Congress should fund a pilot project at several
newspapers serving cities of varying sizes to see whether increased
staffi~ng could alter the portrayal of women on women's pages. This rec-
ommendation is based on the assumption that more local reporting and
less use of syndicated items would alter the portrayal of women in
newspapers.
Recom'imendation 3: Sex-role stereotypes in the electronic media
siwuld be banned. The monitoring of the electronic media should be
more thorough. First, the Federal Trade Commission should be en-
couraged to enforce more strictly the advertising code of the National
Association of Broadcasters. According to the code:
The broadcaster and the advertiser should exercise special caution with the
content and presentation of television commercials placed in or near programs
designed for children.
Exploitation of children should be avoided. Commercials directed to chil-
dren should in no way mislead as to the product's performance or usefulness.~
Recommendation 4: the Federal Trade Commi.ssion should ban sex-
typed advertising. If the FTC fails to do this, Congress should enact
the appropriate laws.
According to the National Association of Broadcasters' Code:
Advertising messages should be presented with courtesy and good taste-
every effort should be made to keep advertising messages in harmony with the
content and general tone of the program in which it appears.59
This should be interpreted as applying to sex-typing in all commer-
cials. According to Silverstein and Silverstein: 60
The portrayal of women in commercials does not depend upon the type of
program in which they are aired. Rather, the type of program determines the
nature of the product advertised, which in turn determines the portrayal of
women in advertisements.
Sex-role stereotyping can be found in advertising for male-oriented, female-ori-
ented and neuter products.
Recommendation 5: The NAB Code should be interpreted as ban-
fling sex-role stereotypes.
Specific attention should be paid to sex-role stereotypes in program
content. Although the FCC has traditionally shied away from the
regulation of television content, a recent notice of inquiry departed
from that stance. The FCC acknowledged the Supreme Court's recent
Red Lion decision which declared that broadcasters' first amendment
rights are not superior to those of the viewers :61 The FCC declared
that it had both the right and the affirmative duty to develop policy
designed to assure that children's programs and accompanying adver-
~ The NAB radio and TV codes are broadcasting standards established by the industry
anl subscribed to voluntarily by many commercial broadcasters as part o~ an industry-
wide self-regulatory program. -
~ National Association of Broadcasters, "The Television Code," 19th edition sec. X pnr
3, June 1976, p. 12.
~ Ibid., sec. X, par. 1, p~ 12.
°° Silverstein and Silverstein, op. cit., pp. 95-96.
°` 395 iTS. 367 (1969).
PAGENO="0275"
267
tisements serve the public interest. Furthermore, dissenting opinions
issued by FCC commissioners affirm the right and duty of the FCC to
regulate program content.
Recommendation 6: The FCC should be encouraged to `effect its
right and affirmative duty in regard to sex-role sterotyping in all tele-
vision programing. This is vital because in 1974 62 the FCC declared
itself willing to give the industry another opportunity to regulate it-
self: at the same time, the NAB Code did nothing to alter its regu-
lations, which were inadequate regarding sex-roles. Only two para-
graphs in the NAB Code pertain to the portrayal of women:
Special sensitivity is necessary in the use of material relating to sex, race, color,
age, creed, religious functionaries or rites, or national and ethnic derivation.63
[Section IV, paragraph 7, 1976 (Code)].
The presentation of marriage, the family and similarly important human re-
lationships, and materials with sexual connotations, `shall not be treated exploit-
atively or irresponsthly, but with sensitivity. Costuming and movements of all
perfOrmers shall be handled in a similar fashion (section IV, paragraph 9).
The code authority of the NAB holds that section IV, paragraph 7
means:
Advertisers and broadcasters should endeavor to depict all persons in a posi-
tive manner, always keeping in mind the importance of human dignity to every
human being.
Increased efforts should be made to promote concepts of self-pride, dignity
and individual worth.
All parties involved in the preparation of broadcast material should be sensi-
tive to the need for balance in the portrayal of men and women in all aspects of
society, both inside and outside of the home.~
Nonetheless, individual stations continue to interpret section IV,
paragraph 7, as applying to sex, rather than to sex roles. The 1975
statement of the code authority has not been applied to sex-role stereo-
typing and occupational stereotypes.
Written guidelines used at the networks do not rectify this omission
inasmuch as content analyses (previously reviewed) find that stereo-
typing continues to be unabated. The Columbia Broadcasting System
(CBS) has no written guidelines as of October 1, 1976. The. American
Broadcasting Company (ABC) does not mention stereotyping:
ABC `will accept no program which misrepresents, ridicules, or attacks any
individual or group on a basis of race, creed, sex, color, or national origin.~
The National Broadcasting Co. (NBC) does specify:
Special sensitivity is necessary in presenting material relating to sex, age,
race, color, creed, religion or national or ethnic origin to avoid contributing to
damaging or demeaning stereotypes.67
Actual practices seem to be summed by the ABC spokesperson
who explained that its Broadcasting Standards and Practices Depart-
ment (a) employs sensitive people, and (b) deletes adverse, terms s~h
as "chick" and "broad" from programs. The spokesperson then negated
~ Federal Communications Commission, "Report and Policy Statement, Children's Tele-
vision Programs," 39 FR. 39400, Nov. 6, 1974.
~ National Association of Broadcasters, sec. Iv, par. 7, p. 5.
°~ Ibid., sec. IV, par. 9, p. 5.
~5 Code authority of the National Association of Broadcasters, board statement on sex
depictions after NOW appeal, Code News 8 (10) (1975), p. 2.
66 Telephone conversation with American Broadcasting Co. spokesperson re ABC Stand-
ardsand Practices, see. III.
22. National Broadcasting Co., "NBC Broadcast Standards for Television, n.d.g., pp. 6-7,
PAGENO="0276"
268
tIns positive, attitude toward se~ stereotyping by refusing to comment
on sex-role occupational stereotyping. The networks, the NAB, and
the FCC have not addressed themselves to the negative pattern of
women's images that is aired. In a case in which a licensee (WTRc_T'V)
was challenged alid allegations made about the negative patterii of por-
trayal of women, the FCC placed the burden of proof upon the chal-
lenger rather than the licensee and did not find the licensee a.t I~aiñt.6s
Recommendation 7: Congress should pass appropriate legislation
requiring the 11CC to serve the public interest by denying the renewal
of licenses when a challenger can establish a pattern of stereotyping
in programs aired by the licensee. The emphasis upon patterns is cru-
cial, since legislation about the content of any one program ca.n be in-
terpreted as a violation of the first amendment, notwithstanding the
Supreme Court's Red Lion decision.
Recommendation 8: Congress should use its i'&lirect influence on
public television to improve the portrayal of women on pa blic TV (as
well as the employment processes in the Congress itself.
Recommendation 9: Priority should be given to the enforcement of
affirmative action programs in mass media organizations. Present
forms used by the FCC to gather data about the employment of women
and minorities are vague:
1. It cannot be determined how? many white women, white men. black men,
other women, and other men are employed by any station or by all stations.
2. The job classifications used obscure the actual responsibilities and power
of men and women, blacks and whites.
3. It cannot be determined how many or what proportion of female and
minority employment would meet a requirement or would represent the view-
ers or workers in a licensee's city or signal area.
4. Hiring patterns and available jobs over the past licensing period are not
determined.
5. The FCC does not determine how cr why individuals are hired (whether
specific persons are located through an equal employment opportunity search
or through existing "old boy networks").
Reco~imnciation 10: Con qress should enact specific guidelines man-
dating th~ nonrenewal of licenses if equal employment opportumty
procedures are not implemented. The burden of proof of compliance
should be placed upon the licensee. An outside authority (U.S. Com-
mission of Civil Rights) should design the necessary forms. since
the FCC has not implemented the law.
Independent studies ~° reveal that the hiring of women has slowed
down. Although there are more women em]3loyed in the industry than
in the past, the rate at which they are employed is not rising as much
as it had previously.
63Federal Communications Commission, Memorandum Opinion and Order ne Application
of National Broadcasting Co., Inc., for Renewal of License of WRC-TV, Washington, D.C.,
52 FCC 2d 273, 286 (1975a).
~ Federal Communications Commission, Notice of Inquiry and Notice of Proposed Rule-
making in Re Nondiscrimination in the Employment Policies and Practices of Broadcast
Licensees, FCC 75-849-36343 (1975b). (Cf. concurring statements of J. Quello; also
B. Hooks, p. 6 if.)
70Ralph M. Jennings and Veronica Jefferson. "Television Station Employment Practices:
The Status of Minorities and Women, 1974," UnIted Church of Christ. Office of Communi-
cation.' mimeo. December 1974.
Ralph M. Jennings and Veronica M. Jefferson, "Television Station Employment Prac-
tices': The Status of Minorities and Women, 1975," United Church of Christ, Office of
Communication. mimeo, January 1975.
PAGENO="0277"
Part ITT. INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS
(269)
PAGENO="0278"
PAGENO="0279"
WORKING WOMEN: EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE AND
AMERICAN NEED
Br ALICE H. CooK *
CONTENTS
Page
I. Women's participation in the labor force 272
II. Th~ goal of equality 274
III. Compensatory programs for labor market reentry and training 276
IV. Experience abroad in reentry and training 278
A. Austria 278
B. Australia 280
C. Federal Republic of Germany 282
D. Sweden 285
V. Experience abroad in child care 288
A. Australia 290
B. Austria 295
C. France 297
D. Sweden 301
The problems which working women face are well-nigh universal. A
list of their special circumstances and needs indicates the extent of
the problems' complexities and pressures:
First, unquestionably, is the double burden which these women
carry of both home responsibility and job requirements. Consequences
of this dual role which society assigns to women are their cries for
support systems which will provide child care or offer them the
possibility of flexible working hours.
Second is the nature of what have been called "women's jobs," typi-
cally low-paid, low-opportunity occupations with the consequent cliis-
tering-indeed overcrowding-of women in very restricted areas of the
labor market.
Third are women's handicaps within a labor market structured for
men's lifetime, uninterrupted careers, with the resultant lack of pro-
vision for women's entry, reentry and training in their mid-adult
years; there are also low ceilings on promotion, on-the-job training or
released time training and a lack of opportunity for women to move
into supervisory and middle management posts.
Foufth are the assumptions underlying labor market policy which
hold that women are temporary entrants in the labor market, secondary
earners in the family and dependents of their husbands. This is evident
in tax and social security legislation, based on a male breadwinner as
head of family. . .
Fifth is the failure of the public education system in its curricula
and counseling to assume that most women will work a large part of
their adult lives.
*professor Emerita, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
(271)
PAGENO="0280"
272
Sixth is the continuing though diminishing existence of overt dis-
crimination against women in many occupations and in many job and
training opportunities.
Some countries, including the United States, have taken decided
steps to eliminate some of these inequities. During 1972 and 19Th, at
the invitation of the Ford Foundation, I traveled in nine countries
(six of them with free market economies, three of them Communist) to
look at the particular problems of working mothers' and at the
programs which had been designed and carried out to meet the special
needs of women. This article will deal with some of the findings
of that trip and of the ongoing study which has followed it..
For the policymaker and legislator, the task is first to comprehend
the dimensions of the problems which working women face and to
understand their basic causes. Then it is to evaluate the experiments
iii. other countries for their relevance to the United States and the
way in which they can be incorporated into our legal and social
system.
* I. Wosri~x's RUiTIcIPATI0X IX THE LABoR FORCE
Other articles in this volume have dealt in detail with the facts .of
women's growing participation in the labor force. Here. it is sufficient
to: call attention to the fact that ~ perceiit of all women between the
ages of 18 and 64 are in the labor force, making up about 41 percent
of all persons in the labor market.2 The proportion of women in t.he
labor force in every age group has steadily risen, but the most striking
increase has been among women over 35 years of age. The result is
that women in these age groups are rapidly approaching the partici-
pation rates of women in their early twenties.
Lowest rates of participation were among the very young~ (40.1 per-
cent.for those 16 and 17 years of age) and older women (41.1 percent
for those 55-64 years of age). The rate for women in the most fertile
childbearing years. 25-34, rose from 36 perceiit in 1960 to 57.1 percent
in December 1976.~
A second significant change in the labor market has been among
the trroup of women who are young mothers.
While the labor force participation rate of all women 20-24 rose
from 45 percent in 1960 to 65 percent in 1976. the rate for wives in this
age group with children under 6 doubled from 18 perceiit to 37.4
Percelit.4
The reasons why women. incllldlina~ young mothers, work are largely
economic and can be explained by the desire for a. comfortable living
standard for themselves and their children. the increasing rate of in-
flation which has made two incomes in a. family desirable if not ab-
1 See the author's "The Working Mother: A Study of Problems and Programs in Nine
Countries" (Ithaca, N.Y.: School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Cornell University.
197~) The countries visited were Australia. Austria. the two Germanys. Israel. Japan.
Romania, Sweden, and the U.S.S.R. Some of these countries have been revisited in the
recent past and Yugoslavia. England, and France added to the list under continuing study.
2 U.S. Denartment of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, washington, D.C., unpublished
data for 197G.
I Ibid., unpublished data.
Ibid., unpublished data.
PAGENO="0281"
273
solutely necessary, and the increasing number of single women heads
of families.5
The labor market in this country, as in others, has moreover been
receptive to the increasing number of women candidates for work. The
growing demand for white-collar, educational, health, and service
workers in the developed nations as their economies have moved be-
yond an emphasis on production to one of consumer goods and serv-
ices, has been a major factor favoring the increased employment of
women. The demand "pull" has played as important a role probably as
the supply "push" in the growth of women's jobs in the work force.6
Indeed, one of the great changes in labor force structure has been
the growing proportion of women workers who are married. The rate
of their participation climbs more steeply than that of other women
in the labor force and is closely correlated with their level of educa-
tional achievement.
While the labor force participation rate for all wives in March
1974 was 43 percent, it ranged from 32 percent for those with less
than 4 years of high school to 59 percent for those with 4 or more
years of college.T
Thus, the steadily rising level of educational attainment in this
country has a significant effect on women's labor force participation,
even when they are married and the mothers of children.
These characteristics of women's labor force participation in the
United States appear in many other developed countries.~ In Sweden,
the proportion of women over 16 who were working in 1970 was 53.7
Percent and the proportion of married women 52.7 percent; in Fin-
land, 60 percent of all married women worked and 43 percent of the
labor force was made up of women; in Great Britain in 1969, 39.3
percent of all married women worked and women macIc up 35.8 per-
cent of the labor force.9 In Japan, by 1972, 46.1 percent of the labor
force were women.1°
Table 1 gives comparative information on six countries as to the
activity rate of all women and of married women in their respective
labor forces: ~1
The number of families beaded by women increased from 5,573,000 in 1970 to 5,595,000
In 1971 and 6,184,000 in 1972. See Howard Hayge, "Labor Force Activity of Married
women," Monthly Labor Review, April 1973. "While 1 out of every 10 families was headed
by a woman a decade ago, the ratio in March 1973 was 1 out of every S families." "Man-
power Report of the President," transmitted to the Congress (Washington, D.C.: Govern-
ment Printing Office, April 1975), p. 70.
