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December 1983, Vol. 106, No.
12
Most women who maintain families
receive poor labor market returns
Beverly L. Johnson and Elizabeth Waldman
Women who maintain their own families1 are considerably more likely to work or look for work today than in the past. But their historical pattern of marginal earnings and high unemployment persists, keeping the economic status of their families well below that of the majority of American families.
The results of a March 1983 nationwide survey2 reveal a continuation of the multiple problems that hinder many women who support families from being more competitive in the marketplace. Prominent among these problems are lower average educational attainment and relatively higher proportions with children to raise.
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1 The terminology "women maintaining families" or "female family householder" is defined as a never-married, divorced, widowed, or separated woman with no husband present and who is responsible for her family. these terms have replaced the phrase "female-headed families" used in earlier reports in this series.
2 Unless otherwise indicated, data in this report relate to the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and over and are based primarily on information from supplementary questions in the March 1983 Current Population Survey. For the most recent report on this subject, containing data for March 1981, see Beverly L. Johnson and Elizabeth Waldman. "Marital and family patterns of the labor force," Monthly Labor Review. October 1981, pp. 36-38.
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