Women and Work: Attitudes Towards the Employment of Married Women

Abstract

Women have always worked, but the employment of married women outside the home has generally been viewed with disfavor. According to societal ascriptions, the public world of work is the domain of men, while women's proper place is in the home. This division of labor between the sexes appears to be disintegrating as increasing numbers of women, including wives and mothers join the ranks of the paid labor force. The proportion of employed women has steadily increased over the years. In 1920, 23 percent of the entire female population were in the work force. This figure rose to 29 percent in 1940, and reached 43 percent in 1970. By the end of 1978, nearly half (49 percent) of all women aged 16 years and over were employed in the labor force (Hesse, 1979). Smith (1979) called the mass movement of women in the work force a "subtle revolution."