The right women for the job

Work in America has changed dramatically in the last century from Henry Ford's moving assembly line to automation today, but arguably the largest change is women. Women's participation in the labor force has nearly doubled from less than 34% in 1950 to 57% today (Federal Reserve Economic Data as of August, 2017). Working women became the norm in the U.S. in 1978 when it became more common to see women in the workplace than in the home (when the female labor force participation rate crossed the 50% line). This has fundamentally changed our homes as well as our workplaces and society. University of Akron Professor Amanda Weinstein finds that this change has benefitted everyone. Average wages for all workers, men and women, have increased as a result of women joining the workforce.