Boomer Women at Work: A History

The women of the baby-boom generation were the first to make paid work the norm for wives and mothers. Now that the oldest boomers are reaching retirement age, demographer Javier Garcia-Manglano looks back at their labor force experience. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Women, he examines the work and family history of women born between 1944 and 1954 and finds boomer women fitting into four types...

Consistently attached to the labor force: 40%
The most common type, the Consistently Attached have worked for decades with nary a break. They are the type most likely to be childless (40%) and least likely to be married to a husband opposed to a wife working for pay (13%). Interestingly, this type is least likely to have a husband in the highest earnings quartile.

Increasingly attached to the labor force: 27%
Early marriage and childbearing define these women. The Increasingly Attached are most likely to have ever married and to have had a first birth while in their early twenties. Among the four types, they are most likely to have a husband opposed to a wife working for pay (55%). Perhaps as a consequence, they have the highest divorce rate among the four groups (50%).

Consistently detached from the labor force: 21%
Early childbearing and health problems are the defining characteristics of this group. Among the four types, the Consistently Detached are most likely to have had a teen birth, an out-of-wedlock birth, and three or more children. Half have a husband opposed to a wife working for pay. A substantial 42 percent have health problems that limit work. Interestingly, this type is the one most likely to have a husband in either the lowest or the highest earnings quartile.

Increasingly detached from the labor force: 13%
Health and job problems have been experienced disproportionately by the Increasingly Detached. Among the four types, they are most likely to have a health condition limiting their work (44%). They are also most likely to have experienced discrimination on the job (24%).

Source: Opting out Leaning In: The Life Course Employment Profiles of Early Baby Boom Women in the United States, Javier Garcia-Manglano, Demography ($39.95)