° For an explication of this view, see Valerie Oppenheimer, "The Interaction of Demand
and Supply and Its Effect on the Female Labor Force in the United States," Population
Studies, 1967, 21: 3, pp. 239-259, and Juanita Kreps, "Sex in the Marketplace: American
Women at Work," Policy Studies in Employment and Welfare, No. 11 (Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins Press, 1971), pp. 33-40.
"1975 Handbook on Women Workers," bulletin 297 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Depart-
ment of Labor, 1975), p. 24.
By 1975, the International Labour Office (ILO) reported that the developed countries
on the whole had the highest participation rates of women in their respective labor forces.
ILO, "Womanpower, the Worlds Female Labor Force in 1975 and the Outlook for 2000
(Geneva, 1975), p. 8.
See table in Cook, op. cit., p. 2.
~ Statistics for Japan do not show the proportion of women who are married. The num-
ber is unquestionably rising, although the rate probably lags behind that of other countries.
See Joyce Lebra,' Joy Paulson, and Elizabeth Powers, editors, "Women in Changing Japan,"
(Boulder, Cob.: Westview Press, 1976). "Twenty years ago married women were half of all
employed women; today they are two-thirds of the female work force." p. 109.
~1 By 1974, the Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor reported a married women's
participation rate of 43 percent and other women at 40.9 percent. "1975 Handbook," p. 19.
PAGENO="0282"
274
TABLE 1-PARTICIPATION OF MARRIED AND OTHER WOMEN AGED 15 AND OVER IN THE LABOR FORCE,
SELECTED COUNTRIES, 1970
[In percentj
Activity rate
Composition
of total Iabo
r force
Married Other
Married
Other
~Country
Allwomen
women women
Total
Males
women
women
Hungary
Great Britain
48
43
52 41
41 47
100
100
59
64
28
22
13
14
Sweden
37
36 39
100
65
20
15
United States
40
38 44
100
63
21
16
Australia
37
33 46
100
68
18
14
France
36
20 59
100
65
12
23
Source: Adapted from I
LO, "Womanpo
wer," table VIII, p.31.
If one looks simply at the female part of the labor force, one gets an
even more striking picture of the relation of married women working
~to nonmarried. Using the same countries, this point is illustrated in
table 2.
TABLE 2.-PROPORTION OF MARRIED AMONG ACTIVE AND ALL WOMEN AGED 15 AND OVER: SELECTED
COUNTRIES, 1970
[In percent[
Country
Women in the
labor force
All women
Married N
ot married
Married
Not married
Hungary
Great Britain
Sweden
69
60
58
31
40
42
64
64
60
36
36
40
United States --
57
43
60
40
Australia
57
43
65
35
France
33
67
59
41
Source: Adapted from ILO, "Womanpower," table IX, p. 32.
In its "lookback to 1950" the International Labor Organization
(ILO.) notes that:
The female labor force has about doubled in number in Northern America and
in much of Latin America and Oceania during the last 25 years. .. . Two of the
more developed regions, Northern America and Australia and New Zealand
increased their proportions of the world's female labor force.'2
As for the next 25 years, the long range projections for these parts of
the world anticipate that women's activity rates will continue to in-
crease (despite some decline in the cases of the younger and older
age groups). "The. female labor force is expected to grow by nearly
50 million, or 2 million annually."
II. THE GOAL OF EQUALITY
As women's numbers in the labor force increase in almost all coun-
tries, social policy with respect to women is stated in terms of equality:
equal pay, equal opportunity for employment, equal rights in own-
ership of property, equal rights in decisions about children and in-
heritance, and equal rights in marriage and divorce. Although equality
12JT~Ø, "Womanpower," pp. 35-30.
`2A study which Evelyne Sullerot did for the European Economic Community (EEC)
and whose German edition is entitled "Die Erwerbstaetigkeit der Frauen und Ihre Probleme
in den Mltgliedstaaten der Gemeinsehaft (Work Activity of Women and Their Problems in
the Member States of the Community)" 8334, Luxembourg, no date (1970?) repeats for
~the then six member states of the community similar details.
PAGENO="0283"
275
has not been achieved ~ everywhere, the goals are being set and dis-
cussion, plans, reports, policy drafts, and actual legislation point in
the direction of sex equality.
Not all countries approach the attainment of these rights in the
same way (indeed, one of the problems in comparing women's status
in different countries arises precisely from the varying approaches
arrd emphases on equal rights). Among all the efforts, we are here
concerned only with questions of labor market equality. In narrowing
our focus to these issues, we must be aware of the generality and range
of the concern for total equality between the sexes.
Because of the "climate" of trying to achieve equality of the sexes,
working women tend to assume that while their reach may indeed
exceed their immediate grasp, achievement of equality is not far off.
However, one difficulty at this point is that equality for the most part
is still defined in terms of women becoming equal to men in a labor
market which has been organized by and for men. Let us try to make
clear some of the factors making up a labor market where sex equality
would prevail.
The labor market in every country is that complex of institutions
set up to hire, train, pay, transfer, retain, insure, dismiss, and retire
workers. All the institutions carrying out these functions and all the
norms .for success and compensation within them have been established
to accommodate and to further the uninterrupted careers of men. But
women have the children, and in every country they are assumed to
carry the major responsibility for their care, at the very least for sev-
eral years during the period of infancy. If a woman has several chil-
dren, the period given over to gestation, birth, and early nurture may
easily amount to a minimum of 6 to 10 years of her life. During this
time she will in all probability completely interrupt her work life and
devote herself exclusively to bearing and caring for her children.
When a woman is ready to go back to work, she has been away from
the labor market for a number of years. These years have probably
been in her twenties and thirties, the very time when men with their un-
interrupted work~ lives have customarily received on-the-job training
and been selected for promotion. At the very least they have accumu-
lated. several years of work. experience.
T~ypically a women entering or reentering the labor market in her
thirties finds few training or counseling opportunities. Apprentice-
ship openings exist primarily for young people immediately out of
school; refresher and on-the-job training are available mainly to per-
sons in continuous employment; moreover, openings for initial train-
ing are frequently restricted to the younger members of the work
force. Women at the point of reentry, however, not only need help in
training, they need counseling on career choices. As an ILO publica-
tion reminds us, "It is necessary to insure that new possibilities and
new methods of acquiring and updating skills are available to and uti-
lized by [mature] women." 15This report refers to a study conducted
in 1971 by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Develop-
ment (OECD) in nine countries, including the United States, on the
reentry problems of women,16 which noted that
~ See a discussion of this point in respect to equal pay by the author, "Equal Pay,
Where Is It?" Industrial Relations (May 1975).
~ ILO, "Women Workers in a Changing World, Preliminary Report (Geneva: ILO, 1973),
pp. 43-44.
~ Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, "Employment of Women"
(Paris: OECD, 1971).
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276
The jobs reentry women found were largely confined to the traditional
women's industries and occupations and to low-level work in industry, com-
merce, retail trade, and other services.. . The need for counseling and vocational
guidance was stressed, particularly in the, light of handicaps so many women
suffer by bad or no vocatiOnal guidance early on. There was a need too to correct
defects in `basic education, using properly timed classes or educational tele-
vision. ~
As we examine othcr areas of our labor market practices. we will
find similarly the need for greater consideration of women's special
problems, largely related to their interrupted c~reer or worklife. All
of these need rethinking and restructuring.
The question is how to go about it. Federal legislation in the form of
amendments to existing law and to some degree new laws is of course
o.ne answer and one in which the Joint Economic Committee is partic-'
ularly interested. Changes in attitudes on the part of men and women
are equally important, however. In part, change will flow from the
ever-rising level of public consciousness of the problems of women.
This level rises with the increasing spread of information about
women's changing role in the labor market, with the increasing num-
ber of young couples dedicated to building marriages that arc genuine
partnerships in raising children and homemaking as well as in earn-
ihg, and with the growing understanding of the consequences of our
commitment to equal opportunity for minorities a.s well as women in
our social life. Social policy is a product of the "pull" of changing atti-
tudes as well as the "push" of legislation; both will be required to bring
about the changes needed in our labor market structure to insure
women equal opportunity.
We turn now to some of the specific programs which must be con-
sidered and to ongoing experiments and experience in other countries
with such programs.
III. COMPENSATORY PROGRAMS FOR LABOR MARKET REENTRY AND
TRAINING
Women's double tasks `in society-child-bearing and child-caring
on the one `hand and paid employment on the other-~as we have al-
ready suggested, lead to differences in timing and needs in their work
lives as compared to men. All the institutions of the labor market con-
sequently need substantial restructuring if they are to meet women's
needs.
In the space available here, however, we will look only at three
issues in the experience of other countries for suggestions of pro-
grams adaptable to the needs of Americami women workers. These will
be reentry and training as problems internal to the labor market. and
child care as a support system for which the larger community will
probably `take responsibility. The first'two are closely related aiid will
be treated to some extent as a `single set of closely interconnected
programs.
The 1975 ILO conference in dealing with "Proposed Dechmration
on Equality of Opportunity and Treatment for Women Workers"
stated "that all efforts must be made to provide every worker, without
~ ILO, "Women Workers," pp. 4~-45.
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distinction on grounds of sex, with equality of opportunity and treat-
ment in all social, cultural, economic, civil and political fields." As
for the special problems related to reentry, article 5, section (5) of
this document reads:
Special measures shall be taken to facilitate the continuing education and
training of women on the same basis as men to provide retraining facilities for
them, especially during and after periods of absence from the labour force.
(italics added)
Section (3) also to this point reads,
Measures shall be taken to urge institutes of vocational guidance and train-
ing to help and to encourage girls and women to make full use of available ori-
entation, guidance and training facilities and to choose and enter all occupations
freely including those hitherto reserved in practice for men.'8
Education, training and counseling are the key services which
women need if their reentry is to be other than a chance event. Educa-
tion may well mean providing for the completion of a program which
was interrupted by marriage, early unskilled employment, or child-
bearing. It also means structuring the content of primary and
secondary education to prepare young women for the probability that
they will work. Although this work n'iay be disjointed and interrupted,
basic attitudinal and skill training is essential in the the school and
immediately thereafter to make later work rewarding and promising.
We will not here go into the efforts being made in many countries
to clean up school texts of sexist pictures, stories and references, as well
as to institute curriculum changes, so that prevocational training and
counseling are undifferentiated for boys and girls.1°
Training includes off-the-job and pre-job programs as well as on-the-
job and released time opportunities.
Counseling, usually in the hands of the labor office or a specific labor
market board or employment service, has to do with testing women
applicants, advising them of training as well as job opportunities,
and-most desirable-~-keeping open the possibility of ongoing contact
with the applicant as a followup on training and placement.
The 1975 ILO Report on "The Equality of Opportunity and Treat-
ment of Women Workers" calls attention to the close interrelation-
ships of education, training and employment and notes that we know in
fact all too little about these complex matters. It recommends that
studies in this area be undertaken to provide the facts to-
18 Minutes of ILO Conference, 1975, "Proposed Declaration on Equality of Opportunity
and Treatment for Women Workers," 89/11.
`~ See in this connection for Sweden, Ingrid Fredricsson. "Sex Roles and Education in
Sweden.' New York University Education Quarterly (1972?) Lars Kjellberg, "Choice of
Education and Sex Roles," speech to vocational guidance teachers, AKN Information,
No. 2 (March 1971) Gunilla Bradley, "Kvinnan och Karriaren. En Studie av Kvinnors
Befordingsinteresse i Relation Till Arbetstillfredstallel Hemmiljo och Skolutbildning,"
Pa Radet. Meddelande, Nr. 64 (Stockholm, 1972). (Women and Careers, a Study of
Women's Interests In Advancement in Relation to Available Training, Correspondence
Courses and Extension Programs.)
For Germany. Maria Borris. "Die Benachteiligung der Maedchen in Schulen tier Bundes-
republik und Westberlin" (Europaeische Verlagsanstalt, 1972) (Disadvantagement of
Girls in the Schools of the Federal Republic and West Berlin).
For Austria. Dorothea Gaudart, Wolfgang Schulz. "Maedchenbildnng, Wozum" Oester-
reichischer Bundesverlag fuer Unterricht, Wissenschaft, und Kunst (Vienna, 1971) (Girls'
Education-What for? Austrian Federal Press for Education, Culture, and Art) Henrik
Kreutz and Grete Fernechuss, "Chancen der Weiterbildung: Soziologische Untersuchung
zur Maedchenbildung in Oesterreich." Oestereichisches Bundesverlag fimer T3nterricht,
Bildung. mind Kunst (Chances for Further Education: A Sociological Study of Girls' Edis-
cation in Austria (Vienna, 1971), Austrian Federal Press for Education. Culture, and Art).
For Australia, reports of the School's Commission. "Girls. Schools and Society" (Can-
berra: Australian Government Publishing Service, November 19751. See also International
Womens Year Report of the Australian Advisory Committee. section on "Education " pp.
74-76 (Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1975).
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help to change attitudes both toward girls' education and training and toward
their employment and might clarify some of the more puzzling aspects of their
integration into and contribution to economic and social life. They might also hell)
society in general to decide how much waste of educated manpower it can tolerate.
They might also show how returns on women's education and training could he
increased by better occupational distribution and integration of women in the
work force.~°
All too often counseling `and training are available to women on the
assumption that they will best find employment in the segregated
women's labor market where low wages, low skills, and low promo-
tiona.l ceilings are the rule.2'
To counteract this history of sex-biased employment services and to
meet the needs of women reentering a labor market of equal oppor-
tunity, a number of programs are of considerable inte.rest for the
United States. We turn now to them.
