ABSTRACT
The employment rate of Scandinavian women is about twice the average rate of that in the European Union (EU). Among Swedish women aged 55 to 64, two thirds are still working, as compared to one fourth in the non-Scandinavian EU countries. The present chapter asks, What are the health consequences for women of their labormarket participation? New data and interpretations of the relation between female work and health are presented in this study of 350,000 Swedish women who were housewives in 1970, the effects on mortality of entering the labor market are analyzed. It is suggested that entering the labor market is linked to improved survival chances and reduced mortality in general. In particular, ischaemic heart disease mortality was low among women taking up employment compared to those who remained housewives. The possibility that this is due to selection into the workforce of the most healthy women is discussed. It is suggested that health selection contributes to the better survival chances of women in the labor force, but at the same time that most of the excess mortality of housewives is not due to such selection. The high labor-market participation of Swedish women is therefore likely to have contributed to their falling mortality rates.
