Why Participation Rates of Black and White Wives Differ

Abstract

Analysis of labor force participation of black and white wives by family personal characteristics, from the 1967 Survey of Economic Opportunity, revealed that 61.4 percent of black wives and 46.7 percent of white wives worked in 1966. Full-time work was more common among black wives in better educated, more stable families, and among white wives in less educated, poorer, unstable families. The reverse applied to part-time employment. Results reflect the opening of white-collar jobs to qualified black women, as an alternative to domestic service. Strong sexist barriers to high-status employment of women explain the relatively low participation of upper middle-class white wives.