image/svg+xml
image/svg+xmlFemale black symbol
1948
Families $27k
Males $21k
Females $9k
87%
33%
1948
1948
Median Incomes, 2014 $
Male labor force participation
Female labor force participation
Scroll down to see how labor force participation and income has changed for males and females since 1948. Recessions are shaded gray.
For decades, female participation in the labor force and female pay rose, and family income rose with it.
But Male labor force participation declined over this same period.
Worse yet, male median income has been stagnant since 1979.
The result is that family incomes grew quickly before 1979, but have risen slowly since.
But the problem isn't just that incomes are stagnant.
Unlike in 1948, both parents (or a single parent) work.
Mothers are doing more paid work and more child care. Fathers are doing more housework and child care.
So families are working more but incomes are flat.
This isn't just a problem for families. It's a problem for our economy.
With less time, workers are less productive, and worker turnover is higher.
The problem is that our workplaces and our labor laws weren't designed with modern families in mind.