IV. EXPERIENCE ABROAD IN REENTRY AND TRAINING
A. Austria
In 1968 Austria adopted a vocational promotion law (Xrbeit.sfoer-
dertrngsgesetz) and set up Economic Promotion Institutes and Voca-
tional Promotion Institutes to carry out. its purposes.22 Its general pur-
poses were to assist all persons with their original choice of occupation
and to retrain for change of occupation necessary to find work; to
assist in maintaining work and training facilities; to assist employers
in finding needed workers and to relate training fac.ilities to the chang-
ing structure of the labor market.. The law further provided for grants
to assist persons needing training, to maintain work places and to
balance out short-term rise and fall in employment. Men and women.
it should be noted, were to have equal opportunity to use the. assistance
offered under the law.23
In 1972 the number of men receiving assistance was slightfv higher
than the number of women. In 1973 and 1974. more women than men
took advantage of these provisions-55 and 54 percent. respec-
tively. In 1975, however, women's participation dropped decidedly to
40 percent.24
The law provides both for training in courses outside work (mainly
in buildings provided by the individual states with the assistance of
the Chambers of Labor) as well as on-the-job training. Women repre-
sented respectively 46 percent., 48 percent. and 44 percent. of the en-
rollees in short-term off-the-job programs in 1973, 1974, and 197.5. and
20 "Equality of Opportunity and Treatment of Women Workers." report VIII. Interna-
tional Labor Conference, 60th session (1975). p. 30.
~` See in this connection the amazingly thorough and recent study in Austria by Dr. Doro-
thea Gaudart of the Ministry for Social Affairs. Zugang von Maedchen und Frai~en zu
technischen Berufen: Beitrag Oesterreichs zu einer auf internationaler Ehene gesteilten
Frage (Access of Girls and Women to the Technical Occupations: an Austrian Contribu-
tion to a Question Raised at International Levels (UNESCO)), Oesterreichischer Dundee-
verlag fuer Unterricht, Wissenschaft. und Kunst (Vienna.1975).
The original UNESCO study entitled "Comparative Study on Access of Girls and
Women to Technical and Vocational Education," document ED/MD/3 appeared Dec. 20.
1968 (Paris, UNESCO, 1968).
The original law was adopted somewhat earlier, hut the provisions with which we are
concerned date from 1968 with amendments in 1969 and 1974.
~ Bericht ueber die Situation cler Frau in Oesterreich. Frauenbericht. 1975. Heft 5. `Die
Frau im Beruf." Bundeskanzleramt (Report on the Situation of Women in Austria. Womene
Report, 1975, sec. 5. "The Woman at Work") (Vienna. 1975), pp. 74-75.
2-t Bundesministerium fuer Soziale Verwaltung. "Die Situation der Frail aufdem o~eter
reichischen Arbeitsnaarkt. Beteilung der Frau an den Foerderungsmassnahmen aije M itt~ln
der Arbeitsmarktfoerderung" (Federal Ministry for Social Affairs. "The Situation of the
Women an the Austrian Labor Market. Participation of the Woman in the Promotional
Measures Financed by Labor Market Promotion") (Vienna, Mar. 29, 1976).
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71 percent, 70 percent, and 34 percent in on-the-job programs for the
same years. It was thus primarily the shortfall in on-the-job training
in the depression year of 1975 that accounted for the sharp drop in
women's participation in training. Moreover, in Vienna, where women's
participation rate in the `labor force has risen steadily since 1971 and
was 44.2 percent in. 1975, women's participation contrary to the rest of
the country showed an increase in both programs. In the city, women
have made up a majority of enrollees from 1971 onward. The exact
figures are shown in table 3.
TABLE 3.-Enrollment of Vienna women in training programs under the 1968
Austrian vocational promotion law
Percent of
women
Year: . enroUe~1
1971 53
1972 51
1973 59
1974 54
1975 56
In two other provinces, the rise in women's participation in the training
programs was even greater.25
The law specifically provides that females are a category of workers
who shall receive special consideration from the institutes where age,
pregnancy, and responsibility for care of other family members are
factors. Such women have priority in admission to training programs
of all types as well as in opportunities to try out on jobs. Their prior-
ity extends as well to grants-in-aid of schooling, cost of maintaining
themselves during training and continuation for their social insurance
over these periods.20
In addition, the institutes make a special effort to familiarize older
women, through a course `set up. as an "Information Week," with real-
istic appraisals of work opportunities and to carry on counseling
programs especially designed to bring them into occupations where
employment opportunities exist. These courses include lecture series
on such matters as labor law, social insurance, and the provisions of
the labor promotion law of which they can take advantage. All the
costs during training-travel, costs of attending the. courses, and the
midday meal-are provided. The Vienna Labor Office, which has been
particularly active in setting up these "Information ~`Veeks" for house-
wives, reported in 1972 that 625 women had. registered for the three
programs which they had offered and they had accepted 374. Shortly
thereafter the Office could report that 71 had taken further training,
164 had been referred to employment and 74 had almost immediately
found work. All but 41 had previously worked in either blue-collar
or white-collar employment. (About one-third were ready to go to
work at' once if they could find work and 216 were hoping to get work
within the upcoming year. Forty-four of them sought further coun-
seling; the remainder would take either work or training?7 This ex-
periment was particularly interesting because the office made a spe-
cial effort to recruit women who were 40 years and older (220 of the
374 women were born `before 1931).
25 Ibid
SG Ibid
~ Landesarbeltsamt Wien. "Informationswochen fuer Hausfrauen" ("Information Weeks
for Housewives") (Vienna City Labor Office, 1972), mimeographed, pp. 3-4.
PAGENO="0288"
280
A policy report issued by the Council for Economic and Social
Questions 27a in 1974 concluded with a series of recommendations on
social policy respecting the special concerns of women. With regard
to reentry it recommended in part:
The organization of special courses fOr further training, retraining, and re-
fresher courses for women who have been away from the labor market for lengthy
periods.
Special support for women who have interrupted apprenticeships or schooling
because of child~bearing.n
Austria is a country in which women's work opportunities are
fairly limited to the traditional female occupations and a country
which is by no means well off, as compared with some of its neigh-
bors-Germany or Switzerland. Nevertheless, within these limits, it
has constructed a workable program in response to the needs of wom-
en to help in reentry, training, and counseling at that point That the
program's recruitment and counseling Operate on the assumption that
women will go into traditional occupations is a point which a number
of Austrian leaders themselves criticize and regret. The thorough
detailed and careful attention that has been given to women's role in
Austrian society and to their place in the labor market provides
grounds for hope that the reentry and training program can and will
be adapted into equal opportunity policy in the labor market.
B. Awstralia
Although Australia is only now beginning to establish nondiscrimi-
natory standards for the employment of women, it began several years
ago to provide special schemes for assisting the growing number of
adult women reentering the labor force.. So far as training for women
reentering the labor force, a govermuent report on "Women in Em-
ployment" correctly notes-
The Australian Government has been reluctant to establish subsidised train-
ing schemes, and slow to promote the schemes it has established; two, however,
are of particular significance:
1. Widow Pensioners Training Scheme run by the Department of Social
Service,
2. Employment Training Scheme for women restricted by domestic re-
sponsibilities, run by the Department of Labour and National Service.n
The first scheme for widows provides full- or part-time training lead-
ing to employment, generally at a. business or technical college. During
training the widow continues to receive her pension plus A$4.OO
mother's allowance, plus A$4.50 per child. or if she has no dependent
children a maximum of A$15.25 plus A$4.OO per week training al-
lowance. The Government pays her fees, fares, and books to the value
27a The Council for Economic and Social Questions, an advisory group which carries
considerable weight, is made up of representatives from government, business, labor, trade
unions, and the private sector. .
23 Beirat fuer Wirtschafts und Sozialfragen, "Frauenbesehaeftigung in Oesterreich'
(Vienna, 1974) (Council for Economic and Social Questions, "Women's Employment in
Austria" (Vienna. 1974), pp. 123-124. (Translation by the author.)
~° Equal Pay Committee, Women's Center, "Women in Employment" (Melbourne. 3uly
1972), mimeographed. p. 20. The official description of the scheme is contained in a
pamphlet issued by the Commonwealth Employment Service, National Employment and
Training Scheme (NEAT), "National Employment and Training System." undated. Similar
aid is available to males "not recently in regular civilian employment through military
service, sickness or physical incapacity, or imprisonment," as well as those "who have
lost their jobs as a result of factors like tariff cuts or technological changes or other causes
of redundancy, structural adjustment In an industry, or scarcity of work in the area of
residence. * * *"
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of A$80.00.2~ In 1970-71 some 4 percent of widows or 3,574 were en-
rolled in classes.
The second scheme is open to married and single women, so long as
they have been unable to accept employment for a number of years
because of domestic responsibilities and have not been regularly em-
ployed during the preceding 2 years for more than 26 weeks. Training
is approved for any occupation in which employment exists locally.
Normally training is not expected to exceed 3 months. Women in this
scheme are not subsidized, although they receive a maximum of $80
to cover fees, fares and books. By October 1973, 13,840 applications
had been received for these schemes and 7,661 approved; 4,109 had
completed training.'0
The authors of this report call attention to several shortcomings of
the schemes. One of these is that women who need training and have
small children find it hard to take advantage of the program without
available child care facilities. Both schemes, they also note, fail "to
challenge the stereotyped ideas of suitable women's work, by refusing
to provide training in areas where women are not usually employed."
In May 1974 before the Australian Labour government was forced
out of office, the Labour Minister, Clyde Cameron, set up a Committee
of Inquiry into labour market training. It is worth quoting from the
section of this Committee's report analyzing the needs of women:
The committee recognizes that many women are anxious and uncertain
about re-entering employment after a period of absence. Previously learned skills
may be out-~if-date or obsolete and may not, in any case, match career aspirations.
The majority of women entering existing training schemes are between 30 and
49 years of age. Many will have been absent from the work force for 10 years
~r more. They may need help in assessing their aptitudes and abilities, in
deciding between various career possibilities, in techniques of job search and
application and in obtaining the remedial education and training to help over-
come earlier short-comings. Work. familiarisation, refresher training and bridg-
ing courses might also be needed in some circumstances. Similar forms of assist-
ance are also likely to be needed by others seeking to overcome disadvantages.
Training cannot of itself solve all of the problems which continue to beset
women in the work force. * * `* [However] as opportunities for training and
retraining are extended to cover a wider range of occupations, the traditional
concentration of women into a narrow band of "female" occupations will be
broken down. * [Not only employers and trade unions, huti ~vomen themselves
must be persuaded to consider seeking training for jobs beyond such customary
areas as office work, retailing, catering, nursing, clothing and textiles.~'
As is true of many other countries, Australia has not yet formulated
what one economist calls "an active manpower policy," and among
many other questions has not faced up to "what labour force participa-
tion rate is appropriate for secondary workers such as married
29a The Australian dollar is currently worth approximately $US1.1O.
`° These ficures were given the author by Christine Cunningham of the Melbourne office
of the Department of Labour, in a mimeographed document entitled "Employment Training
Scheme for Women, Cumulative Statistics to Oct. 30. 1973." Prof. John Niland, then of
the Australian National University estimated from data made available to him by the
Denartment of Labour in April 1973 that 1,217 women were enrolled at that time. On a
visit to Australia In August 1976, I learned that this scheme, initiated by the Labour
Government, is no longer being funded by Its successor Liberal Government. The scheme is
nevertheless `worth knowing about and Australian women's organizations are pressing for
its reactivation. The authors of the evaluation report to some extent foresaw this develop-
ment when they wrote, "Both schemes were introduced in times of an economic boom
Since eligibility for both schemes depends on women's willingness and ability to enter the
work force after training, In `the current situation of increasing unemployment, we may
expect to see a tapering off of. the schemes." Equal Pay Committee, ibid., p. 21.
zi Australian Department of Labour. "Australian Labor Market Trainine." report of:the
Committee of Inquiry Into Labour Market Training (Canberra: Australian Government
Publishing Service 1974) pp 34-36
91-656-77-19
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282
females." ~ Until it does, its training schemes will continue to have
an uncertain existence.
£7. Federal Republic of Gerima~iy
In May 1969 Germany adopted the Employment Promotion Act
(Arbeits foerderungsgesetz) to replace its earlier law on placement
and unemployment insurance. In effect this shifted the emphasis of its
policy and its administrative agency, the Federal Employment Insti-
tute (Bundesanstalt fuer Arbeit) from mainly providing compensa-
tion and employment service to the unemployed to utilizing a con-
siderable array of powers and functions to anticipate and prevent
unemployment.
The Federal Institute stimulates the mobilisation of latent labour
reserves, the employment of older employees in the country, as well as the
continuation of building work during the winter. * According to demand it
places employees from abroad. In addition, giving clue consideration to the
adaption of skills required by technical progress, it takes measures to maintain
the labour force, to improve its qualifications and foster vocational fiexibility.~'
As a result of the Act, employees both male and female are offered
three types of vocational training programs, including the possibility
of training subsidies for persons qualifying for admission to the
program. Training programs had, of course, existed before 1969, but
the nature of this act was such that within the first year the participa-
tion rate of women in training rose by 50 percent.34
The three types of vocational programs are:
1. Promotion of Vocational Advanced Training and Retraining for Individuals:
includes measures by which vocational knowledge and skill are assessed, main-
tained and extended or adapted to technical development, or which offer possi-
bilities of professional advancement. Vocational retraining makes a necessary
vocational re-orientation possible ~ ° ~. It is based on particular aptitude, incli-
nation and willingness of the trainee, as well as consideration of the situation
and trends of the labour market.
2. Vocational Training Incentives for Institutions. The Institute grants sub-
sidies to already existing or new training establishments * * ~ including bodies
responsible for external training centers (Chambers of Trade, Guilds, Employers'
Organizations, Welfare Associations, etc.).
3. IncentIves to Enter Employment. These are extended to remove financial
limitations which are obstacles to taking up employment desirable from the
point of view of the labor market or for soclo-political reasons or which make
entry in a vocational training establishment impossible. Grants may cover
transitional expenses of the applicant and his family until payment of his
first full wage or salary, removal expenses, resettlement allowances for job-
seekers otherwise difficult to place, the cost of equipment.n
Under the last heading I have learned from interviews with officials
of the Institute that subsidies may also bepaid in diminishing amounts
over a year or so to encourage the employment of women or other dis-
advantaged and unskilled persons while they learn on the job. The
subsidy represents the difference between the full scale paid for the
"John Niland, "Some Problems Facing an Active Manpower Policy in Australia," paper
delivered before the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of
Science 45th Congress, Perth, Aug. 13-17, 1973). Mimeographed. -
23 The Federal Employment Institute, "The. Employment Office" (Nuremherg, 19 a). p. 7.
`~Monika Langkau-Herrmanfl and ~ochem Longkau, "Der berufliche Aufslaeg der Frau:
~~~~itsmarktstrategien zur verstaerkten Integration der Frau in die Arbeits-und Berufs-
welt," Forschungsberichte des Landes Nordrhein-WeStPhafla, Nr. 2232. ("The vocational
Advancement of Women: Labor Market Strategies To Intensify the Integration of Women
in the World of Careers and Work."~ Study reports of the state of North Rhine-Westfalla,
No. 2232.) WestdeutsCher Verlag, Opladen, 1972, p. 32. (Translation by the author.)
