Many negative trends in family behavior have thought to be caused by the increase in women’s employment. Women’s increased role in the labor force was seen in the postwar period. Delayed marriages have increased the age of marriage, which has increased the number of people never marrying. The second change is an increase of nonmarried sexual activity at younger ages, which is certainly a change from normal family formation. Thirdly, the rates of separation and divorce rapidly increased until the 1980s when they stabilized but continued to rise. Finally, over this period overall fertility rates have fallen. Many economists blame women’s increased employment for these changes in family behavior. Oppenheimer’s "Women’s Rising Employment and the Future of the Family in Industrial Society" suggests that there are other factors that contribute to these changes that women’s increased employment is not the only or biggest factor affecting family formation patterns. Oppenheimer points to other factors that may affect family behavior such as the deterioration of men’s economic status over the years and the dangers of specialization. Men’s decreased economic status has been caused by educational attainment, transition into employment, and school duration. Some economists, such as Oppenheimer, see an increase in women in the workforce as beneficial rather than negative. Men’s labor market positions may be the true cause of the deterioration of the family while women’s employment is important and beneficial.
The concept of the "traditional family" is based on marriage and family behaviors of the baby boom era. The baby boom era, however, is not representative of historical data dating back to 1800. In fact, the data shows that the baby boom era was everything but traditional when looking at the family in a historical context. Historically, in the 19th century, there was an increase in the mean age of marriage, which in 1800 was 19.3. In actuality, the age of marriage for the late 19th century and early 20th century cohorts were higher than the age of marriage for the baby boom era cohort (Oppenheimer). This is one example why the baby boom era cannot be considered the "traditional family." Delayed marriages were quite common in early periods because of the desire to become more economically independent before entering into marriage and the expectation to live a comfortably with the presence of children. Marriages during the baby boom era were much more stable than marriages of any other time showing the baby boom generation is not a good standard for family and marriage behavior. A decline in fertility has occurred since 1800 because of the move from a rural to an urban society, proving it is not a new trend. During the baby boom era, couples were having larger families and more stable marriages that would suggest a decrease in a women’s role in the labor market but the opposite was happening. Certainly, to label the baby boom era as the "traditional family" would be to throw out the trends of long-term history. To look at this era for its increase in women’s employment would be to forget about the trends of the past that make the baby boom era unordinary rather than a benchmark for comparison.
Some theorists conclude that with the rise of women’s economic independence causes a decline in the benefits to marriage, especially, seen in decreased specialization. Gary Becker felt that women’s employment has a negative impact on the family and marriage. The cost of the mother’s time in the work place has a negative effect on specialization and childbearing. The cost of children increases as women’s wages rise, which leads to a decline in total fertility. Becker feels a decline in fertility make it less advantageous to marry because the gains to marriage are decreased. Specialization by each spouse is the major gain to marriage where the wife takes care of the home and the husband works in the market place. Therefore, a rise in women’s wages causes women to become more independent and less specialized. Becker would argue an increase in women’s employment makes marriages less stable and more likely to end in divorce or separation. Talcott Parsons and Durkheim, both sociologists, agree with Becker that specialization is a major gain to marriage that is lost when women’s employment and involvement in the labor market increases. Becker, Parsons, and Durkheim agree that as women enter the labor market the gains and stability of marriages decrease because of less specialization, which represents one widely held view of the independence argument.
The other side of the independence argument is that there are gains from women entering the labor market. Oppenheimer challenges the view that there are negative gains from increased women’s employment with several different suggestions. First, the baby boom era is a bad standard of comparison and is abnormal to the rest of the historical data from the early 19th century. Oppenheimer has problems with other studies that use this period as the benchmark because it is not indicative of the trends in the work force. The second problem Oppenheimer examines is the problem of delayed marriage and nonmarriage. Delayed marriages can cause an increase in the number of people not marrying. The reasons for the delaying marriage vary but there are some concrete reasons such as economic, time to establish a career, military service, and school enrollment. These reasons do not make marriage less attractive but simply delay marriage. The independent argument implies that the rising number of women in the labor market makes marriages less attractive which is not completely true as seen by these other reasons for delaying and not marrying. Independent theorists may not be accounting for delayed marriages, which would increase the total number not married and support their argument that women’s rising employment decreases the number of marriages and fertility Oppenheimer suggests. The rise in the divorce rate could be caused by people getting out of unhappy marriages with the possibility of remarriage. The fact that these people may remarry may be missed by independent theorists. Cohabitation is another cause for the delay in marriage and the increased age of marriage. The trend to live with a partner but not under the formal ties of marriage creates long-term connections, which usually form, delayed marriage. Therefore, the role that women’s increased employment has in the rising age of marriage is not the only cause cohabitation is another. The final suggestion Oppenheimer gives for the decrease in marriages and increased age of marriage is based on attitudes towards marriage. Generally, marriage is preferable to remaining single. Overall, the independent theorists see that the decrease in marriages, the rise in the divorce rate, and increased age of marriage are a direct result of the rise of women’s role in the market place but the fact is that there are many other factors such as delayed marriage, cohabitation, and attitudes towards marriage that effect the timing of marriage.
