The effects of early work experience on young women's labor force attachment

In this article we examine women's labor force experience during the early life course in order to assess the conditions conductive to the establishme nt of stable labor force careers. To represent the complexity of women's wo rk trajectories during young adulthood we develop a conceptual Framework th at depicts a broad range of work activity profiles. Empirical results obtai ned using the NLSY show that three aspects of early experience influence ma ture women's labor force attachment, namely the amount of experience accumu lated the timing of work experience and the volatility of that experience. Above and beyond these experience measures, we also find that background fa ctors influence adult women's attachment to the market. The conclusion disc usses the policy implications of these results.