Ninety Years in the World of Work in America

Career Development Quarterly, Sept, 2001 by Camille DeBell

In 1998, the U.S. population was 71% White (expected to shrink to 51% by 2050), 13% Black, 11% Hispanic origin (this statistic does not consider "Hispanic peoples" to be White), 4% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 1% American Indian/Alaskan Native. By 2050, it is estimated that American minorities (including those of Hispanic origin) will constitute 49% of the U.S. population (Molitor, 1998; Primedia, 1998).

Education

In 1900, most children attended school for only a few years. Most of the nation's schools (66%) were rural, one-room schoolhouses. The teachers often had little education and were forced to teach students, who might range from 5 to 17 years of age, in a single classroom. In 1909, only 8% of the labor force had at least a high school diploma (Bureau of the Census, 1961). Today, that number is 90% (Primedia, 1998).

Only a few Americans went to college at the turn of the century. Today, about 25% of the population has completed a 4-year degree. Since the early 1980s, more women complete college than do men (Primedia, 1998).

The World of Work

Gender Distribution of the Workforce

About 25% of adult women worked in the occupational structure in 1900, and approximately 20% of the total labor force was female. However, in addition to taking care of their homes and large families, many poor women at the turn of the century also worked outside of the occupational structure, taking in laundry and doing other sorts of physical labor for more affluent families (Bureau of the Census, 1961; Thompkins, 1996).

The workforce was more segregated by gender in 1909 than it is today. Men held most of the professional jobs (e.g., medicine, engineering, law) and worked in other high paid areas such as in transportation and skilled trades. Women, in contrast, were concentrated into low-wage/low-prestige occupations such as agricultural labor, teaching, domestic service, waiting tables, and child care. Women who worked in industry were paid less than men were for the same jobs (Shifflett, 1966; Thompkins, 1996).

As the economy expanded with the rise of industrialism, new work opportunities opened up for middle-class White men. For example, in the 1800s, the census recorded only the occupation of "clerk." By the turn of the century, this was expanded to include "bookkeeper, accountant, sales clerk, stenographer ... and telegraph operator" (Shifflett, 1966, p. 64). The "typewriter" (typist), one of these new types of clerks (using a new invention), helped ease women into the formerly male-only, white-collar office. Although the original typewriters (and stenographers) were predominantly men, by 1930,92% of them were women (Shifflett, 1966).

Other occupations outside of farming and manufacturing were also on the rise. For example, professional nurses increased in number by more than 500% between 1900 and 1910. Many of the new occupations required more education, and by 1900, 31 states had passed compulsory school attendance laws (Shifflett, 1966).

Today, American workers are increasingly women. In 1990, they constituted 45% of the labor force. Increasingly, married women with children work outside the home. In 1960, 19% of married women with school-aged children were in the labor market. In 1990, that figure was 71% (Bureau of the Census, 1961; Primedia, 1998).