The role of women’s employment in family strategy can be very important for diversifying risk, adding a second source of income, and maintaining suitable living levels. "Spouse specialization" can be very risky because death of either spouse means that there is a loss in their specialized skill. If the husband were do die then there would be no more income for the family. Women’s employment is the answer to diversifying the risk of losing the benefits from specialization due to death or illness. When women are employed, men have to learn household chores and women create income, which diversifies the responsibilities of each spouse. Women’s employment helps diversify a family’s income and create an "adaptive family." The family with increased women’s employment is able to adapt to different situations because of the shared responsibilities of both spouses.
Women’s employment although seen to decrease or delay marriage can have a positive effect on marriage formation. There are three possible reasons why increased women’s employment will have a positive effect on marriage. First, a women’s increased income would encourage marriage earlier, especially, if her husband’s income were to small to support a family and house. Second, women entering the work force and going to colleges and universities opens a new market for available bachelors. By going to school and working, women are more likely to be around men that are compatible with their interests and desires for future goals. Third, women are able to take care of themselves better physically when they are working because they have the money to spend on fixing themselves up. The increased income allows women to take part in leisure activities, which will increase their market for available bachelors. Finally, women earning money are more like to marry a man who cannot provide for the family on his own economically but in other areas is more desirable.
Men’s career development affects the timing of marriage but many economists do not consider men's career development as a major factor effecting marriage formation and the family. Studies have found that employed men especially those with high wages have a positive affect on the formation of marriage. Over time, the economic position of men has been deteriorating which may have a negative affect on the family and marriage formation. Another major factor in looking at a male’s economic position is educational attainment. First, marriage is more like to be delayed when a person has a higher degree of education compared to those with just a high school diploma or not in school. Employment in full year jobs is important in determining a person’s marriage position. For unemployed white males, there is an 82% chance that they will not be married and black males there is a 60% chance that they will not be married if they are unemployed. There is clearly a link between educational attainment, employment, and men’s earnings with the decline in marriage, which takes some of the blame for the fall in the family away from women’s increase role in the work place. Historically, men’s economic status has certainly fallen which has changed the timing and formation of marriages. Richard Easterlin argues that cohort size has affected the economic position of men, which will have effects on marriage formation and fertility. As men’s economic position deteriorates, there is a negative effect on marriage formation and fertility.
There is no question that women’s role in the work force has increased in the past century. However, there is still much debate over the effects this increase will have on the family, fertility, and marriage formation. One argument states that women’s employment and increased wages have caused a deterioration of the "traditional family", which is based on figures from the baby boom era. The only problem with using this generation as the benchmark for comparison is that it represents a period that does not represent historical trends or norms. If anything, the baby boom era is abnormal. Therefore, it is safe to say that increases in the divorce rate, delayed marriages, and age of marriage could be caused from different factors besides women’s employment. Such other factors include changing attitudes towards marriage. Another is a switch from marriage to a postponement of marriage through cohabitation. Men have decreased wages and earnings may be causing some of these problems because men are less likely to be married if they are not financially stable. Recently, men’s educational attainment, employment, and earnings have a negative effect on marriage formation and fertility. Women’s work place opens new marriage markets, gives them the income necessary to take care of themselves, and the ability to marry men who do not have financial stability. Overall, women’s employment is certainly not destroying the American family it may actually be helping it.
1 Valerie Kincaid Oppenheimer, "Women's Rising Employment and the Future of the Family in Industrial Societies" in Population and Development Review,
Volume 20, Number 2, June 1994, pp. 293-342.
2 Valerie Kincaid Oppenheimer, Matthijis Kalmijn and Nelson Lim, "Men's Career Development and Marriage Timing During a Period of Rising Inequality" in
Demography, Volume 34, No. 3, August 1997, pp. 311-330.
3 Elaine McCrate, "Accounting for the Slowdown in the Divorce Rate in the 1980s: A Bargaining Perspective", Review of Social Economy, Vol. 50, Winter 1992,
pp. 404-419.