How World War I shaped labor force participation for women

New research finds that more women entering clerical work during World War I changed gender norms for years to come.

It’s a story of social history meets economics: The 19th Amendment declared women had the right to vote. But less appreciated is the role of the First World War in paving the path for women in careers in the United States.

Marketplace’s senior economics contributor Chris Farrell has been taking a look at new data on this. He spoke with “Marketplace Morning Report” host David Brancaccio about it. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.

David Brancaccio: Participation of Black soldiers in World War II helped fuel the Civil Rights Movement. But you’ve been reading into the connection between the First World War and the women’s movement. What were some of the dynamics?

Chris Farrell: One of the effects is the demand for federal civil servants expanded rapidly as existing departments expanded and new departments were created. So labor shortages opened employment opportunities for women in the federal government, especially in the fast-growing profession of clerical work. Here’s a remarkable number, David: The share of women in the federal workforce more than doubled within two years.

Brancaccio: That’s a dramatic shift. But the effects lingered even as we emerged from war?

Farrell: Yes, so that’s the core argument of a recent and fascinating paper by three economists. And they argued that the First World War was a pivotal moment in the history of women and careers. This increase in women workers in the federal government affected future generations by shaping and reshaping gender and social norms.

Brancaccio: And not just for the generation that got the federal jobs in the First World War — they looked at effects on future generations.

Farrell: That’s right. So this study highlights the intergenerational transmission of gender norms. And they use of labor force decisions of the incumbent workers’ children as their main yardstick. So, for example, they find that teenage daughters of civil servants exposed to female co-workers were more likely to work later in life, command higher income and have fewer children. And they document that in cities exposed to larger increase in women federal workers, there was persistently higher women’s labor force participation in the public sector, as well as modest increases in the private sector.

Brancaccio: And the workforce — the federal government in this case — got access to an expanded pool of smart people.

Farrell: Yes, and this is like one of the most important results. So men and women civil servants before the Great War, they had similar levels of education. However, the women hired during wartime had higher education than their male peers. So the wartime labor market disruptions lead to hiring previously ignored talent. And this changing composition, it persisted for decades.

And I would add this, David: This study supports the long-term vision of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in organizations, the ones that are going on now. These efforts will broaden the pool of untapped talent for employers by further changing current social norms and career expectations among younger generations.