`~ "The Employment Office," pp. 40-42.
PAGENO="0291"
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job and the actual production of the worker which over time
approaches and reaches the standard norm.
Women have participated in the three programs in varying degrees.
They made up only one in seven of the enrollees in the advanced train-
ing programs; one in five of those in reorientation, but one in three
of those taking incentives to enter employment. More blue-collar
women proportionately took advantage of this last program, while
white-collar workers and civil servants were more active in advanced
training programs. (Men in all three occupational categories were
primarily interested in advanced training-some 87 percent of all
male enrollees in training programs). In general the women who
participated were younger than the men, and the younger the women,
the more interest they had in courses preparing for advancement.36 In
the case of female blue-collar workers, desire for training increased
with age; the reverse was true of white-collar women-the younger
they were, the more interest they had in training.~~ Women preferred
the short-term training programs, whereas men preferred the longer
courses. Women concentrated their vocational interests in three fields:
office work, textiles and clothing, and health. Men exhibited no such
concentration of vocational aspirations.38
The law permits the Federal Employment Institute to reimburse
participants in the first type of programs at 90 percent of earned in-
come, as well as for a subsistence allowance which is regularly ad-
justed to the general rise in wages and salaries.
The Federal Institute also hears part or all of the cost of the course, learning
aids, travel expenses, the cost of work clothes, accommodation (if participation
in a course requires living away from home), health and accident insurance and;
other inevitable expenses.
Employers may be granted adaptation subsidies if they provide employees
with the necessary vocational knowledge and skill for the attainment of full
efficiency at their jobs.89
In an address before the International Research Conference in 1972;
the pi esident of the Feder'Ll Employment Institute discussed the prob-
lem he saw in the underrepresentation of women in. the group of
trainees. He attributed it to the lack of sufficient course offerings to
satisfy women's needs forinstruction. As a consequence women mainly
took advantage of the support in entering employment program He
saw this program as of considerable help to women but commented
critically that it is
in the rule too much bound to work place and firm., When the given job no longer
exists the training received on it is frequently insufficient to enable the worker
to take on a new occupation, particularly if she, as is often the case,, has. no other
vocational training.~°
3° Langkau-Herman and Langkau, op. cit., p. 32.
~ LUIS Toppe, "Beschaeftigungsmoegllchkeiten und Probleme der Frauenerwerbsarbeit,"
Vortrag vor dem Bundesfrauenausschuss der I. G. Metall, 26.11.74. Bundesanstalt fuer
Arbeit. ("Employment Possibilities and Problems of Women at Work," lecture before the
Metal Trades Union's Women's CommIttee, Nov. 26, 1974. Institute for Employment),
mimeographed, p. 18.
38 Langkau-Herman and Langkau, op. cit., p.. 32.
3~ "The Employment Office," op. cit., p. 40.
48 Bundesanstalt fuer Arbelt. Der Praesident, "Struktur und Entwicklung. der Frau-
eneruerbslaellgleit in der Bundesrepublik Deutschlands: Folgerungen fuer `die soziale Sleher-
heit," Konzept des. Vortrages fuer die Internationale Forscbungskonf~renz, "Die Frau in
der sozialen Sicherheit," vols. 2-4, November 1972 in Wien. (The president, Federal Em-
ployment Institute, "Structure and.Development of Women'sWork In the Federal Republic
of Germany: Consequences forSoclal $ecurity," a lecture beforethe~ International Research
Conference, "Women and Social SecurIty'~ (Vienna, Nov. 2~-4, 197~), p~ 22.
PAGENO="0292"
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Interviews I have had with women trade union leaders and with
-working women themselves in Germany confirm the foregoing analy-
sis, but they usually go further in suggesting that the program is on
the whole ill-adapted to times and places where women can readily
attend, often being held in full-day session in towns other than the
place of residence. These are circumstances which women with small
children often find difficult to deal with.4' This German experience
raises the question of whether training programs of these }dnds should
be specially designed for the older woman rather than simply opening
to her existing programs designed on terms which men can more easily
adjust to and meet.
Of more than passing interest is the fact that the union of white-
collar workers, Deutsche Angestellten Gewerkschaft, has for many
years carried on training programs for its members and prospective
members in office skills. About 5 years ago, its research department
undertook a study of the special needs of women returning to work in
this field after a considerable absence.42 The purpose of the study was
to organize a curriculum which would allow these women to study
systematically for their successful reemployment. The resulting cur-
riculum covered five fields: economic a.nd social theory, office organiza-
tion and data processing, accounting and bookkeeping, German its
written use, shorthand and typing. Each of these was planned for 40
teaching hours, except that the second (office organization and data
processing) covered 80 teaching hours.
This curriculum was to be introduced into the already existing
schools which the trade union maintains in major German cities to offer
its members opportunities to extend their competence and improve
their skills. The emphasis here, however, is on the special group of re-
entry women. In a handbook developed for this purpose. directors of
these schools as well as teachers in them are reminded of the special
difficulties that older women face who have been out of their occupa-
tion for some time, who have probably had inadequate vocational
training in their youth, whose skills are rusty or who are unfamiliar
with new machines and processes.
Aèertain lack of self-confidence has to be overcome. . . . Women today find them-
selvesJn a difficult and conflicting position. On the one hand their help is needed
in the economy, iand they are sought for; on the other band, they may he filled
with guilt feelings about working and attempting at the same time to handle their
roles as wives and mothers.
In a curriculum whose purpose is to re-integrate women into work life, these
problems `have to be considered. . . . These problems have to be dealt with not only
intellectually but these women have to receive practical help in confronting and
overcoming their conflict situations.43
Thus, the German institutions concerned with reintegration at re-
entry positions are not limited to agencies of the labor market but in-
clude trade unions as well as employer-designed programs.
4' Among the powers and resources of the institute are those permitting it to finance child
care centers at workplaces where women are employed and to provide child care costs for
women at work or In training. While these have been used, they are often insufficient to
meet the needs of women in short-term training. Child care may not be available at any
price in a trainee's home locality nor at a center set up to deal mainly with younger.
unmarried workers. Subsidies for travel are often not a woman's greatest need. but rather
her problem may be findinc the time free from household responsibilities to travel and train.
42 Cf. Deutsche Angesteliten Gewerkschaft (DAG), Wiedereingliederung weiblicher Ance-
steilten in das Berufsleben, DAG Forschungstelle. Hamburg. Dezember 1972 (Reinterratioa
of Female Office Employees In work Life, Research Office, DAG (Hamburg, December1972).
4' IbId., pp. 35-36.
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D. Sweden
After intensive debate in the 1960's Sweden accepted a national com-
mitment to equality as the lodestar of social policy. Equality came to
be defined so as to govern all social relationships of human beings-
equality of men and women, rich and poor, old and young, handi-
capped and healthy.44
With their usually thorough discussion and planning, the Swedes
began as early `as 1965 to move to abolish discrimination in the labor
market with the decision that women's wages should be equal to those
of men. The more subtle and underlying inequalities arising from the
working women's double burden were also considered and year by
year the Government has undertaken to deal with their many aspects.
Here we are concerned only with the solutions put forward to prob-
lems of reentry and training. The planning began with a decision of the
Labour Market Board to cease aggressive recruiting of foreign work-
ers in favor of the the promotion of employment for married Swedish
women seeking to enter the labor market. A study of low incomes
showed that a very significant majority of persons in this category
were women, and follow-up investigations demonstrated that the rea-
son so many women were low-wage earners was their lack of training
as well as the general lack of training opportunities for adults entering
the labor market in their thirties.
A ,Joint Female Labour Council (Arbetsmarknadens Kvinnonamnd)
had been established in 1951 following a "Report of the Study Group
on Female Labour" set up in 1948. WhiTe closely associated wtih the
Labour Market Board, it was a quite independent and separate insti-
tution founded by the two major labor federations and the employers'
confederation. Its task, among others, was-
to watch official measures affecting women in the labour market, in order to influ-
ence these measures `to be formed in a way that suits the women, the families and
the labour market, [and to deal chiefly with matters concerning] equality between
the sexes, care of children, vocational training of women, part-time work, user
service, consumer information, simplified h,omework.4a
Laboi~ market policy as developed by the Board under the strong in-
fluence of the council has been summed up as follows:
[It] may he said to have two functions, to assist the effective working `of the
labour `market and to improve the prospects of employment, when necessary by
measures aimed at creating jobs.. . . Expenditure on labour market policy has in-
creased rapidly . . . Retraining has also been made available to skilled persons
already in employment who wish to change to a field where there is a shortage
of labour or where there is a prospect of higher earnings. Another important task
of retraining is to bring persons not at present gainfully employed into the market.
These are mainly housewives, older persons. . . and those suffering from physical
handicaps . . . Allowances are paid to those undergoing retraining and their
numbers have increased, very rapidly, from about 11,000 in 1960 to 90,000 in 1968,
the latter figure being some 2 percent of the total `labour force.46
~ These views are most thoroughly stated in a report of the Swedish Socialist Party and
Trade Unions' Committee on Equality, Stockholm, Prisma, 1972, "Jamlikhet-allas delta-
gande I arbetsliv och politik," and, so far as women are concerned, in the Swedish report to
the United Nations, "The Status of Women In Sweden" (Stockholm: Swedish Institute,
1968). They are further elucidated in an address by then Prime Minister Olof Palme, "The
Emancipation of Man," delivered to the Women's National Democratic Club, Washington,
D.C., June 5, 1970. Two hooks important in bringing about practical programs for sex
equality were Edmund Dahlstrom, editor, "The Changing Roles of Men and Women" (Lon-
don: Duckworth, 1967) ; and Bergitta Linner, "Sex and Society in Sweden" (New York:
Harper& Row, 1967, 1972).
~ The Joint Female Labour Council, "Translation Into English of ANN Information," No.
3/1971 (March 1971), p. 1. With the retirement of its chairwoman, Anna-Lisa Laghy in
1973 the Council went out of existence and its work was assumed by the Labour Market
Board.
~° Marie and Christian Norgren, "Industrial Sweden" (Stockholm: The Swedish Insti-
tute, 1971), pp. 37-48.
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iit 1970, 42,000 women were enrolled, making up 53.0 percent of the
`~trainees, a.nd in 1971, 45,500 women made up 48.4 percent of all train-
~ees. Although the number of women trainees rose to 68,000 in 1972~ a
much greater increase in the number of male trainees (in all probabil-
ity a consequence of a turn in the business cycle) kept the percentage of
women around 45 percent of the total.47 Within the last 4 years, the
number of women trainees has remained fairly constant but has repre-
sented `an increasing proportion of the total as the number of men
in training has declined. Thus, in the first quarter of 1975, some 53 per-
cent of those entering training were women.48
In a report sent by the National Manpower Committee to the OECD
lii 1973, it was noted that-
This labour, market training has proved an effective means of training and ac-
tivating middle-aged women with little basic education who have previously been
employed at home and would otherwise have had to choose between the worst-
paid routine jobs or unemployment. (Seventy-five to eighty. percent of labour
market trainees find work within 3 months of completing their training.) 48a
`Parts of the Swedish system for training and retaining adult work-
ers include a wide range of grants and services.
Persons eligible for `training include those who are unemployed,
handicapped, and employed.in industries which under an "early warn-
ing system" indicate `to `the Government that they `are obsolescing.
Housewives wishing to go to work report at `their local Labor Office
and are enrolled as unemployed. This entitles them to `nnemployment
ben~fits and `to counseling `and testing services. The result of these
services `usually is Teferral to training programs, for which a number
of `training grants and `other `grants-in-aid are available during the
training period. These include a basic allowance and a housing allow-
ance to cover the cost of maintaining a residence during the `training
period. In addition, a family allowance is provided covering spouse
and children under .16. `Special grants are paid for travel, course fees,
instructional material, and working clothes. Child care facilities may
be worked out between the Labor Market Board and the local towii
authorities with the Board bearing child care costs.49
A transfer allowance is available for those having to move outside
their residential area in order to find work. This covers free travel for
self and spouse `to The employment interview and a per diem allowance
while'seeking `emplqyment, plus a separation allowance payable until a
family dwelling has been found in the new place of work or for a
maximum `of `12 months. Further, there is an an allowance covering
removal costs including traveling costs for the family and an equip-
nient allowance in the new residence. In some cases, mainly in thinly
populated rural areas, the Board will even purchase an owner-occupied
house in order `to permit the worker to leave an area where he or she
cannot find work to go to one where work is available.50
~7 Manpower and Social Affairs Committee, "The Role of Women in the Economy,'
national report: Sweden. (Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD), Sept. 13, 1973).'Mimeographed. (MO (73) 13/18), p. 24.
~ Interview, Nov. 2, .1976, with Mrs. Ingeborg Jonsson, section chief, Women's Work,
National Labour Market Board, Stockholm.
48a Manpower and Social Affairs Committee. Overall, the experience is that a higl1er per-
centage of women than of men complete the training programs. See also "Women in Sweden
In the Light of Statistics," Joint Labor Female Council, 1971. p. 23.
~` ILO, Commission on the Status of Women, "Scientific and Technical Progress anfi Its
Effect on the Conditions of Work and Employment of Women," 23d session. Jan. 20. 1970.
~° "Women and the Labour Market, Prejudices, Facts, Future." National Labour Market
Board of Sweden (1970). See also "Swedish Labour Market Policy in a Nutshell. 1972/73.
For our foreign readers, Arbetsmarknadsstyrelsen (National Labour Market Board),
Stockholm. No date.
PAGENO="0295"
287
The training program operates throughout the country under a
decentralized administration managed by a system of 24 regional
offices and about 230 local offices.5' The Labour Market Board itself
operates very few training programs; instead, it enters into coopera-
tive agreements with public and private agencies prepared to under-
take training and retraining. These may be schools and colleges with
4-year curricula, but are more often institutions offering longer or
shorter specific vocational training. (Five months appear to represent
a usual period of training.) In Stockholm alone, no less than 178
institutions are available for use by the board. Some courses are con-
ducted daytimes, some may be taken part-time in the evening or during
the day; some are residential and many of these are in the folk high
schools.52 Some are conducted in the business enterprises.
