The 'Impact' of Equal Employment Legislation on Women's Earnings: Limitations of Legislative Solutions to Discrimination in the Economy

A bstract . Although a strong legal basis now exists for equal opportunity in employment for women , women's earnings have actually dropped relative to men's. This holds true even when experience on the job , life-time work experience , and education are similar. Females are also still twice as likely as males to be below the poverty line. The impact of low female earnings may be of even greater significance today because of the increase in female-headed families. Equal opportunity legislation has not been sufficient to end economic sexism.