Gender differences in the economic, psychological and social effects of plant closings in an expanding economy

Gender Differences in the Economic, Psychological and Social Effects of Plant Closings in an Expanding Economy

CAROLYN C. PERRUCCI* ROBERT PERRUCCI DENA B. TARG

Purdue University

The experiences of women and men workers displaced from jobs in 1989 by three plant closings in Indiana were examined. The focus was on three interrelated hypotheses concerning gender differences in the economic, psychological, and social effects of job loss. Questionnaires were sent to workers shortly after the closings and twelve months after the closings. Findings on economic effects indicated no gender difference in reemployment. When reemployed, both men and women suffered wage loss, but women lost less proportionately, due to their lower absolute wages prior to the closings. No gender differences were found in psychological effects and family relationships. Displaced women workers were somewhat more alienated from social institutions and more likely to support government actions to remedy unemployment.

PROBLEM The decade of the 1980s was a period of great change for the working class in the United States. In the early years of the decade the national unemployment rate approached ten percent, and reached double digits in some states, as plant closings and restructuring eliminated tens of millions of jobs, predominantly from the manufactur*Direct all correspondence to: Carolyn C. Perrucci, Purdue University,Departmentof Sociology, 1365 Stone Hall, West Lafayette, Indiana47907-1365. Telephone(765) 494-6963. The Social Science Journal, Volume 34, Number 2, pages 217-233. Copyright © 1997 by JAI Press Inc. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. ISSN: 0362-3319.

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ing sector. As the decade unfolded, the decline in manufacturing jobs continued, but the national unemployment rate declined due to the dramatic growth in jobs in the service sector. Thus, capital flight and disinvestment introduced major changes in the U.S. economy and its occupational structure. Sectors of the economy characterized by high wage, secure, unionized jobs were in decline, while lower paying, less secure jobs were on the increase. As national and regional economies rise and fall, not all segments of the work force share equally in the pain and gain of economic change. Workers of different color, age, gender, skill, and economic sector face different chances of losing their jobs and of finding new ones. Some will experience job loss as a temporary economic setback and will be quickly reabsorbed into a new job that is comparable to the one lost. Some will suffer long-term unemployment and significant income loss even when reemployed. And some will experience psychological and family problems that extend far beyond the work situation and the economic impact of job loss (Congressional Budget Office, 1993; Perrucci, Perrucci, Targ and Targ, 1988). In this article we examine the experiences of women and men workers who were displaced from jobs by three plant closings in central Indiana. We focus on three interrelated questions. First, we examine the economic impact of job loss on women and men, seeking to identify the effect of selected work and family-related factors (e.g. work experience, skill level, marital status) in relation to their post-closing experiences. Second, we consider the psychological impact of job loss, in terms of relative levels of depression experienced by displaced women in comparison to men. Third, we examine the social impact of job loss, in terms of changes in the marital and familial relationships and political attitudes of displaced women v s . men workers. 1 Overlaying this analysis will be a general comparison of findings from the present research with results from similar research conducted in the early 1980s. The present study was conducted in the context of an expanding local and national economy and job market, while the earlier research was done during a severe recession. Our purpose is to identify the influence of general economic conditions on the experiences of displaced workers.

LITERATURE Relatively few studies compare impacts of plant closings and involuntary unemployment for men and women as displaced workers, rather than as daughters, wives or mothers (Kozlowski, Chao, Smith, and Hedlund, 1993). Those which have made such gender comparisons consider a variety of economic impacts, including length of unemployment, reemployment status, wage loss and perceptions of economic hardship, as well as economic coping strategies such as cutbacks in consumer expenditures and increased engagement in money-saving activities (Perrucci, Perrucci, Targ and Targ, 1987; Perrucci and Targ, 1996). Literature relevant for the three economic effects of concern in the present paper--length of unemployment, wage loss, and perceptions of economic hardship--is presented next. Regarding length of unemployment, research is generally consistent in finding that for blue-collar workers, the period of unemployment following job loss from a plant closing is longer for women than for men, and that women are less likely than men to