Actual training for older women is usually and desirably preceded
by a 4- to 6-week introductory course which includes a week in a
workplace. This program is meant particularly to prepare women for
reentry into the labor market and includes information on trades and
places where work is `available.~3 In the early years recruitment to
the reentry program was aided by "activation inspectors," special
officers appointed "to coordinate activation work for non-employed
women and middle-aged and elderly labour." These officers were lo-
cated in 20 of the regional headquarters of the Board to direct and
advise the local offices of the region.54
Women's long history of playing a secondary role in the home and
labor market, of entering the labor market late by male standards, of
being assumed to be satisfied with low skilled, low paid jobs with low
promotional ceilings combines to put them in the category of the most
needy and least self-confident.
The Labor Market Office carries the responsibility for affirmative
action in counselling women on the full range of occupations, including
those traditionally reserved to men.55 One aspect of this effort is that
the labor office endeavors to persuade employers seeking workers to
accept women rather than recruiting foreign workers.56 For example,
in 10 towns in 1972 experiments were also going on in an attempt
to reach persons most needing education and training rather than
the ones who were most active.
This is being done on the assumption that persons with initiative and who
are used to activity and have a certain amount of self-confidence will take steps
to get themselves into training courses and will, generally, push ahead. It is
the most needy often who have little self-confidence and can do very little for
themselves in this as in other respects. Hence the experiment was an attempt
to reach these people and to see what incentives can be successfully used to bring
them into educational and training activities.57
~ "Swedish Employment Policy" (Stockholm: National Labour Market Board, i971),
p.4.
~ B. N. Seear, "Reentry of Women Into the Labour Market After an Interruption In
Employment" (Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, i97i),
pp. 77-78. (Persons who completed compulsory education under the old law which
required only 7 years, often find themselves disadvantaged as adults competIng with youth
who have had 9 years or more of basic education. It is possible for these adults to make up
this lack in public evening schools or by attending regular school programs, for which they
are eligible.)
~ Author's interview with Anna-Lisa Lagby, then director of the Joint Labour Female
Council, Oct. ii, i972. Stockholm.
~ Seear, op. cit, p. 72.
A study of the etFect of this policy is now in progress under the direction of Prof. Rita
LiljestrØm of the University of Gothenberg. She has published the results of a pilot study
clone in Kristianstad County in three municipalities, "Sex Roles in Transition," a report on
a pilot program in Sweden, Advisory Council to the Prime Minister on Equality Between
Men and Women (Stockholm: Swedish Institute, i975).
~° interview with Ms. Aim, Labor Market Board, Stockholm, Oct. 10, 1972.
~ interview with Prof. Per Holmberg, University of Stockholm, Nov. 5, i972.
PAGENO="0296"
288
As a result,
During the past year [1074] when 70,000 women entered the labour market,
15,000 of them were engaged for what used to be regarded as typically male jobs.
The writer notes an important byproduct of this effort:
In many cases the working environment as a result has been improved for all
workers in the companies.58
In addition, other measures which the Labour Ministry and Labour
Market Board employed include:
The creation of a substantial number of new positions in the public employment
offices whose incumbents are responsible exclusively for improving the provision
of good job opportunities for women.
and
Measures have been undertaken to counteract the traditional division of male
and female occupations. Oompanies that are being established or expanded in
regions where `there is a shortage of employment opportunities can be granted
government loans and subsidies only if they recruit at least 40% of each sex.~9
At the point of launching the program for women the scheme for
spreading information included a national conference of the chief
officers of the unions and the Employers' Association to which 700
persons came. In addition, a series of programs on national television
entitled "The Housewife Changes Her Occupation" (Hemmafru
byter yrke) accompanied "comprehensive information on labour mar-
ket and social matters at conferences arranged by local labor boards
for women, employers aiid employee organizations." 60
To some degree many countries have recognized both in policy and
practice that women reentering the labor force in their mature years
need counseling, guidance and training for which the normal labor
market institutions are insufficiently prepared. The degree to which
new institutions or extensions of established services will be made
available to these women will undoubtedly depend on the overall
employment policy. If women are sought and encouraged to go to
work simply in the traditional women's occupations~ a few scattered
short-term schemes may fully respond to the need for training in
office work, health occupations, and semiskilled assembly line jobs in
production. The underlying expectation will `be that few women will
expect to move into the men's labor market, and they will not be "acti-
vated" to do so. Only where a genuine commitment to equality exists,
as it doe.s in Sweden, will the political parties, the unions, the em-
p]oyers and the officials of the labor market institutions initiate a
thorough program designed to bring women into all sectors of em-
ployment. With this commitment as a ba.se, every adjustment will be
made in the employment offices and through the range of training
facilities to encourage women to move into all the occupations and to
train all those who elect to work there and can be employed with the
given training.
V. EXPERIENCE ABROAD IN CHILD CARE
In 1972-73, when I interviewed working mothers in the nine coun-
tries I visited, they almost uniformly said that the help they would
most like to have in easing their doitbie burden of home and work re-
~S Anna-Greta Leijon, "Sexual Equality in the Labor Market: Some Experiences and
Vio~'s of the Nordic Countries," International Labor Review, 112: 2-3 (August-September
1975), p. 114.
~° Ibid.
~° Seear, op. cit., p. 76.
PAGENO="0297"
289
sponsibilities was child care. By this they meant not only care for pre-
school children, but for children of school age before and after school
hours, during holidays and vacations and for children when they are
ill. The response was the same whether I was talking with women
heads of families, or with women whose huSbands were present in
the home; it was the same whether the husbands assisted them with
housework and child care or whether they did not. The conclusion
must be that when both parents of young children work, the family
needs assistance with the care of its children.
A second factor which becomes clear the deeper one delves into the
question of making child care available to working mothers is that
good quality child care cannot be cheap; indeed it is necessarily so ex-
pensive that parents cannot bear its costs unassisted. The conclusion is
that child care must be subsidized, either by public or private bodies.
In many countries child care has historically been the concern of
voluntary agencies and the governments have only provided aid and
programs during periods of national stress-either in war or during an
economic boom when the labor market had to reach out to an unusual
degree to recruit women for work which had previously been done by
men.
The consequence has been that despite the ever-increasing number of
women in the labor market, national policies have generally continued
to be based on the assumption that women are secondary earners, that
their activity in the labor market will be secondary to their primary
obligations to home and children, that their going to work will be a
matter of personal choice and that therefore the costs and respon-
sibilities of child care shall be personal charges upon the working
mothers and their spouses. The widely established facts are that
women are working in ever greater numbers, that the vast majority of
women work out of economic necessity, and the growing sectors of the
economy are those with a high demand for women workers. But these
facts have not yet been widely accepted either by lawmakers or by the
pu~blic at large. Yet they lead inevitably to the conclusion that need for
child care is rising. Indeed, as evidence of growing awareness, the
level of discussion in every modern country about child care is also
rising.6'
Discussion often becomes intense, not only about the main issue of
need but about such subordinate questions as whether public-sup-
ported child care should be the responsibility of education authori-
ties, labor market offices, or social services and welfare institutions;
whether it should continue to lie mainly in the hands of the voluntary
agencies who may receive some Government aid as they take over
care of children of working mothers, or whether local governments
should carry the initiative in establishing and supporting institutions,
with aid coming to them from national or provincial sources.
Answers to these questions which can satisfy the needs of working
mothers seem to depend greatly on the degree to which labor market
61 For 2 important comparative studies on child care needs and programs. see Working
Party on "The Role of Women in the Economy" (November 1974), 26-29. Point 0 of the
agenda, "Care of Children of Working Parents," Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD), Paris, Nov. 8, 1974. MS S7 74.9: and Sheila Kamerman, "Child
Care Programs in Nine Countries." a report prepared for the OECD working party on the
role of women in the economy (Washington, D.C. : TJ.S. Department of Health, Education,
and Welfare, DHEW Publication No. (ODII) 30080, no date (1975?)).
PAGENO="0298"
290
considerations enter into planning of child care facilities. For ex-
ample, when child care is a responsibility of education authorities,
the focus of their attention is understandably on the content of the
program and its integration with the school program. When social
services agencies carry the responsibility, they are seeking to deal
with children in an atmosphere defined as deprivation of maternal
(and sometimes paternal) care. They are, as they say, child-centered.
These are important considerations and both views represent essen-
tial aspects of child care programs. But both of them to a great de-
gree overlook the needs of the worhing mother and father, that. should
be integrated within the program. Such matters as their hours of
work, the length of the journey to work-and to the child-care cen-
ter-and their access to transportation to the doctor and dentist, as
well as opportunities for consultation with school and child-center
teachers. These matters are compounded in difficulty wheii one or both
parents work shifts-a common element of work for such peop ie as
nurses, waitresses, janitors, and cleaners and other service personnel,
as well as people in continuous production.
Still another question arises as to the forms which child care shall
take and how governments ma.y subsidize a variety of programs. Shall
it all be group care in institutional settings? How useful and desirabk
is what has come to be known as family day care ?-a system by which
women are encouraged to accept one to three children into their own
homes under supervision of local authorities who select the care-
takers, offer them some training, pay them in a regular way at ac-
ceptable rates, guarantee their income and cover them for fringe bene-
fits, and offer some assistance with the cost and preparation of meals
and with equipment. Shall care be offered only to children over 3 or
may infants be included? What about play schools, and part-time
nurseries and kindergartens? What kinds of care may be provided
for school children both before and after school and during holidays
and vacations? What about the care of sick children?
In this area also belongs the consideration of paid maternity leave
for the working mother, perhaps coupled with paid or unpaid child-
care leave for one parent (or perhaps for both in turn) during a pe-
riod of several months or more following the birth or adoption of a
child.
We shall look at all of these issues as we turn now to the experience
of several countries that have developed programs which respond to
these problems~
A. Ai~stralia
In 1969, in all of Australia only about 14,000 children were in child
care facilities of any kind; of these, only 2,000 were in centers which
received Government aid; only one State, Tasmania, offered a public
subsidy winch applied to chilclreii of working rnothiers.~ Tiie Labour
Government early in its office set up a Pre-Schools Committee, and
in late 1973 its report and recommendations (known as the Fry re-
port) were available.n
62 Julie Rigg, Robin Hughes, Pip Porter, Sandra Hall, Susie Eisenhuth, "Child Care, A
Community Responsibility," Child Care Committee, the Media Women s Action Group
(Sydney, April 1972). See also Ailsa Burns, Maureen Fegan, Ashley Sparkes, and Pay
Thomson, "Working Mothers and Their Children," the Electrical Trades Union study ~Syd-
ney: Macquarie University, August 1974).
°~ "Care and Education of Young Children," Joan Fry, chairman, Australian Preschools
Committee (Canberra, November 1973).
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291
However, because of some dissatisfaction with the specific recoin-
mendations of the Fry report's emphasis on preschooling rather than
child care needs, the Labour Government then set up a Children's
Commissionu under a new statute.65 Pending the adoption of the stat-
ute, an interim committee carried on the work projected for the
commission.
The program for children as laid down by the commission is estab~
lished on the following principles. It is to be flexible, community
based, offering integrated services, developed "within a framework of
clearly defined priorities, with first priority given to those in greatest
need," and "in the recognition that the care and development of chil-
dren are interrelated so that there is no rigid distinction between edu-
cating and caring for children." The Government instructed the
interim committee to work to the end that by 1980 "all children in
Australia will have access to services designed to take care of their
educational, emotional, physical, social and recreational needs * *
Further, the Government directed the committee to sponsor a.nd pro-
mote rapid development of a full range of programs, including early.
childhood education, full day care, playgroups, occasional care, before
and after school care, holiday care, emergency care, and "any other
service that may be deemed necessary or desirable in order to meet the
long-term objective."
The committee was further instructed to make recommendations
on financing, standards and procedures for processing aid applica-
tions; second, to stimulate community participation; third, to initiate
and where necessary conduct in-service, on-the-job short intensive
and conversion courses for personnel, as. well as to promote the in~
creased provisions of formal professional training.~° An important ele-
ment of the committee's work was also to conduct or contract for re-
search.67 Two major studies have appeared.68
The Fry report had concerned itself in detail with the measurement
of need for child care. In a country in which women's labor force par-
ticipation has risen rapidly from 25.1 percent of the labor force. in
1961, had reached 29.5 percent in 1966, and gone up to 31.7 percent. in
1971 and then to 33.3 percent in 1973, the number of married women
and where necessary conduct in-service, on-the-job short intensive
One of the committee's contract studies reports that by 1974 more
than 37 percent of the women in the labor force were married.69
The two other reports which came out during this period further
substantiated the overwhelming demand and need for child care. One
was commissioned by the Electrical Trades Union, whose membership
included a large number of working mothers, and the other was done
~ Ministerial statement by the Honorable Lionel F. Bowen, MP, Minister assisting the
Prime Minister, "Establishment of a Children's Commission" (Sept. 19, 1974).
65 Children's Commission Act, 1975. No. 51 of 1975. Canberra. This act, although assented
to in June 1975, has not been proclaimed as of this writing and the interim committee con-
tinies to function as the administrative agency.
°~ Bowen ministerial statement.
~ A recent report. "Child Care Research Grants," shows 20 current grants. Office of Child
Care, Australian Department of Social Security. No date. Transmitted to the author
Sept. 6, 1976.
~ James Cullen, Alison Bellamy, Eva Cox, Gary Egger, Lyn Gain, "Mothers' Child Care
Preferences : A Report to the Australian Government Advisory Committee on Child Care
and Conducted Under the Auspices of the NSW Association for Mental Health" (Sydney,
December 1975) and Barry M. Wilson, "Child Care Report," study of a supervised play-
ground and the home background of children who attend (Brisbane, December 1974).
6~ Wilson, op. cit., p. ii.
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292
by the Media Women's Action Group, many of whom were also work-
ing mothers.7°
The fact is that the prevailing attitude in Australia favors the man
of the family as sole breadwinner and the woman as having almost
entire responsibility for care of preschool children. What provision
has been made for child care has mainly been the result of the initiative
of voluntary social welfare agencies offering services to deprived and
abused children. In view of the rapidly rising number of women enter-
ing the labor force, however, the voluntary agencies are no longer
able to meet the need. "This paucity * * forces many desperate
mothers to make arrangements with untrained and unregistered child-
minders or with commercially run nurseries where fees are extremely
high." 71 The Government, because of the wide acceptance of the doc-
trine of the male breadwinner, has been slow to support child care
as a community or national responsibility. Most child-care centers
which existed in the early 1970's were in Melbourne and Sydney and,
according to the Media Women's Action Group, "in the most affluent
areas." Most preschool centers were operated only part day in short
sessions, and in some cases there was not sufficient space for children to
attend every day. While some voluntary agencies received government
support, only 2,000 of the 14,000 children in care in 1969 were in sub-
sidized centers.
