Working Paper: NBER ID: w31916
Authors: Stefania Albanesi
Abstract: Employment and participation rates for US prime age women rose steadily during the second half of the 20th century. In the last 30 years, however, those rates stagnated, even as employment and participation rates for women in other industrialized countries continued to rise. I discuss the role of changes in the earnings structure and persistent institutional barriers, such as limited investment in family policies, that may be holding back employment among American women today. The COVID-19 pandemic reduced employment more for women than for men and raised the barriers to female participation due to the increase in childcare responsibilities during this period. Yet, the diffusion of remote and hybrid work arrangements in its aftermath may be beneficial for women's participation in the long run, even if both men's and women's post-pandemic employment growth so far are strongly associated with access to remote work options.
Keywords: women's employment; labor force participation; family policies; earnings structure; COVID-19
JEL Codes: E20; E6; H2; H31; H4; H52; J16; J21; J22; J30; J31; J33
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| male labor hours (J22) | female labor supply (J21) |
| changes in the earnings structure (J31) | female labor supply (J21) |
| lack of family policies (J12) | women's labor force participation (J21) |
| family policies (J18) | women's labor force participation (J21) |
| COVID-19 pandemic (H12) | women's employment (J21) |
| increased childcare responsibilities (J13) | women's employment (J21) |