Female Labor Markets: The Cashier and the Carpenter

Even today, men are still more likely than women to be in paid work. Countries in the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) experience about 83% of men of working age in the labor market, and about 64% of women. The share of women in the labor force is continuing to rise, closing the gap between men and women. However, even in rich countries, it is nearly impossible to completely close the gap because women are more likely to work shorter hours. Women spend at least twice as much time as men on unpaid work (housework, child care, etc.).

Also, there still exist a continual difference in pay between men and women (except for the highly educated ones) because each gender often works in separate labor markets. Women are more likely to go into teaching, health care, clerical work, social care, and sales. Men are more inclined to go into manual and production jobs, math, physics, science, engineering, and in managerial jobs. A notable trend shows that jobs dominated by women will experience a decrease in relative wage. The most plausible explanation for why women are always at a disadvantage in the labor market is because most of them have children.

Source:

http://www.economist.com/node/21539932