ABSTRACT
Economically speaking, women's low earnings can be attributed to lifetime choices between work and family formation and to employment discrimination. Employment differentials typically explain up to one-third of the gender wage gap, particularly in developed countries. Intermittent participation has been found to be a significant cause of the gender wage gap; in some cases, it can statistically account for the whole gap. Unions have not always been sympathetic to women workers problems. In addition to labor legislation that explicitly aims to equalize opportunities or outcomes between female and male workers, other types of regulation can directly or indirectly affect women's earnings in the labor market. Women's labor incomes are greatly affected by women's intermittent participation in the labor force. Investments in infrastructure, if properly appraised to include the costs and benefits that occur in the invisible part of the economy, can alleviate women's house work.
