The Career Patterns of Mature American Women

Abstract

Based on data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Work Experience, this report identifies three major life-career patterns for mature American women: home, labor force, and mixed careers. The research then explores seven hypotheses which pertain to the influence of women's familial investments, familial resources, and human capital investments on their career patterns. The findings provide general support for the hypotheses. High commitment to traditional familial roles and values, high familial resources, and low human capital tend to be reflected in the disproportionate representation of women with home careers. Alternatively, low commitment to traditional familial roles and values, low familial resources, and high human capital investments are associated with careers in the labor force. However, the findings indicate that husbands' attitudes toward wives working outside the home, previous earning levels, and number of children are more strongly related to the observed career patterns of mature women than marital status, respondents' attitudes about women working, husbands' income, or respondents' education. The findings also suggest that mature American women are likely to have experienced substantial involvement in the labor force, i.e., mixed careers, regardless of their familial investments, familial resources, or human capital investments.