Detroit Area Study, 1974: A Study of Women's Labor Force Participation

This study of 438 women aged 18-65 in the Detroit metropolitan area in 1974 provides information on their participation in the labor force. Data are provided on the job histories of respondents, up to 14 previous occupations in order to assess the nature of work, length of stay on the job, and the status of public or private employment. Respondents were asked questions about the various jobs they had held, such as their feelings toward their jobs, their reasons for working, job titles held, membership in labor unions, health conditions that might have affected their work, reasons for leaving their jobs, and the geographic location of their workplace, as well as their feelings of job security and job satisfaction. Other questions probed respondents' feelings about equal job opportunities for men and women, equal privileges for women and men, the removal of the glass ceiling for women in America's corporate and political life, the implications for the marriage if a wife earned more than her husband, career-oriented wives, husbands' share of household chores, and working mothers. Additional items explored respondents' opinions of government's efforts to eliminate sexual and racial discrimination, and the idea of changes in divorce laws to make divorce easier or harder to obtain. Demographic variables specify age, sex, education, marital status, income, relationship to head of household, household composition, nationality, political party affiliation, and social class identification. Also provided is demographic information on family members.