Determinants of the Increasing Work Attachment of Married Women

Abstract

Between 1966 and 1976, the proportion of married women in their late thirties who exhibited a strong attachment to the labor force increased faster than the proportion with a weaker work attachment. This article focuses on factors that have encouraged or prevented strong attachment. For white women, the most important factors contributing to the trend toward greater work attachment were: lessening family responsibilities, increases in their previous work experience and changing attitudes toward women's roles; for black women, lessening family responsibilities, higher educational attainment, and improved health were most important. Rising unemployment rates prevented still larger increases in strong attachment to the labor force than those that were observed. Although the labor force participation of midlife married women may continue to increase in the future, it is possible that adverse economic conditions could promote intermittent work patterns rather than strong attachment.