The Fry report defined the need for child car very broadly. The
presence of working parents was only one criterion among "families
in distress," "children in institutions and isolated children, handi-
capped children, and children in single-parent families." The com-
mittee estimated that in view of the very great projected needs for
1985, the Government could at best meet only 10 percent of them.
In contrast to the attitude in some other countries, the Fry report
strongly favored not only institutional but family day care.72 In part,
it did so because it could not realistically foresee the construction
and staffing (particularly the latter) of enough preschool centers to
meet even 10 percent of need by 1985; in part, it strongly favored the
home surroundings and small groups which family day care offers,
particularly for small children. Table 4 projects what percentage of
each age cohort would be cared for in these programs by 1985:
TABLE 4-PROJECTED DAY CARE FACILITIES TO BE AVAILABLE BY 1985 IN AUSTRALIA
LIn percenti
Family day care Day care certers
Age groups:
4.0
8.0
4 to 5
3 to
2to3
lto2
Otol
4 5
6.0
6.0
7.0
7. 0
4.0
3.0
1.5
Like the United States, Australia has a federal government which
is legally forbidden in some cases and always reluctant to sI?onsor its
own projects. Instead, the money for programs which it legislates must
`° Burns, Fegan, Sparkes, and Thomas, op. cit.; and Riggs, Hughes, Porter, Hall, and
Elsenhuth, op. cit.
"See Mrs. K. Sznmer, "Families In Need of Full Day Preschool Centers,'~ Social Service,
24: 4 (Tanuary/February 1973).
72 See the section on Sweden for a contrasting view.
~ "Care and Education of Young Children," p. 91.
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293
be funneled through the States or derived from them, each of which
writes its own enabling legislation, sets its own standards and, carries
through its own licensing regulations. The chief means by which ~he
Commonwealth Government can hope to see its programs carried out
and its goals met is through the provision of attractive amounts of
grants-in-aid.
By its 1973 commitment to a national thud care program, the Gov-
ernment was ready to further implement the program in two ways.
First, it would set up demonstration programs in a number of selected
cominunities,~4 on which it would make regular, widely disseminated
reports; second, it would provide a generous program of local
as~istance.
The Government was prepared to assume capital costs of instituting
local programs at $2,000 per child pius equipment costs of about $8,000
per center. Operating costs were to be granted depending on the age
of the children served:
TABLE 5.-Cost of child care programs in loCal communities in Australia1
Per oar~/q
3 to 5 years of age in centers with 35 children
2 to 5 years of age in centers with 46 children 894
o to 5 years of age in centers with 63 children 1,028
1 "Care and Education of Children, app. XI S, p. 271.
It was anticipated that parents would pay fees on a sliding scale
which the Fry report suggested would be from about Australian $8-13
per week. Subsidies at this rate would total A$40,546,000 per year `of
50 weeks of operation, based on a formula related to staff salaries. In
addition, a total of A$17,245,300 would be added to cover recurrent
assistance. All-in-all providing day care in centers for an additional
45,250 children as outlined in the program, would by 1985 cost the
national government A$122,610,00.0.
In addition, family day care was projected for 89,000 children.
Because it would not require capital outhys, its costs were less, al
though it was necessary to plan for buildings, land,. and furnit,iiw
for the, supervisory groups. The costs for this part of the 1?:
would amount to A$6,848,000.75
As noted above; operating subsidies were to be linked to staff sa~ aries,
which represent about 80 to 85 percent of cost. Although these cdsts
could certainly be expected to rise, the report recommended linking
the subsidy to staff salaries because this linkage would have the advan-
tage of "influencing staffing standards and allowing for salary incre-
ments for staff." 76
In the first year of the operation of the Children's Commission, 1974,
it reported it had spent A$45,242,639 (as compared with only .A$9
million spent in the previous year) and that its "wide-range projects
`had benefited 200,000 children." `~
The 1975-76 budget was set at A$74 million but following the change
of government was cut by about A$9 million. The amount nevertheless
represented a decided increase over the previous year and the Minister
~ See, for example, the reports on the Shire of Knox, City Office, Fern Tree Gully, "Fam-
ily Day Care Project," report for period Oct. 1, 1972 to Sept. 30, 1973, victoria, 3156.
~ Ibid., pp. 140-142.
`° Ibid., p. 146.
~ The Children's Commission, "A Progress Report" `(Canberra : Australian Government
Publishing Service, 1975).
PAGENO="0302"
294
for Child Care Matters assured the public that "funds were available
to mest all existing commitments for the financial year." However, she
added, "As there is only limited money available Australia-wide, for
new programs, only services catering for those most in need will be
funded" These, she said, were programs providing child care, with
very little funding going to new capital programs. To stimulate the
desired integration of services to children, 75 percent of salary costs
`would be covered in all projects "where the preschools had agreed to
extend and integrate their services." 78
The Australians prefer child care programs to be community-based
rather than factory-based. indeed only three or four factory-based
child care centers exist in the whole country. Community-based means
that the location, number, types, priorities of need and other decisions
governing the kind and quantity of services be set by community
bodies, who, they believe, wilLbe better able to assess and evaluate local
needs than national or state agencies. The Fry report also looked for-
ward to a high level of parental involvement in the management of
the centers through parent/community committees where parents
would serve in many of the executive positions.79
Government funds are to go only to nonprofit institutions and be
channeled through State authorities. Funding will be governed by
the application of standards set forth by the national government and
agreed to and enforced by the States. Where States are prepared to put
up capital funds, national government may supplement them or aug-
ment them. Where States are already making some contribution to
recurrent expenses, grants will be available to meet the difference
between contributions and the nationally determined level of assist-
Although the original Fry report was mainly concerned with the
preschool child, the Children's Commission directed its attention to a
broader range of services for children. In fact, the interim committee,
`in its final year, went beyond the terms of the original report, to fund
"a variety of holiday programs in the Christmas and May holidays
and a* number of outside sdhool hours programs." 81 These programs
include camping holidays, musical and craft groups, bus `trips, drama,
and other creative activities. Several programs started as specialholi-
day programs exteirded. later to aftersehool activities. Others were
associated with day care and oceasional care services.
Australia is'of `special interest tothe tJnited States, since it operates
on a federal system of government. It has only very recently under-
`ta~ken to provide Federal assistance `for a widespread national system
of aid in support of child care services, not only for preschoolers, but
for holidays and afterschool care. Its Federal budget-supported na-
tional program deserves continued attention.
78 Press statement by Senator, Hon. Margaret ~Guilfoyle, Miniiter Assisting the Prime
Minister in Child Care Matters, Feb. 6 and 24, 197G. For the official statement on the
meaning ~of "integration," see ChildrOn's Commission, "Integrated Services for Children,
What Do They Mean?" (no `date, 1074?). "The Children's Commission will * * * expect
existing services seeking assistance to look `closely at the other childhood and family needs
in `the community `for which `their "services could b'e catering, or at other services with
which they could be cooperating. It will expect proposed new programs to be multipurpose
where possible, or to demonstrate how they will link in with existing services, federal,
state, or'local." p. 2.
`~ "Care and Education of Young Children," p. 169.
80 Ibid., p. 170.
81 "A Progress Report," pp. 14-1~.
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295
B. Au$t?"ia
Maternity and child care leave are both parts of the Austrian system.
Austrian women receive a total of 16 weeks paid maternity leave, taken
8 weeks before and 8 weeks after the birth of the child. During this
time, women may not go to work. The leave payment comes from the
national health insurance fund and amounts to an average of the
woman's net earnings during the preceding 13 weeks. During this
leave, a woman is fully protected against dismissal from her job and
on her return to work must receive her old job back or one no less satis-
factory or remunerative.
At the birth of her child, a mother also receives a cash sum of 1,000
to 2,000 Austrian schillings (about U.S. $200 to $400), depending on
the type of insurance program in which ~he is enrolled.
Following childbirth, a woman who is regularly enrolled in the
unemployment insurance fund may request up to 1 year's leave of
absence from the date of the child's birth, beginning immediately on
expiration of her maternity leave. This Karenzjahr (caring year) or,
as it is more popularly called in other European countries, this baby
year, was introduced first in Austria82 but has now been copied in
a number of other countries including Hungary and Sweden, and is
under serious legislative consideration in France and Germany.
The form it has taken in Austria since 1974, when its terms were
amended and broadened, is that women receive from the unemploy-
ment insurance fund a flat sum of 2,000 schillings per month if they
are married and if their husbands are earning more than 1,987
schillings per month; or, where the husband is earning less per month
or the mother herself is single, the payment is 3,000 schillings per
month.83 Since over 80 percent of working women earn under 6,000
schillings per month,84 payment of 3,000 schillings would hardly be
enough, one would surmise, to induce any but the lowest-income
earners to remain at home with their infants. Certainly the woman
who is single head of family could not afford to do so. Nevertheless,
a Chamber of Labor shows that almost 90 percent of working mothers
now take advantage of the facility.85
As a result of this program of paid child-care leave, the Austrian
Governnient sees little need for providing child care centers for chil-
dren under the age of 3. Nevertheless a few cities, particularly Vienna,
have established some centers or crêches for infants and toddlers under
the age of 3, for children whose mothers cannot or should not take
care of them. In 1974, there were throughout the country 33 crêches
for infants up to 1 year of age, which cared for 434 children or 0.41
percent of the total population of this age group. Children's centers
~ Introduced In 1960, It Irovlded for a 6-month's leave for all mothers following the
birth of each child and 3 years later was extended to the present duration of 1 year.
~ Office of the Federal Chancellor, Bericht ueber die Situation der Frau In Oesterrelch,
"Die Frau im Oesterreichischen Recht," heft 2 (The Situation of the Women in Austria,
sec. 2, "The Woman In Austrian Law") (Vienna, 1975), p. 20. All elements of a means test
were removed in 1974 with the result that "all women who have been employed for a certain
period are now entitled to the benefit * * * [and] It has come to be regarded more as a
social service nvailable to all than as some kind of charity," Edith Krebs, "Women Workers
and the Trade Unions In Austria: An Interim Report," International Labor Review, 112:
4 (October 1075), p. 274.
~ The Situation of Women In Austria, heft 5, "Die Frau in Beruf" ("The Woman at
Work," Sec. 5), p. 15.
~ Krebs. op. cit., p. 275.
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296
for 1- to 3-year-olds number~d 154 and had places for 4,240 or 2
percent of that age group.86
Austria, throughout most of this century has had a higher propor-
tion of women working than any other country in middle and western
Europe.87 Characteristically, these women interrupt their work only
for very short periods, paralleling, at a lower level, the normal graph
for lifetime careers of men. At the same time, the percentage of mar-
ried women working is high and reached 57.3 percent in 1969.
Austrians have very widely accepted the view, often put forward
by their own experts and by foreign observers, that the child under
3 belongs with its mother. Despite evidence to the contrary, a wide-
spread belief exists that children whose mothers work are neglected
and suffer emotional damage as a result.88
These views would seem to account for the fact that httle attention
is paid to increasing the number of full-day child care facilities for
children below the age of 5. Kindergartens, which cater to children
during the 2 years before compulsory schooling begins at 7, have grown
at the rate of about 5 percent per year since 1970, according to the Min-
istry of Education's Report to the OECD in 1975. The Ministry
favored children attending kindergarten only one-half day, although,
in fact, 72 percent of the children of working mothers remain through-
out the day and have their midday meal at the centers.89
Many students of the subject have conducted studies of the need
for child care, as well as of the mothers' wishes in this regard. Over-
whelmingly, the demand is expressed for more child care centers.
More than 33 percent of nonworking women in Austria in 1972 at-
tributed the f act that they were not working to the lack of facilities for
child care.9°
All Austrian women want kindergartens for their children. But
more than half of those questioned in another study indicated they
were not able to realize their desire because of lack of sufficient
`facilities.9'
This shortage has resulted in a ~ ery widely practiced preference
among kindergarten directors for the children of working mothers,
a~id 40 to 50 percent of the women questioned in a study done by the
Ministiy for Soci~d Affans replied that only undei such conditions
wo~ild tihey,apply for work.92
* Au~tria. in these regards is not unlike the United States. A wide-
spread view among families, social workers, lawmakers, and aca-
demics is thQt children under 5 or 6 ye'~rs of ige are best kept withrn
the~ family. At the same time, for a variety of reasons closely linked to
the economy and the labor market, hut related also to the low birth-
rate, hig divorce rate, crowded housing and isolated family living,
~ Bundesministerlum fuer Unterricht und Kunst, Bilduhgs Bericht 1975 an die OECD,
pt. 2, "Vorschulerziehung" (Ministry of Education and Art, Education Report 1975 to the
OECD, pt. 2, "Preschool Education"), p. 37 (Vienna, 1975).
`°` See Dorotbea Gaudart and Agnes Neigi, "Die Frau in der wirtschafv' ("Women in the
Economy"), table 2, "Wohnbevoelkerung nnch Lebensunterhalt und Geschlecht, i97i"
("Population by Livelihood and Sex"). The source of the statistics is the Austrian Census,
1971.
°° See IFES; "Generelle Einstellung von Frauen und Maennern zur Frauenherufstnetlg-
keit" ("General Position of Women and Men on Women's Work Activity") (Vienna, 1974)
as cited in Report on the Situation of Women, sec. 5, "The Woman at Work," p. 77.
°° Report to OECD, p. 40.
°° Chamber of Labor in Vienna, "Women's Employment In Austria." September 1972.
°` Leopold Rosenmayr, "Die Junge Frau in der Industriegesellschaft" ("The Young
Woman in Industrial Society") (Vienna, 1969), p. 72.
°` Bundesministerium fuel Soziale Verwaltung, "Bedarf an Klndergaerten" (Federal Min-
istry for Social A~airs, "Need for Kinclergartens") (November 1971), p. 37.
PAGENO="0305"
297
more and more women are going to work. The sectors of the economy
seeking women workers are growing rapidly, and annually more
women than men are being added to the labor force. In the face of these
facts, the official disregard of the demand for child care, despite grow-
ing need, presents a gap between outmoded social norms and modern
reality. The Austrians have responded in an original and significant
way by their provision of dhild care leave for mothers of infants; they
have neglected the needs of mothers of children beyond this age, and
are only now responding to them, and then inadequately, at the kinder-
garten level.
