The Impact of Female Headship on Working Daughters' Occupational Attainment: A Re-Examination of the Disadvantage Hypothesis

Leanna M. Mellott, Ohio State University
Sharon Sassler, Ohio State University

Family structure has long been considered an important determinant of the life opportunities of children. In particular, children growing up in single-mother families have been viewed as particularly disadvantaged. However, the relationship between family structure and young adults' occupational attainment has never been examined in historical perspective, despite the substantial share of children living in single-parent households in the first few decades of the 20th century. The current study will contribute to the knowledge of this understudied area by examining the occupational outcomes of two groups of young, never-married women in 1920: those residing in households headed by their fathers and those residing in households headed by their single mothers. The results reveal that daughters in female-headed households did not experience disadvantage in occupational attainment relative to their counterparts in male-headed households. There are two potential explanations for this finding. First, mothers' personal resources apparently served to alleviate some of the disadvantage experienced by daughters in female-headed households. In addition, prevailing gender norms restricting the range of jobs available to all women, regardless of marital status or family type. Family size and ethnicity are strongly associated with the occupational attainment of daughters as well, although the association varies by household structure.