Female Labor Supply: Why is the US Falling Behind?
Open accessAbstract
In 1990, the US had the sixth highest female labor participation rate among 22 OECD countries.By 2010, its rank had fallen to 17th.We find that the expansion of "family-friendly" policies including parental leave and part-time work entitlements in other OECD countries explains 28-29% of the decrease in US women's labor force participation relative to these other countries.However, these policies also appear to encourage part-time work and employment in lower level positions: US women are more likely than women in other countries to have full time jobs and to work as managers or professionals.
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Research works printed but not linked: 11
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Drivers of Female Labour Force Participation in the OECD
(2013) · OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers · doi:10.1787/5k46cvrgnms6-en · Cited by 177 · see citing works
- Authors
- Blau, F., & Kahn, L.
- Affiliations
- National Bureau of Economic Research (US)
- ORCID
- Blau, Francine
- Venue
- National Bureau of Economic Research
- Publisher
- National Bureau of Economic Research
- Published
- 2013-01
- OpenAlex
- W1583804681
- Cited by
- 111
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 33 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 6
- Type
- report
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- National Bureau of Economic Research (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Work-Family Balance Challenges
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Employment, Labor, and Gender Studies
- Keywords
- female labor force participation, female labor supply, family-friendly policies, parental leave, part-time work, gender pay gap, OECD comparison
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