C. France
France has one of the most extensive systems of child care in the Western
World. . . . Among the many programs which aid French parents in bringing
up their young children are family allowances; free medical care for prospective
mothers, infants, and children, including home visits; and free public education
and day care beginning at the age of two-and-a-half.93
National planning for social as well as other elements of economic
and family life is in the hands of the Commissariat General du Plan
(Central Planning Commission), made up of representatives of the
ministries, regional planning services and relevant commissions of the
departments. Since `World `War II ~ix plans have been worked out,
each covering about 3 years. Beginning in 1954-56 the emphasis turned
from rebuilding the war devastation to considerations of social pro-
grams. Plan VI, the most recent (1970L75), concentrates on measures
for domestic social progress, and deals specifically with an expanded
program for *creches and increased research into early childhood
development.94
The "compact between family and society" in France implies a de-
sire on the part of the government to make up in birth rate and child
health for thp ravages of war,°5 together with a commitment to "equal
rights for all" which has its roots in the Revolution of 1789 but which
receivedits i~ecent great thrust forward following `World `War II in the
1950's. The result is "a broad set of services for all families, not just
the leastfortunate.96
These services are to some extent provided by the Government di-
rectly or through the semipublic services represented by the three
branches of the national insurance system to which employers and
employees contribute: the Social Security Fund, the National Sickness
and Maternity Fund, and the National Family Allowance Fund.
°~ Halbert B. Robinson and Nancy M. Robinson, `~Introduction to the French Monograph,"
In Myriam David and Irene Lézine, "Early Child Care In France, International Monograph
Series on Early Child Care 6 (New York: Gordon & Breach, 1975), p. xi.
~ Ibid., pp. 31-32.
~ Actually, the birth rate has been falling steadily In the last 10 years from 2.9 average
births per woman in child-bearing years in 1964 to 2.14 in 1974; in the same period the
actual number of births has also fallen, due in part to a decline in the number of marriages
and a cutting off of immigration. See Evelyn Sullerot, "Problemes Poses Par le Travail et
LEmploi des femmes; Rapport presente au nom de la Section de Travail et des
Relations Professionnelles." Conseil Economique et Social (Paris, Oct. 5, 1975)
("Problems Poled by Work and Employment of Women: A Report Presented In the
Name of the Section on Work and Occupational Relations," Council of Economic and Social
Affairs), COuncil Report, pp. 100-104. It might be noted, however, that the fall in the
birthrates of other European and American countries is considerably greater with the
exception of Italy, which has gone from 2.64 to 2.25. Germany shows the steepest decline:
from 2,55 to 1.54. Ibid, p. 106.
°~David and Ldzine, op. cit., pp. 22, 24.
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298
Out of these funds is paid a variety of family allowances, none of
which is means tested. All are paid to the mother:
Health insurance covering all health care during pregnancy and delivery, as
well as post natal care at 70-80 percent of cost;
A daily allowance for the mother for 6 weeks before and 6 weeks after
delivery. (Employers are required to grant 14 weeks of maternity leave with
partial salary.) Family allowance, beginning with the second child and increasing
with each child thereafter, with automatic arises adjustetd to the cost of living,
plus a basic allowance to all families with children.
Special allowances meant to encourage the mother to report regularly for pre-
natal examination and care, to bring the child to well-baby clinics between the
ages of 3 and 30 months; an allowance paid those families where there is only
one income (and called therefore "single salary allowance") to encourage the
mother to remain at home with her child (ren), and to assist in support of the
single parent; a bonus to couples who have their first child within 2 years of
marriage; a bonus to mothers who breastfeed their infants and an allowance for
the purchase of milk (recently withdrawn) .~
Child Care: Child care is more amply provided in France for 2- to
6-year-olds than in any other non-Communist country. Moreover, it
is free of charge. What is less well provided for is care for the child
under 2. Nevertheless for this age group a number of approved ar-
rangements exist.
First is the creche, a facility which may be sponsored under public
or private auspices and open to children from 6 weeks to 3 years of
age whose mothers are working. Although crêches were originally
charitable institutions for deprived children of the poor, this is no
longer the case.98 Parents pay a fee on a sliding scale adjusted to in-
come (low-income families may pay nothing) .°~ Priority goes to chil-
dren of single mothers and of problem families.'00 The number of
these establishments is small and waiting lists are long. It is estimated
that of the 400,000 to 500,000 babies born each year to mothers who
work, places exist for only 1 out of 21.1
Recently some creches (one study suggests 1 in 10)2 have extended
their services to include children up to 4 years of age. In this case
they call their program a kindergarten (jardin d'enf ants) . Some par-
ents use it because the groups are smaller than in the universal école
~aternelles (to which we come shortly), though it has to compete with
the attraction of its free service.
Crêches are supplemented by agency-operated day care homes known
as crê~hes familiales, which may not take more than three children.
These homes are attached to and licensed by a district day-care agency,
and they are closely linked to it through staff and financing. A central
office staff serves children in~each of the~homes. The head nurse in that
office receives applications, as~ign~ children, recruits, seiedts and trains
caretakers and is available to parents. Moreover, this nurse is in charge
of the health education of caretakers and makes visits to the children
in the day-care homes.
Ibid., pp. 58-59.
~ For a lively description of a Parisian creche, see Olive Evans, `For the French, Day
Care Centers Have Become a Necessity," New York Times, Oct. 8, 1074, p. 46.
~ "Fees range from 22 cents to $5 per day, but not even the maximum fee charged ever
covers the actual costs of care. Informal (unlicensed) family-day-care fees average about
$150 monthly or about $7 per day." Sheila Kamerman, op. cit., p. 33.
100 Ibid., pp. 70-71.
1 Sullerot, op. cit., p. 128.
2 David and Ldzine, op. cit.
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299
Throughout the country there exist, as well, licensed day care homes.
Anyone who wishes to care for children must register, and after a
social investigation by a representative of the maternal-child care pro-
gram (a division of the Ministry of Health) and a physical examina-
tion, may be accepted. Families `who place their children in care must
register this fact-even if it is with a close relative such as a grand-
parent-within 3 days.3 There are `perhaps 125,000 such registered
homes. Each year many women apply for registration and each year
not only are some refused `but some who have been registered `are
dropped.
And finally there are small nurseries where babies may be placed
for short periods when mothers need to shop or are `engaged in lei-
sure time activities. These are called halte garderies (child park-
ing) and may be used by nonworking mOthers for a fee. "The program
was founded by the family allowance fund in response to the great
need. for isolated young mothers to get out of their homes and partici-
pate in outside activities."
Table 6 shows the number of centers sponsored by various types of
agencies caring for children under 3,5' as of December 31, 1973.
TABLE 6
Creches
-`-
Sponsoring agency or organ!zatlon Number Places
Day-care homes Kindergartens
` `
`Number Places ~Number Places
Child.
parking,
number
State - 7 295
Dpa~tment 220 11, 533
Municipality .295 13, 392
Bureauof Social Welfare 41 1,733
Hospitals - 72 3, 182
Family allowance fund - `11 399
Private:
Associations under the law of 190L.. 117 5, 711
Enterprises 48 1, 639
Proprietary
Others
Total 811, 37,884
4 600 4 156
15 865 19 `916
74 2, 080 28 .2, 092
8 141
22 848
7 700 2 55
85 4, 088 75 4, 054
32 1, 058 27 985
.2 30 17 .522
I 15 7 235
9
2
124
40
1
260
257
17
2
10
250 10,425 179 9,015
722
`Numbérof Numberof
centers caretakers
Numbe
,places
Family .creches,sponsOrship:
Municipality
Bureau of Social Welfare
Family allowance fund
Private organizations -
Others
Total --
`125 4,943
53 2, 370
20 758
40 1,544
1 , , 35
8,052
3, 970
1 400
2, 594
,,52
239 9, 650
16, 068
During the year 1974, .65 new cr~ches were opened providing 3,104
places, bringing the total as `of 1975 to 40,988. In the family cr~ches,
the number of places now exceed 17,057; thus'the total places `available
in all France in 1975 was 58,045. The need for even more places is
very great. The available ones are ill-distributed throughout the coun-
try, several departments having none at `all, .12 departments having
only 1 creche and most of the facilities being located in Paris 6
"Ibid., pp. 69-70.
Ibid., p. 80.
`Sullerot, op. cit., p. 130 (orIginal table in French; translation by the author).
C Ibid., p. 131.
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As for financing, aiiother study states that costs for establishing day
care centers (building and equipment but not land) are about $4,000
per child with the financing supplied 40 percent by central govern-
ment, 20 percent by local government, and 40 percent by the family
allowance fund. Operating expenses, of which about 80 percent is for
salaries, are divided 4 percent to the central government, 51 percent to
local government, 5 percent to the family allowance fund and 36 per-
cent to parents in fees. The operating costs per child come to $7.50
per day in centers and $6 in family day care.7
In a report to the Economic and Social Council, a Government orga-
nization, one author recommends on this point the following:
Need for doubling or quadrupling the number of places for children 0-3, de-
pending upon density of population in departments, cities and districts.
The development of a national plan under which the state and the family
allowance fund would contribute 80 percent of the cost of construction of new
crêches with the local sponsoring organization responsible for the remainder;
operating costs to be paid by the State at 4-5 percent, parents paying 33 percent
and the local sponsor the remainder.
A local public and private organization to take the initiative in planning num-
ber, location, hours of service, size and their own internal regulations of the
crêches.8
T~~y schools.-France's great accomplishment in the field of
child care is the widespread establishment of the écoles maternelles.
These nursery schools serve children 2 to 6: are set lip under the Minis-
try of Education; are open to all children and are free to parents.9 The
ecole maternefle has been described as "an admirable creation * ~. It
places France in the forefront in the world as much for the quality of
its pedagogical work as for the quality of its personnel * * and for
the number of children it services: in 1975, 2,500,000 thildren between
2 and 6." 10
This compares with 800,000 children in 1968.
Broken down by age groups the nursery schools serve:
22.4 percent of the 2-year-olds
- 71.2 percent of the 3-year-olds
92.4 percent of the 4-year-olds
97.7 percent of the 5-year-olds
Thus, although the nursery school is not compulsory, it is almost uni-
versally used by the parents of children in the 2 preschool years, and
very heavily used by the parents of 3-year-olds.
In spite of the pride and enthusiasm in the system which.France has
developed, there has been criticism "of the nurseries in certain respects.
and these points are worth noting for the United States as it seeks to
respond to the universal need for child care.~
First, the size of the groups in the nurseries is too large. They aver-
age 45 enrollments per class and an attendance of 32. The need for
more staff and.smaller groups is of first concern.
~ Kamerman, op. cit., pp. 33-34.
8 Ibid., pp. 132-133. A note in the International Labor Review, 105: 4, April 1972. com~
ments on the new regulations of November 1971 governing French criches by noting that
"Paris alone accounts for nearly half the day-nursery places available for the whole of
France, which, according to recently published information, has only 5 places for every
10,000 inhabitants, whereas the WHO (world Health Organizatioa) has laid down a
minimum standard of 40 places for every 10,000 inhabitants," p. 380.
° Kamerman, op. cit., points out that parents are, however, charged fees on a graduated
basis for the supplementary program (essential to a working mother) which includes
before- and after-school care, meals, and Wednesday and school-vacation care. These fees
amount to 35 cents per day plus ~1 per meal. p. 34.
~° Sullerot, op. cit., p. 140.
`~ Ibid.
ha For a detailed discussion of the daily program of the various age groups in the nur-
sery schools, see David and Lézine, op. cit., pp. 84-98.
PAGENO="0309"
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Second is the problem of hours and schedules. The nursery schools
in general follow a school calendar. They are closed on Wednesdays,
on Saturday afternoons and Sundays. They follow school holidays and
vacations and these matters leave working parents with unsolved and
often insoluble problems of child care during these periods. Moreover,
most of them open at 8 a.m., a little late for parents who have to bring
children there before they themselves report for work. Even more diffi-
cult is that they close for 2 hours in the middle of the day and at 4:30 in
the afternoon. Supplementary staffs are needed to cover these periods,
together with the regular provision of cantine services at noon.12
A problem in this regard is that the persomiel of these schools, in
contrast to the compulsory elementary and secondary schools, are paid
by the municipalities and towns and not by the Ministry of Education;
these authorities feel they must collect fees from the parents for these
extra services,13 with the result that about 20 percent of the enrolled
children do not take advantage of them even when they are available.
At the very least, a cantine is needed in every nursery school.
Third, there is a very uneven standard of equipment in the centers.
Some lack outdoor areas, playrooms, quiet rooms and the like. These
shortcoming are apt to characterize underprivileged neighborhoods,
both rural and urban, and therefore substantiates the need for greater
standardization through more national participation in supporting
these aspects of the schools, lest disadvantaged children remain
disadvantaged.
Finally, France has not dealt with the problem of caring for the
sick child, despite the fact that a child's illness is a catastrophe for a
working mother. Hospitals might be induced to offer a home care
service for children who are not seriously ill.
France has uniquely made the care and education of children from 2
years upward a charge upon the State. Since the schools for children
between 2 and 6 are voluntary, parents who wish to keep their chil-
dren at `home until the start of school may do so. Actually, the statis-
tics indicate that almost all French children above the age of 4 and a
very high proportion of 3-year olds are in free public preschool dur-
ing most of the day. The provision of care for children under 2 is
much less universal, but still probably offers more places for care than
are available in any other country.
D. Sweden
Outside the Communist countries, Sweden may have the most com-
prehensive and integrated program of child care 14 of any country in
the non-Communist world.15
12 Actually, 85 percent of the nurseries in towns of more than 100,000 inhabitants have a
cantine; 60 percent in the smaller towns but only 40 percent in the rural areas. More than
75 percent of the schools have someone who remains until the evening, about 18 :30. About
20 percent have organized a caretaking system on Wednesday, and 20 percent function dur-
ing the summer as child-minding centers. Sullerot, op. cit., p. 141.
13 See Kamerman, op. cit., p. 34.
14 Although proportionately more children are cared for In France than in Sweden, the
refrence here is to the total system of child care from prenatal programs to those covering
in- and after-school care of children of working mothers.
13 The Communist countries, partly for reasons of political indoctrination and training
of children and partly because the labor-market demands upon women are nearly total, have
unquestionably provided more child care facilities than have the free-market countries.
Even so, their available services in only a few cases-Moscow may be the one exception In
the Communist world-meet the demand of working mothers for child care.
PAGENO="0310"
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The first program. is entitled "Parenthood Benefits" which may
begin 60 days before the child's birth. Prebirth benefits are paid only
to the mother. Benefits then extend for a maximum period of 180 days,
beginning with the day of birth and amounting to 90 percent of in-
come; these are payable either to the mother or father, depending on
who is remaining out of work to care for the child.'6 The same amount
is paid for the same period following an adoption, regardless of the
age of the child. Parents who take this child care leave are assured
that their jobs will be held for them for the 6-months period, provided
that they have worked uninterruptedly for the employer for 1 year
before the leave is taken. This provision holds for a maximum of two
periods of leave for each parent.
