From Homemakers to Breadwinners: The Influence of Extended Families on Married Women's Employment, 1850-1950

Details

Supervisors

Pensieroso, Luca

Faculty

Faculté des sciences économiques, sociales, politiques et de communication

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences économiques, orientation générale, à finalité approfondie

Abstract

In this thesis, we examine the influence of extended family structures, specifically the presence of parents or in-laws in the household, on women's employment decisions in the United States between 1850 and 1950. Our analysis utilizes the IPUMS USA census dataset to explore married women's labor supply in nuclear and vertically extended families, aiming to understand the historical role of families in shaping women's work and its potential implications for contemporary female wage labor. I find a positive association between co-residing with parents or parents-in-law and female employment, supporting the "grandparental childcare" hypothesis. Co-residing increased married women's probability of employment by 2 to 3 percentage points, particularly benefiting young women with children below the age of 5. Our instrumental variable approach underlines these findings, and most instruments suggest that the effect is between 4 and 15 percentage points. Additionally, our results indicate that co-residing women were more likely to pursue higher-paying occupations, suggesting that extended family support acted as a financial and emotional safety net, enabling women to invest in education and their careers. However, caution is advised when extrapolating historical findings to the present, as we observe a structural break in the relationship between co-residence and female employment in the 1960s. Nonetheless, this research underscores the significance of family dynamics in shaping women's employment decisions in the 19th and early 20th century.