Georgetown University School of Foreign Service
Georgetown Institute for
Women, Peace and Security
Contact GIWPS
Search
Diversity Equity Inclusion logo

World War II and Female Labor Force Participation Rates

  • Citation: Schweitzer, Mary M. ‚ÄúWorld War II and Female Labor Force Participation Rates.‚Äù The Journal of Economic History 40, no. 1 (1980): 89‚Äì95.
    • Topics:
    • Great Power Conflict
    • Keywords:
    • United States
    • female labor
    • World War II
    • industry
    • goods
    • labor force participation rate

Between the years 1940 and 1947 the demand for female labor in the United States shifted rapidly. Wages for women rose swiftly during the war, then fell suddenly when industries converted to peacetime production. This paper makes use of household production theory to explore the behavior of different segments of the female labor force as they responded to the radical changes in demand brought by World War II. The analysis suggests that a crucial turning point in the efforts to hire women was reached in the second half of 1943.

Related Resources

  • Alternative Narratives for Arms Control

    Moodie, Amanda, and Michael Moodie. “Alternative Narratives for Arms Control.” The Nonproliferation Review 17, no. 2 (2010): 301–21.

    • Authors with Diverse Backgrounds
    Keywords: arms control, disarmament, Non-Aligned Movement, small arms, treaty regimes, humanitarian action

  • Women in Arms Control: Time for a Gender Turn?

    Dwan, Renata. “Women in Arms Control: Time for a Gender Turn?” Arms Control Today 49, no. 8 (October 2019): 6–11.

    • Open Source Results
    • Authors with Diverse Backgrounds