Changes in the Industrial Distribution of Female Employment in Great Britain,1951-1981

Abstract

Over each of the three decades between 1951 and 1981 the total female labour force grew both in absolute numbers and relative to the male labour force. However, there was a tremendous variation in the pattern of change across different industrial sectors, which this paper analyses using Census of Population employment data standardised to the 1968 Standard Industrial Classification. Although the cyclical and substitution theories of the demand for female labour offer a partial explanation for the different patterns of change observed, it is also necessary to take into account other relevant features of individual industries, for example the proportion of the female workforce in manufacturing industries which is employed in production related manual jobs.

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