ildren have been in the work force. This change is especially dramatic for married women with children under age 6: 12 percent worked in 1950, 45 percent in 1980, and 57 percent in 1987. Just over half the mothers with children under age 3 were in the labor force in 1987. Black women with children are more likely to work than are white or Hispanic women who have children. Over half of all black families with children are maintained by the mother only, compared with 18 percent of white families with children. Despite their increased presence in the work force, most women still have primary responsibility for housework and family care. In the late 1970s men with an employed wife spent only about 1.4 hours a week more on household tasks than those whose wife was a full-time homemaker. A crucial issue for many women is maternity leave, or time off from their jobs after giving birth. By federal law a full-time worker is entitled to time off and a job when she returns, but few states by the early 1990s required that the leave be paid. Many countries, including Mexico, India, Germany, Brazil, and Australia require companies to grant 12-week maternity leaves at full pay. As you can see since colonial times the jobs, and thus the economic role of women have changed dramatically. Women have endured job discrimination since the beginning of their work day , and although it has gotten better it is still a poor way to make a living and fit into the economy. The emergence of more jobs to women gave them opportunities to make a better living and explore more career options. The statistics I have included help us to understand the different economic trends women have taken from colonial times to the present. With the women entering the workforce they indeed changed their social roles and in fact traditions. Women by the 20 th century were doctors, lawyers, politicians, and held many other important jobs not historically common to them. Traditional...
