How does the past shed light on women's work?

The twentieth century marked a decisive turning point for women in the professional world. Between the struggle for equal rights, social change and economic upheaval, women gradually took over the world of work. In the United States, women represented 14% of the workforce in 1966, compared with 53% in 2013. The profile of women workers has also changed: they are no longer young girls leaving their jobs after marriage, but women of all ages and from all walks of life1.

Despite progress, inequalities persist. Women are predominantly employed in lower-skilled, lower-paid jobs, often in the service sector. They also remain under-represented in positions of responsibility and high pay.

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Dialogues économiques is a digital journal published by the Aix-Marseille School of Economics (AMU, CNRS, EHESS, Centrale Méditerranée). As a bridge between academic research and society, Dialogues économiques provides all citizens with the keys to economic reasoning. Articles are published every two weeks.

Studies on work often focus on paid work, neglecting unpaid work, which leads to an underestimation of women's participation. Unpaid work includes domestic chores, but also professional tasks performed 'free of charge', such as 'helping out' in the family business.

Taking into account all forms of women's work reveals not only their significant presence in the world of work, but also that they have, like men, undergone transformations in the economy. Economists Barbara Petrongolo, Claudia Olivetti and Rachel Ngai have examined these changes over the last two centuries in the United States.