This article builds on earlier studies that have examined "the economic cost of homosexuality," by using data from the 2000 U.S. Census and by employing multilevel analyses. Our findings indicate that partnered gay men experience a 12.5 percent earnings penalty compared to married heterosexual men, and a statistically insignificant earnings…

Arguments about the spread of gender egalitarian values through the population highlight several sources of change. First, structural arguments point to increases in the proportion of women with high education, jobs with good pay, commitment to careers outside the family, and direct interests in gender equality. Second, value shift arguments…

We assess the impact of the welfare state on cross-national variation in the gender wage gap. Earnings inequality between men and women is conceptualized as resulting from their different locations in the class hierarchy, combined with the severity of wage differentials between and within classes. This decomposition contributes to identifying…

This article focuses on three countries with distinct policies toward motherhood and work: Germany, Sweden and the United States. We analyze the length of mothers' time out of paid work after childbirth and the short-term career consequences for mothers. In the United States, we identify a career punishment even for short time-out periods; long…

We employ newly developed methods to disentangle age, period and cohort effects on non-marital fertility ratios from 1972 through 2002 for black and white women ages 20-44 in the United States. We focus on three cohort factors: family structure, school enrollment and the sex ratio. For both blacks and whites, cohorts with less traditional family…

This study examines whether the mental and physical health of single mothers benefit from marriage or cohabitation compared to childless women who marry. Results indicate that marrying is associated with similar declines in psychological distress for single mothers and childless women, but only when that marriage endures. Single mothers do not…

The results of an examination of the 1970 census show that discrimination against women does not affect the median annual income of males, but that the greater the discrimination against women, the more equal the male earnings distribution. (Author)

Women's autonomy has long been a central concern for researchers examining the social position of women in developing countries. However, little emphasis has been placed on the measurement of autonomy, despite its importance for assessing the validity of comparative research. In this research, we use confirmatory factor analyses to determine (1)…

Leading explanations for ethnic disparities in U.S. women's employment derive largely from research on men. Although recent case studies of newer immigrant groups suggest that these explanations may be less applicable than previously believed, no study to date has assessed this question systematically. Using 2000 Census data, this study tests the…

Compares occupational attainment of non-White immigrants (West Indians, East Indians, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, Chinese, Africans) in London and New York. Results indicate that New York is occupationally more favorable than London for non-White immigrant men, perhaps because in New York, African American and Puerto Rican men are at the bottom of…