Understanding the Gender Gap: An Economic History of American Women

by Claudia Goldin

Women have entered the labor market in unprecedented numbers, yet these critically needed workers still earn less than men and have fewer opportunities for advancement. This study traces the evolution of the female labor force in America, addressing the issue of gender distinction in the workplace and refuting the notion that women's employment advances were a response to social revolution rather than long-run economic progress. Employing innovative quantitative history methods and new data series on employment, earnings, work experience, discrimination, and hours of work, it establishes that the present economic status of women evolved gradually over the last two centuries and that past conceptions of women workers persist.

Genres: Economics, Feminism, Nonfiction, Gender, History, Psychology, Sociology

328 pages, Paperback

First published May 3, 1990

Reviews

[Devon Chodzin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nuanced understandings of the gender gap written in a way that's as entertaining as empirics really can get. Great evidence.

[University of Chicago Magazine]

Claudia Goldin, AM’69, PhD’72
Author

From our pages (Nov–Dec/14): "Delight in discovery: Economic historian Claudia Goldin takes a detective’s joy in gathering clues, analyzing data, and reconstructing the stories behind social issues." http://mag.uchicago.edu/economics-bus...

[Muhammad Mawlud]

perfect