Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Award Date

1978

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department / School

Rural Sociology

First Advisor

Robert M. Dimit

Abstract

A study of women's labor force participation in South Dakota from 1950 to 1970 was conducted to determine: (1) the changes that occurred in labor force participation by women in South Dakota fror.1 1950 to 1970; (2) the extent to which variations in demographic, socioeconomic and structural variables helped explain observed variations in labor force participation by women; and (3) the extent to which Transition Theory was applicable in explaining changes in labor force participation among women in South Dakota. The county was designated the unit of analysis, and selected demographic, socioeconomic and structural data from the United States Bureau of the Census were aggregated and tabulated. The changes in labor force participation by women in South Dakota from 1950 to 1970 were analyzed by: changes in the State as a whole, planning districts, counties and counties within their respective planning districts. Objective one. Analysis of the extent of change in women's labor force participation showed: (1) while female labor force participation increased in South Dakota as a whole as well as in all of the planning districts, this increased participation was not a function of increases in population for the State or its planning districts; and (2) while female labor force participation increased for most of the counties in South Dakota, this growth was a consequence of ecological factors prevailing differentially among the counties rather than a function of the county as a geographical or political subdivision. Objective two. The analysis of the hypothesized association between a set of demographic, socioeconomic and structural variables for the decade 1950 to 1960, and for the decade 1960 to 1970, and women's participation in the labor force for 1960 to 1970, used was a stepwise least squares multivariate linear equation. The results showed that: 1. Among the explanatory variables for the decade 1950 to 1960, increases in divorced, separated and widowed women in South Dakota from 1950 to 1960 explained most of the variance in female participation in the labor force from 1960 to 1970. 2. Among the explanatory variables for the decade 1960 to 1970, increases in the number of persons employed in service occupations from 1960 to 1970 explained most of the variance in female participation in the labor force from 1960 to 1970. Objective three. In order to test the validity of the time lag linkage implied in Transition Theory and to determine the extent to which Transition Theory was applicable in explaining variation in labor force participation among women in South Dakota, three additional regression selections were run. The results showed that Transition Theory was not appropriate for explaining female labor force changes in a rural state like South Dakota.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Women -- Employment -- South Dakota.
Labor supply -- South Dakota.

Format

application/pdf

Publisher

South Dakota State University

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