Women in the Labor Force Developments and Issues

This volume provides an overview of women's economic progress over the last twenty-five years and highlights the additional challenges for the future. The editor provides writings that show that over the last quarter century, women have become a powerful political force, both as voters and as elected leaders, and she demonstrates that women have parlayed this political well-being into economic well-being. She also includes an updated look at the employment situation of working mothers with children under 18 years old, and examines the impact of the recession (which began in December 2007) on their participation in the labor market. She continues by looking at the numerical trends of the job losses and gains by women vs. that of the overall American population during the same time period. The editor dedicates a section to an examination of dramatic increase in the number of women in the labor force during the 20th century, and the corresponding change in the allocation of women's time between work and home activities, expanding on this with a discussion about time allocations between women who work in the home and women employed in outside organizations. The editor finishes her collection by looking into the times of day working mothers are away from the home, thus not being available to teach their children, and the natural circadian rhythms of children. She suggests that employment causes parents to shift their childcare activities away from times when it is the most valuable, and the differences in the amount of time that employed and non-employed parents spend in childcare underestimate the effect of employment on parents' quality-adjusted time with their children.