Factors Affecting Female Labour Supply

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Oral contraceptive
Wage growth
Falling discrimination against women
Demand for labour in the clerical sector
Diffusion of labour saving technologies within the household
Growing demand for high skilled workers
Conclusion
Reference List

Introduction

Women have participated in the labour force for many years. For women, it has been a struggle to be recognised and accorded the same treatment as their male counterparts in the labour force. The struggle for equality by feminists has bored fruits with the adoption of equal rights in the work place for women. The work place has even adjusted to accommodate the role of women as mothers. Many organisations give women maternity leave as a right and this indicates the understanding of the role of a woman as a mother and her capability to contribute to the labour force. The following article will highlight some of the factors that have contributed to the supply of women in the labour market.

Oral contraceptive

The invention of oral contraception impacted society in various ways both socially and economically. After the Second World War, many women went back to their traditional role of family rearing paving way for returning soldiers to replace the vacant positions left behind. This period in the 1950’s witnessed rise in birth rates which began the baby boom era. This state of events was however short lived with the introduction of the oral contraceptives. There was a decline in size of families because women could practice birth control more effectively. This in turn caused many women to return to the work force. Married women composed 15% of the women in the work force in 1900 but this figure increased to 62% in the 1970’s (Spielvogel 2010, p.11). The “pill” was revolutionary and enabled more women to participate in the labour force. It gave women more freedom to plan the size of the family and when to start a family enabling them to have more time to participate in the work force. The increase in the number of women in the work force however, had negligible impact on macro economic growth (Soete and Freeman 1997, p. 29).

Wage growth

Female labour supply in the work force has been on an upward trend over the years. This has been concluded from empirical studies carried out. The studies show that an increase in the wages will have a positive impact on the women labour force. Over the years, there have been more and more freedom fights and gender equality is widely advocated in most parts of the free world. With gender equality, comes access to various economic and social aspects that had previously been unavailable to women. Education is one of the social aspects that has become available and has greatly empowered the bargaining power of women in the workforce.

Women empowerment has come with numerous advantages to the working woman. Experts have concluded from studies carried out on different populations that the increase in wages will result in more women entering the work force. Studies have shown that the increase in wages and income for working women can be linked to an increase in the supply of women in the labour force. The demand for more labour has led to introduction of incentives to attract more skilled and qualified labour. Women who have had access to education have increased their skills and qualifications in the post war era. An example of an incentive used to attract more labour is the increase in wages and income offered. This has had the effect of attracting more women into the work force and two income homes have been on the rise in the post war era between 1950 and 1980 (Groot and Veen 2000, p. 222)

Empirical studies carried out on Western populations indicate that the increase in wages will increase the supply of women in the workforce. The studies indicate that factors such as husband income, age of women and the number of children have negative impacts on participation and supply of women in the labour force (Jacobsen 2007, p. 77). Increase in wages for women is essential as a strong incentive to draw women into the work force from their traditional roles which are greatly influenced by societal and cultural trends.

Falling discrimination against women

Women have been traditionally discriminated against over thousands of years and in many societies. The introduction of human and gender rights has had a dramatic shift in the way women positions are perceived socially at the work force. Women have struggled to have equal rights as their men counterparts in the labour force. The fruits of their labour over the years have been their recognition being at par with their male counterparts.

Women were not allowed to work in the labour force for many years. During the Second World War, women were recruited into the work force to replace the men who had gone to war. They were trained and became highly skilled and efficient in their jobs. After the war, women continued to be involved in the labour force. During this period, married mothers entered into the job market. Statistics have shown that, among married couples in the USA, approximately one fifth of the women earn more than their husbands (Bureau of Labour and Statistics 2009). This is an indication of the progress that has been achieved by women over the decades. Women labour supply has been greatly influenced by elimination of discrimination. Women have access to education and it is socially acceptable to work and be a mother. This has increased the supply of women in the labour markets as there are no barriers limiting their involvement. (Bohlander and Snell 2009, p. 9)

Discrimination of women based on their gender has been relegated to the archaic past and more and more women who have the required qualification are being employed. International labour laws outlaw discrimination on ground of sex and many countries have adopted these laws. This has had the effect of increasing the supply of women in the workforce because there are no legal barriers to their employment and they are assured of equal treatment and all their rights as employees (Bohlander and Snell 2009, p. 501).

