Inflexibility and the Stalled Progress of American Women in the Labor Market

Care responsibilities constrain women's labor supply, particularly when labor markets lack flexibility. This chapter examines how workplace inflexibility has shaped women's employment in the United States. I document two sources of inflexibility that contributed to the stagnation of women's labor force participation since the 1990s: changes in the earnings structure that penalize reduced work hours, and the absence of supportive family policies. The COVID-19 pandemic provides a natural experiment to assess the importance of flexibility. I show that the widespread adoption of remote work relaxed flexibility constraints, and employment growth during 2019–2023 was strongly associated with occupational flexibility for both men and women. However, as return-to-office mandates intensified after 2023, inflexibility became a significant predictor of employment declines only for women. This gender-specific pattern is consistent with women's greater care responsibilities and suggests that the availability of flexible work arrangements is a key determinant of their labor market outcomes.