Women’s labor force participation was very high during World War II, but when
the war ended and millions of soldiers returned from Europe and Asia, women
retreated from (or were pushed out of) the paid workforce. This trend reversed in
the 1970s, when more women pressed for the right to work on an equal footing
with men. About 60 percent of American women now work, up from just over 40 percent in 1975. The rate of male labor force participation declined slightly during
that period. The entry of women into the workforce has led to some important trends
in median family incomes, as seen in Figure 2.8.