TABLE 5.

Labour force participation rates for women with children at home
(under 25 years of age), by family type and age of mother (1971)

Comment:

Table 5 indicates that age is also a factor which affects participation rates among women. Those under 25 years are affected by the same employment difficulties as are faced by all younger workers. These are compounded by the presence of young children in the home.

The decline in participation rates for women over 44 years of age raises some questions. If female-heads of one-parent families in this age group are less likely to participate in the labour force, then are correspondingly more of them on welfare assistance payments of some sort? Or does it mean that younger women (under 45 years of age) who are female-heads of one-parent families are less inclined to choose welfare as an acceptable financial alternative and life style?

If we assume that low participation rates are indicative of some sort of obstacle which must be overcome by the woman, then do the lower rates for older women in both groups indicate a set of obstacles not related to child care problems? These obstacles might, for example, relate to length of time out of the labour force, obsolete work skills, low self-esteem, etc.