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be reemployed (Congressional Budget Office, 1993; Perrucci, et al., 1988). An exception is a study of manufacturing workers who lost their jobs after January 1, 1979, and for whom data were collected in January, 1984, as part of the Current Population Survey (Howland, 1988; Howland and Peterson, 1988). For these displaced workers, the number of weeks unemployed did not differ for women and men, when conditions of the local labor market and national economy, and numerous characteristics of the worker, including age, race, education, worker' s prelayoff wage, and years worked in that job prior to layoff were controlled by including these variables in the regression equation. The inter-relationships between duration of unemployment, gender and marital status are unclear as yet. In two studies of unemployment in general, one found that there was longer unemployment of single workers (Lipsky, 1979); whereas, the other study found longer unemployment for those who had another wage earner in the household, who was most often the spouse (Aronson and McKersie, 1980). Moreover, a study of displaced women workers found that married women were as likely as single women to look for work and to become reemployed between 5-9 months after job loss (Rosen, 1987). The second economic impact of interest here, wage loss, has also been found in most research to be greater for displaced blue-collar women than men (Madden, 1987; Perrucci, et al., 1988; Podgursky and Swaim, 1987). Again, there is an exception, a study which found that among displaced manufacturing workers, women experienced less wage loss than men, when age, race, education, years worked in job prior to layoff, and labor market conditions were controlled by including these variables in the regression equation (Howland and Peterson, 1988). The authors speculated that smaller financial loss for women may result either from women' s lower prelayoff wage, which may be easier to recover, or from the greater likelihood of women than men to work in clerical jobs in the manufacturing sector and, thus, their possession of skills which are valued in the growing service sector of the economy. In addition to gender, worker characteristics that are consistently related to length of unemployment and income loss are age (positive), years of formal education (negative), and years worked at the prelayoff job (positive) (Dorsey, 1967; Hammerman, 1964; Howland, 1988). For the third economic effect of shutdowns of interest here, worker' s perceptions of their economic hardship, there has been especially little research which compares blue-collar women and men. There is one study which finds perceptions of displaced men and women in rural Indiana to be similar, as indicated by the number and pattern of categories of consumer items they felt they could not afford (Perrucci, et al., 1987, 1988). In another study of the unemployed in general (not shutdowns) women were less likely than men (73% vs. 82%) to be dissatisfied with their income. However, among the unemployed who were main wage earners with dependent children, women were more likely than men (92% vs. 81%) to be dissatisfied with their income (Schlozman, 1979). In terms of psychological effects of plant closings, (Perrucci and Perrucci, 1990) there are arguments that support the likelihood of women becoming more depressed than men as well as vice versa. Women should be more depressed because they are likely to remain unemployed longer than men and, if they find new jobs, they are likely

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to be located in the service sector at a lower wage. However, in general, women are expected to be less attached to the labor force, to have lower sense of control and, if married, to have some alternative financial support, and. therefore less subject to depression due to job loss. 2 A small number of studies indicate little or no difference between women and men displaced by plant closings in terms of psychological distress or depressed affect (Harris, Heller, and Braddock, 1988; Leana and Feldman, 1991; Perrucci, et al., 1988). A large-scale study of autoworkers (recently unemployed; anticipating unemployment; not anticipating unemployment) found women to be more depressed and anxious than men regardless of their work status. It is possible that for these women the problems of unemployment replace the difficulty of enacting multiple roles which include primary responsibility for family and household work, both emotional and physical, in addition to employment demands (Hamilton, Broman, Hoffman, and Renner, 1990). The effect of plant closings on the marital and family relationships of the unemployed workers has also been investigated. One study of unemployment in general which looked at satisfaction with marriage and family life considered together, found that women were more negatively affected by their spouse's unemployment, but not their own. For men, however, both their own and their wives' unemployment was a salient factor (Voydanoff and Donnelly, 1988). Among male autoworkers affected by plant closings in Michigan, financial hardship is a significant predictor of spouse conflict; however, the relationship did not hold for women (Broman, Hamilton, and Hoffman, 1990). In two studies of plant closures in central Indiana, the perceived quality of marital relationships did not change a great deal among groups of male and female displaced blue-collar workers (Perrucci and Targ, 1988). Focusing on the parental relationship with their children, researchers have been especially concerned with the potential for verbal and physical abuse. In one study both mothers and fathers indicated that their relationships with their children had changed little as a result of a shutdown nine months earlier (Perrucci, et al., 1988). However, anger, hostility and abuse, verbal and physical, on the part of the mothers and fathers may result from unemployment due to a closing (Perrucci, 1994). Among Michigan autoworkers experiencing massive closures, men indicate more hitting and slapping of children than their female counterparts (Broman, et al., 1990). Another study of workers displaced by a closing in central Indiana found little change in family relationships. The only difference between women and men was that men were more likely to report relationships had worsened with the extended family (Perrucci and Targ, 1988). However, among autoworkers affected by plant closings in Michigan, women experienced more family stress and tension than men (Broman, et al., 1990). Specifically examining the effect of a shutdown on family cohesion, or closeness, and family adaptability, or flexibility, one study found that they changed little among the families of blue-collar women and men. In this study, the greater the perceived economic strain, the greater the decline in both cohesiveness and adaptability (Perrucci and Targ, 1988). Relatively little is known about the political response of workers who lose their jobs because of a plant closing. Do displaced workers accept their unemployment with

