Labor Market Participation of Women in Chile 1958-2003

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to analyze the trends in the labor market participation of women between 1958 and 2003. Two main sources of primary data are used: the Employment Survey of the University of Chile, which covers the city of Santiago in the 1958-2003 period, and the CASEN socioeconomic household survey, which covers the whole country between 1987 and 2003.. The labor market participation rate of women remained relatively stable during the 1960s and 1970s, and subsequently increased by around 15 percentage points between the mid-1980s and the start of the present century. Education and fertility are identified as factors related to the trends in the labor market participation of women rate. Nevertheless, the most significant increases in labor market participation occur in the context of the economic growth from the mid-1980s and its impact on the availability of employment, job characteristics and salary levels. In addition, preferences or attitudes opposed to the labor market participation of mothers seems to be a significant factor in explaining the relatively low labor market participation of women in Chile.