THE DEMAND FOR FEMALE LABOR

A number of theorists identify the demand for female labor as a centra l determinant of gender inequality. The authors construct a measure of the demand for female labor and test its impact on labor market inequ ality, educational attainment, family structure, political representat ion, and gender role attitudes across 261 metropolitan areas. Areas wi th more traditional female occupational structures have less labor mar ket and educational gender inequality. However, there is little eviden ce of a relationship between demand for female labor and family, polit ics, or gender attitudes. Macrolevel gender stratification theories ma y therefore have a scope that is too broad. Different gendered outcome s depend on different sets of causal influences.