Understanding the Gender Gap: An Economic History of American Women (NBER Series on Long-Term Factors in Economic Development) [Paperback]

Claudia Goldin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 13, 1992

Women have entered the labor market in unprecedented numbers, yet these critically needed workers still earn less than men and have fewer opportunities for advancement. This study traces the evolution of the female labor force in America, addressing the issue of gender distinction in the workplace and refuting the notion that women's employment advances were a response to social revolution rather than long-run economic progress. Employing innovative quantitative history methods and new data series on employment, earnings, work experience, discrimination, and hours of work, it establishes that the present economic status of women evolved gradually over the last two centuries and that past conceptions of women workers persist.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Goes a long way toward the reintegration of labor history into labor economics....Clearly demonstrates the importance of history in understanding the evolution and operation of labor markets...a primer on much of modern labor economics."--Journal of Economic History

"An excellent historical overview of women in the labor force. A very challenging but manageable text for undergraduates with a limited economics background."--Hilarie Lieb, Northwestern University

"An insightful analysis not available in traditional studies of the U.S. economy."--J. M. Skaggs, Wichita State University

"Outstanding....Goldin has painstakingly assembled a long and rich set of consistent data, much of it rescued from dusty archives where it had long languished....Uses fresh, often innovative applications of economic theory and econometric methodology to wrest explanations of puzzling phenomena....Rewarding."--Women Historians of the Midwest Newsletter

"A remarkable work of scholarship: it integrates economic theory, econometrics, a vast historical literature, and a deep understanding of institutions and attitudes....A tour de force. Its lucky readers will not only be glad they read it; they will wish they had written it."--Industrial and Labor Relations Review

"Remarkably thorough history and analysis of U.S. women in the workplace....Provides a useful framework to understand the difference in pay and aruges from the data that much--but not all--of the gap is due to wage discrimination."--Population Today

"A piece of outstanding scholarship based on exhaustive primary research and a high level of economic reasoning which has the courage to attack head-on the three most difficult questions in women's economic history."--Business History

"Thorough, detalied and impeccably researched, yet accessible to the undergraduate. A fine effort."--Michael Haupert, University of Wisconsin, Lacrosse

"Pathbreaking....Claudia Goldin combines the quantitative skills of an economist with the investigative skills of a historian in her reinterpretation and adjustment of earlier published data as well as her creative use of previously unanalyzed data from the National Archives."--Population and Development Review

"Goldin's multifaced exploration of the female labor force over the past two centuries sheds light on the direction for future research."--Journal of Interdisciplinary History

About the Author

Claudia Goldin is at Harvard University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (February 13, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195072707
• ISBN-13: 978-0195072709
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,279,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Forced to read... would never touch it again, January 21, 2007

By 

Jenn - See all my reviews

This review is from: Understanding the Gender Gap: An Economic History of American Women (NBER Series on Long-Term Factors in Economic Development) (Paperback)

I was forced to read this book for my Macroeconomics class and it honestly sounded somewhat interesting. But then I opened to the first chapter and realized I had made a major mistake in choosing this book for my outside reading assignment. Goldin is correct in her analysis of women in the workplace, but she is very redundant. She is attempting to address a socio-economic and politicized issue but is in fact only reiterating the history of women in the work place. Understanding the Gender Gap is merely a more detailed look at United States history. Any student that paid attention in class knows the fluctuation in labor force participation rates in women. The average person knows that females to this day are not making the same income of their male counterparts. They know that during the World Wars, increasing numbers of women left the kitchen to go to work and, after the war, were sent right back to their job as homemakers. She is not adding sufficient analysis of the economic data to in fact "understand" why such a gap should continue to exist.

She does not address those issues faced by women in daily life. Women pay more than males do for nearly everything. Dry cleaning for women is more expensive than for men; car repair work costs more; haircuts, shoes, everyday clothing... That is the gender gap; that is what Goldin should have been addressing rather than summarizing the history of American females.

This book accomplishes one goal which is to emphasize the point that women are still not receiving equality in the workplace, but it does not inspire the reader to fight against these injustices which was Goldin's purpose. If anything, it tires the reader of being told the same things over and over again. The book is also poorly organized and frequently jumps around to different eras in American history. Instead of moving chronologically, Goldin may make a reference to industrialization in the 1800's and in the space of a few pages, discuss World War I.

She also addresses things she is going to discuss later on in the book. "But survey evidence, presented in chapter 5, shows their forecasts..." (5) is an ideal example. She presents the point, then tells the reader that she plans on discussing it later. It disrupts the flow of the writing and confuses the reader with the constant mentions of different parts of the book, which, in many cases, the reader has not read yet. She also has quite long paragraphs, but they essentially say nothing. I found it thoroughly amusing that I could open to any page of the book, pick a random paragraph, read it, and know exactly what she is talking about.

If you are looking for a good read on females in the workplace, this book is most definately one I would NOT recommend.