ABSTRACT
The proportion of working-age women who are in the labor force (either working or actively seeking work for pay outside the home) has increased dramatically during the twentieth century. In particular, married women (at first older and then younger married women in the prime child-bearing and -rearing years) have entered the labor force in greater and greater numbers. These changes have been associated with women's increasing educational attainment, increasing demand for services provided by traditionally female occupations, changes in family and life patterns, and changing social norms. Understanding how and why women's labor-force participation has changed in the last hundred years requires an examination of economic, institutional, and sociological factors, and is essential for explaining the nature of and prospects for women's economic progress.