Demand for labour in the clerical sector

One of the first institutions to employ women was the Post office where women held clerical positions. The women involved in clerical work had their terms increasingly improved over time. First, the marriage bar was being removed in 1946 and equal pay for women as men in the Post Office in 1961 (Craig 2005, p. 155). The demand for clerical labour and the improved terms for women had the effect of increasing the number of women in the labour force.

The number of women in the clerical labour force increased to seven fold between the years 1911 and 1951. This was largely due to the increase in demand for clerical workers, (Joseph 1983, p.310). The demand fuelled the increase in the number of women drawn into the labour force especially the clerical positions. This increase is an indication of the impact of clerical work on the women labour force. It introduced the occupations which were to be associated with women including secretarial work (Grint 2005, p. 66)

The diffusion of labour saving technology in the home has had an impact on the composition and distribution of labour. In the 20^th century, technology developed at almost the speed of lightning. Technology was not limited to the industries but was also available in homes. The increase in wages and improved living standards meant that many people could afford the new technology which was marketed to target mothers. They were developed to ease the burden of house work and time spent on house hold chores. This was however not the case and studies have shown that time spent on house hold chores has not been dramatically reduced (Hanks 2009, p. 301).

Diffusion of labour saving technologies within the household

In the post war period, many women were not involved in gainful employment but after the war, it changed and women began to be employed (Harper 2003, p. 299). The introduction of hoes hold technology such as washing machines, cookers and iron boxes changed the patterns of women in relation to work. Many middle class women could afford the technology and there was no need for employing house helps. This led to the availability of a labour force primarily composed of women who had previously been employed in the home. The technology also had the effect of reducing the work in the home and thus availing more hours to women to engage in paid employment. (Stoneman 2002, p. 10)

The introduction of portable sewing machines also increased the supply of women in the labour force. Women in middle class settings could now engage in home sewing to supplement their income and women from poor homes were also involved but would spend longer hours to earn a good wage. This led to the springing up of mini sweat shops. (Rothschild 1983, p. 666)

Growing demand for high skilled workers

Women’s effort to be treated as equals to men bore fruit when they were seen as equals to the men. In the struggle for equality, women rights have been recognized. After the Second World War, women were allowed many advantages which war had previously denied them. One of them was a right to education. Many women began to acquire education even up to college level and earned skills needed in various jobs or employment. This was revolutionary as women were allowed to work shoulder to shoulder with men. The women began to hold senior positions and this was because of the level of education they had acquired.

The supply of women in the labour force was increased due to rise in skills the women had gained. From 1970s to mid 1990s in the developed countries, the supply of women in the labour force increased due to the skills level of women (Front 2005, p. 190).

Women have become increasingly empowered through education with three out of every five holding more managerial positions, and an example is IBM with 48 women running large divisions of the organization. The demand for skilled labour has pushed women to improve their skills and increased their participation in the work force (Bohlander and Snell 2009, p. 122).

Conclusion

In conclusion, several factors have promoted the supply of women in the labour force. The above mentioned factors played major roles and women today enjoy greater access to employment positions than ever before.

Reference List

Bohlander, G. and Snell S., 2009. Managing Human Resources. California: Cengage Learning.

Craig, H., 2009. Technology and values:essential readings. London: John Wiley and Sons.

Freeman, C., and Soete, L.,1997, The economics of industrial innovation. New Yolk: Routledge.

Front, C., 2005. The sociology of work: Introduction. London: John Wiley and Sons.

Groot, L., and Veen, R., 2000. Basic income on the agenda:policy objectives and political chances. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.

Jacobsen, J. P., 2007. The economics of gender. Washington: Springer.

Spielvogel, J., 2010. Go to Google Books Home . New Yolk: Cengage Learning.

Stoneman, P., 2002. The economics of technological diffusion. London: Wiley Blackwell.

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