Working Paper: NBER ID: w7608
Authors: Dora L. Costa
Abstract: In the twenty-first century many of the professional and high ranking managerial workers in the United States and in other OECD countries will be women. This change in women's social and economic status represents a dramatic break with the past, but one that can only be understood by looking to the past. The rise of the career woman would not have been possible without the entry of previous generations of women into the labor market. This entry was determined both by contemporaneous demand factors and by the characteristics, expectations, and social norms regarding work and family of different cohorts of women. History suggests that change in women's labor force experiences may be slow because it must await the entry of new cohorts of women (and also of men)into the labor market.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: J16; J22; N31
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Experiences of earlier generations (B15) | Participation of later cohorts (J26) |
| Participation of earlier cohorts (J26) | Opportunities for later cohorts (I24) |
| Prior labor force entry of married women (J21) | Rise of career woman (J16) |
| Increased participation of women (F63) | Broader social changes (P39) |
| Decreased gender gap in educational attainment (I24) | Increased participation of women (F63) |
| Shifts in societal norms (Z13) | Increased participation of women (F63) |
| Increased participation of women (F63) | Altered family dynamics (J12) |
| Increased participation of women (F63) | Altered economic structures (P19) |