The assumptions in setting up this program are that
It is a positive thing if the child from the beginning has close contacts with
both parents. The change (from maternity benefits to parent benefits) is a signifi-
cant notice on the part of society that the father and the mother have common
responsibiliy for the children's care. The reform is part of a policy to promote
equality between men and women in the home, on the job and in society.1'
MOthers receive a cash payment (the amount in 1970 was SKr 1,080
or $200),' on the birth of a child (with increased amounts in multi-
pie births) ; they may request advances on it during pregnancy if they
can demonstrate need and have a doctor's certificate.'8
Preventivematernity and child care are regarded as very important.
Since 1944, the State has supported such activities, which include a free
health checkup of all mothers-to-be and new mothers, and of children below
school age. It covers also preventive birth control, diagnosis of pregnancy, gym-
nastics for mothers-to-be, and the treatment of disorders caused by pregnancy
or delivery but not necessitating hospital care. Protective medicines for both
mother and children are provided free of charge, as are also certain other drugs
for women.
The maternity, and child care centers-sometimes housed in the same building-
function under physicians, assisted by midwives and nurses. About 90 percent
of mothers-to-be visited a maternity care center for a health checkup.~
Every Swedish child receives a public allowance from birth until
its 16th birthday, amounting to about SKr 1,200 per year per child.
The allowance is a measure of social policy intended to support families
with children and improve their standard of living. The payments
are made quarterly to a designated parent, usually the mother.'° Chil-
dren who lose one or both parents receive assistance from the national
basic pension fund at the rate of 25 percent of a standard unit for the
loss of one parent and 50 percent for the loss of both.2'
Since 1969 the Swedish Government has instituted what it calls the
4-year control, a health examination for every 4-year old, carried
through by a team of medical and psychological personnel who en-
deavor to conduct a. thorough diagnostic examination. On the basis of
this examination, parents, and if necessary social services, can work
out a program fitted to the child with special needs and abilities.2'
1~ This information is summarized from "Maternity Benefits To Become Parenthood
Benefits," Current Sweden, No. 9 (September 1973). The benefit may be made to the mother
and father in turn, if they take turns either by the half day or longer periods in child care.
17 "Maternity Benefits * ~ s," op. cit., p. 3.
17* Approximately 4 Kronor 50 Ore equals $1.00 U.S. in today's market.
18 Astrid Wester. "The Swedish Child" (Stockholm: Swedish Institute, 1970), p. 11.
19 Ibid., pp. 22-23.
`° Income tax regulations do not permit exemptions for children. Ia a sense, the U.S.
parent could compare this child allowance withhis/her tax exemption.
21 Webster, op. cit., pp. 10-li.
22 Ibid., p. 21.
PAGENO="0311"
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Material from these examinations can, if necessary, be fed into the
preschool where compensatory programs can benefit behavioral prob-
lems, retardation, handicaps or respond to other special emotional
or physical needs.
Although Sweden pioneered in early childhood education and
care in the person of Ellen Kay,23 a new phase came in the mid-
1960's with a decision of the Labor Market Board to recruit more
married women. This change in emphasis away from a program which
had brought several tens of thousands of foreign workers to Sweden
encouraged Swedish married women who wished to do so to prepare
themselves for working careers. As a result, the Board estimated that
60 percent of all married women would be employed by 1975 and 70
percent by 1980. A number of studies showed that women were pre-
pared in large numbers to go to work if support facilities, mainly
child care, could be included. In 1963, the Family Commission took the
iniative for forming a joint central group for the planning and
expansion of day nurseries and free-time centers. The group not only
was made up of national and local government agency representatives
and of persons connected with social welfare in public and private
organizations, but included the two main participants in the labor
market, representatives of employers' and of employees' organizations.
The State had supported preschool institutions, mainly half-day
nursery schools and kindergartens long before this time. In 1966, its
approach changed so as to favor full-day nurseries and free time (after
school) 24 centers. The result was to accelerate greatly the setting up of
local joint centers serving both preschool and school children on a full-
day basis. The next step was to link the preschool to the 9-year compre-
hensive school.25
The family commission outlined a variety of full-time day care fa-
cilities. It urged local authorities to analyze community needs, to set up
various kinds of services in balance with these needs, and to see the dif-
ferent types of child-minding facility as alternatives, all of which were
to meet the need for supervision and development-promoting activities
for children.26
Joint Labor Council studies estimated that by 1975, 130,000 children
under 7 years old of mothers working full time, and 194,000 children
of mothers working part time would need care; by 1980, these numbers
would grow to 145,000 children of full-time working mothers and ~18,-
000 of part-time working mothers. The estimate of places which could
be made available by 1975 for children up to 6 years of age for all-day
care was 79,000 and for children in playschools open not more than 5
23 Ellen Key wrote her seminal book, "The century of the Child", in 1900. It was quickly
translated into most European languages and greatly influenced the trends of child devel-
opment and child care in both Europe and America.
24 The Rosengren report puts It this way: "The day nursery should be in a much better
position than the part-time group to realize a pedagogic program of the type that was put
forward by the 1968 Commission on Child Centers, and on which Parliament based its deci-
sion. This is partly because the children spend a longer time at the day nursery which
permits more broadly conceived pedagogic planning than with the 3-hour activity of the
part-time group. Also more adults function in the day nursery's team, sharing the pedagogic
work according to aptitude and interest." Op. cit., p. 5.
These details on the development of modern child care in Sweden are largely derived
from Bodil Rosengren, "Preschool in Sweden; Facts, Trends, and Future" (Stockholm
Swedish Institute, 1973). This is an English-language summary of the very much more
detailed "Report of the 1972 Commission," published only in Swedish.
2i Ibid., p. 17. For a detailed discussion of the Swedish approach to child upbringing and
the place the child-care center has in child development, see Ragnar Berfenstam and Inger
wilhiam-olsson, `Early Child Care in Sweden," International Monograph Series on Early
Child Care 2 (New York: Gordon & Breach, 1973).
PAGENO="0312"
304
hours per day was 67,000. In addition, recreation centers for children
over 7 years could be expected to handle 22,000 children, while family
day care would take care of 56,000. The total number of children in
all-day supervision would be 157,500.27
The full-day center which the Swedes have chosen not only lies high
operating costs, but has a shortage of trained staff. The result is that,
against their better judgment, Swedes use a great deal of family day
care. They see it at best as an interim measure to be relied upon only
until enough centers can be put int.o operation. Family day care has,
however, proved itself highly useful where parents work on shifts 2S or
have other irregular hours; in some cases it provides the possibility of
overnight care. It is also sometimes used in combination with the short-
session preschool where full-day nurseries are not available. Above all,
many parents favor it over institutional care for their infants and very
young children.2°
So long as family day care is part of the Swedish official care pro-
gram, they support it in the same manner as the rest of the system.
Day care mothers are selected by the Child Welfare Commissions in
the localities and supervised by them. They receive grants for toys
and equipment; advice on food shopping and nutrition; some 90-day
training programs are also available. The local child welfare office
employs these women at regular rates of wages, enrolls them in the
appropriate insurance systems and provides for vacations. At the same
time, it collects fees from the parents. In 1971, the number of children
in day nurseries and in family day care was almost equal at 41,000
each. By 1974, the number in day nurseries was to have reached 62,800
and those in family day care 51,000. The plan for 1980 is to provide up
to 150,000 places in day nurseries but considerably fewer in family
care.
The Swedes, in contrast to the Australians, see many disadvantages
in family care. Among them are the fact that many of the mothers
are untrained; many become dissatisfied with their work. seek other
better-paid employment, have difficulties with the children sent to
them, and, as a consequence, are unwilling to go on with their day-care
tasks. As a result, children may be moved several times a year from
home to home in search of adequate and stable care. However, the
Swedish experts are chiefly concerned that children in family day care
are not receiving the kind of well-rounded pedagogic program that is
available in the nurseries. Studies seem to indicate that parents much
prefer the institutional setting and hope to be able, as soon as possible,
to move their children from family day care into a center.
The Swedish program also provides for the care of sick children. If
a child becomes ill after arrival at a center, the parents are notified
and the child is isolated in a sick room at the center until they arrive.
~ The Joint Female Labor Council (Arhetsmarkna~1ens Kvinnoniimnd-AKN) ANN Infor-
mationen, No. 4 (September 1971). "Public Care of Children I-TI," Stockholm 24.3.72, p. 4.
~ One proposal popular In Sweden but not yet put into effect is to exempt parents of
small children from work on night shifts.
~ Jeanne Meuller, "Preschool Education end Day Care for Swedish Children" (The
Swedish Information Service (September 1971), mimeographed. Mueller says that some
60,000 children were in 1970 enrolled In private family day care, in addition to the subsi-
dized family day care service and the centers. A further 20,000 children are cared for, she
estimates, by "family home help," the young women who work as mothers' helpers for
several months before entering training schools to become professional child carers.
PAGENO="0313"
305
If a child becomes ill at home, parents can notify the Social Welfare
Bureau which is in charge of all centers and
A child visitor, employed by the Bureau, can be made available to the parents
for care and minding in the home. If the child is seriously ill, he is presumably
under medical supervision in the hospitaL The child visitor is also available to
transport a child home from the Center if parents cannot leave work and they
are available even on weekends if parents are working. These visitors are
screened by a committee of the Bureau, employed by it at the same rate as staff
members in the centers and paid by the day for their services. Parents pay the
same amount for this at-home visitation that they do for care in the Center.'°
Before- and after-school care is part of the total Swedish plan. Play-
grounds are supervised in nonschool hours, often by part-time workers
who receive short courses in recreation and child care. Many preschool
centers have a special room where school children may spend their
out-of-school hours. In some places, school-age children are not only
allowed but encouraged to join with the younger children, especially
with their siblings, in the preschool outdoor activities.
Programs for'( to 11 year olds include supervision of homework as-
signnients, hobby programs and other supervised and free activities.
The centers, which are open all day, accept children before and after
school. Children who come early get a breakfast before going off to
school; a snack is served in the afternoon before their parents call
for them.8'
Both local authorities and private agencies arrange for summer
camps and vacations for children in private summer homes. The camps
offer from 3 to 8 weeks stay. The National Board of Health and Wel-
f are has general supervision of camp programs. It sets up standards
for the operation of camps and pays a subsidy of 100 SKr per child.
Local supervision is in the hands of the local child welfare committees
and in some cases of county govermnents.
The cost of constructing day nurseries is SKr 12,000-20,000 per
place. These costs are largely, though not entirely, met by the central
government, which makes a direct initial grant of SKr 6,000 per place,
plus a loan of SKr 4,000 per place. If the facility is built with a State
housing loan, oniy the initial grant is provided. These subsidies are
only for full-day care of children and are not made for part-time pre-
schools, although some help for these institutions is available from a
special State granting agency. This agency, the State Inheritance
Fund, can provide grants of up to about 50 percent of costs 32 for
equipment of both part-day and full-day facilities, as well as for after-
school free-time centers.
Operating costs per child for a year in a full-day pre-school are
about SKr 14,000, for part-day facilities about SKr 2,000 and for
free-time centers SKr 7,800. The Board of Health and Welf are estab-
lishes the number of places per department for which an operating
grant shall be made, based on the center's available space and the age of
the children. The Board makes the operating grants. These come to
about 35 percent of the costs of pro-school activities; local authorities
pay approximately 50 percent and the parents pay the remainder.33
20 See Meuller, op. cit., p. 16.
"See Leisure `Time, Department, Stockholm Child welfare Board, "Description of Rec-
reation Activity for Children and Young People" (Stockholm, May 16, 1972), mimeographed.
32 Rosengren, op. cit., `Initial grants (for building) are approved and paid by the
National Board of Health and Welfare. Loans are approved by the Board and paid by the
National Office for Administrative nationalization and Economy." p. 10.
~ Ibid., pp. 10-11.
PAGENO="0314"
306
Operating costs vary with the age of child and with the size of
facility, varying in 1970 from SKr 9,500 to SKr 11,700. The subsidy
per year and place for full-day care was SKr 2,800 and in after-school
centers, SKr 1,500. As costs rise, these amounts are increased and paid
on a percentage of cost basis.34
Parental fees are paid on a sliding scale, with the minimum SKi'
1 per child per day for parents with an income of less than SKr 1,150
per month. When family incomes exceed SKr 9.200 per month, the
parents pay the ftill costs of SKr 34 per day, although some commirni-
ties have a maximum charge of SKr 20 per day.35 Parents do not pay
for days when the child is absent, unless a home visitor is with the
child, in which case they pay the regular daily rate.36 On the average,
parents pay SKr 7 per day. The average is low because it takes into
account support given by local authorities to children of unsupported
parents, and parents with small incomes.37
The fact that day care is almost universally desired as well as limited in supply
leads to the assignment of space on the basis of social need and this results in
an over-representation of low income families.~
Parent~s pay their fees to the local Child Welfare Committee which has
jurisdiction and responsibility within the local government for plan-
ning and administration of pre-school centers. The Committee, in
turn, employs staffs and day care mothers.39
Sweden provides a model of an integrated program which offers all
the kinds of child care that working parents need-child care leave for
parents of infants, institutional and family day care for all pre-school
ages, before- and after-school care for children 7 to 11, and even care
for the sick child. Its program places great emphasis on the pedagogic
elements of pre-schooling, as well as on child-minding. Administra-
tion authorities and parents both prefer the kind of rare which well-
trained staff and well-equipped centers can provide, rather than day
care in homes. Its financing represents considerable state aid for
locally planned and managed programs.
In conclusion, child development experts tend to stress the impor-
tance of parental care of children, at least in the very early years. For
this reason, the programs in Sweden and Austria, which pay one or
both parents to take leave from work and remain with the child for six
to 12 months after birth, command special attention. But for parents
who cannot remain away from work to care even for their very small
children, the French and Swedish crêches and the Australian plan to
use family day care are thoughtful programs designed to meet this
need. The Swedish preference for placing children in centers, rather
than with less-trained child-minders in family homes, is the con-
sidered judgment of experts who have carefully weighed each type of
program. In every country, the national government is substantially
committed to subsidize child care. In France, preeminently among all
the countries in the world, care of children above the age of 2 is free
to parents in the same way that elementary and secondary education
is.
AK Informationen, pp. 6-7.
~ Ibid., p. 7.
~ See above for discussion of sick children.
~ Rosengren, op. cit., p. iO.
~ Mueller, op. cit., p. 16.
~ Child Welfare Committee, Social Department, Stockholm, "The Stockholm Child"
(undated), mimeographed.
0