Continuity amidst Restructuring: The U.S. Gender Division of Labor in Geographic Perspective, 1970 and 1990

Abstract

Research on economic restructuring generally emphasizes change, rather than continuity, in the socioeconomic landscape. That expectation is addressed here by comparing 1970 and 1990 in terms of the gender division of labor for U.S. counties. These years represent poles of the Fordist/post-Fordist transition, an era of cataclysmic change. A subset of counties comprising the Ohio River Valley also is considered. This represents an old industrial region, the type most affected by the Fordist/post-Fordist transition. Analyses include cartographic comparisons using various spatial analysis techniques and regression analyses using variables related to the gender division of labor. Contrary to the usual expectation, the authors find that the lack of change is far more dominant than its presence, that is, continuity or continuity amidst change. This highlights the important, and generally overlooked, role of inertia effects on socioeconomic landscapes.