Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- Gender differences in the U.S. economy -- The household as economic unit -- Labor force participation : analysis of trends -- Labor force participation : consequences for family structure -- Gender segregation in the workplace -- Causes of earnings differences: human capital -- Causes of earnings differences : compensating differentials -- Causes of earnings differences : discrimination -- Industrialized capitalist societies -- Socialist and cooperative societies -- Nonindustrialized traditional societies -- Effects of the development process on gender differences -- Gender differences in U.S. economic history -- Race, ethnicity, and class considerations in interpreting gender differences -- Policy proposals.