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resignation--as an unfortunate but normal feature of an economic system that is basically sound and provides the greatest good for the greatest number? Or, do they respond to their situation with a sense of anger--that things are unfair and the system is rigged in favor of the rich and powerful? Such reactions can tell us about the scope and depth of alienation of displaced workers and their receptivity to support radical forms of social change. Research based on a national sample of unemployed persons (not necessarily because of plant closings but because of the business cycle) found no difference between employed and unemployed persons in their "class consciousness" (Schlozman and Verba, 1979) In contrast, Palen (1969) and Aiken, Ferman, and Sheppard (1968) who studied workers displaced by the closing of automobile plants, report considerable support for radical action by government to intervene and take control of the plant. The different response of the business cycle unemployed and plant closing unemployed is probably related to the fact that plant closings eliminate a number of barriers to blaming others (e.g. political leaders, business executives, "the system") for one's unemployment. When an entire plant closes, in comparison to the layoff of only some workers, those who are displaced are less likely to blame themselves. Workers displaced by a plant closing are also more likely to know each other and to share information about the reasons for the closing. The effect of gender on the political response of displaced workers is not well understood. If women workers are more "family-oriented" as some believe, (Fuchs, 1971) their limited identification with work should result in less extreme political reactions. On the other hand, if women are equally committed to work (because of need or intrinsic satisfaction), the experience of a plant closing might be viewed as an additional burden on top of the workplace inequality already endured. Thus, women might respond with a greater sense of betrayal and alienation from society than men.

THEORY The experiences of women in the work place, especially with respect to employment, promotion, and income, have generally been examined within three frameworks. The first framework, referred to as a human capital model by economists and a status attainment model by sociologists, has stressed the role of socially-acquired individual resources in facilitating advancement in the workplace. (Becker, 1964, 1985; Mincer, 1974; Sorensen and Kalleberg, 1981; Sewell and Hauser, 1975). Education, training, skills and work experience are the most important such resources. Unequal endowment of these resources will result in unequal outcomes in earnings, promotions, etc. This approach cannot help us understand why plants close, but it purports to account for why some displaced workers are reemployed quickly and at higher wage rates. If women do not fare as well as men in the reemployment experience, it is due to their lower levels of skill, experience or education that are required of better paying jobs. The second framework, often referred to as "new structuralist," focuses on variations that exist among industries, firms, occupations, and labor markets, and how these variations provide relative advantage to workers variously located in these

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work-related structures (Doeringer and Piore, 1971; Wallace and Kalleberg, 1981; Baron and Bielby, 1980). This framework serves as a general umbrella for a variety of approaches trying to account for inequality in the workplace. One approach has focused on the dual economy, identifYing aspects of industries that serve as determinants of worker's earnings (Beck, Horan, and Tolbert, 1978). Thus, one may be employed within an industry sector dominated by a few firms capable of providing better wages and job security because they can more easily pass along wage costs to consumers. A second approach looks at characteristics of firms, with attention to internal labor markets and the way that they can provide differential opportunities for skill acquisition, promotion, and enhanced wages. Large firms and unionized occupations are expected to provide intra-firm promotion ladders that provide greater opportunities for income growth. A third approach looks at the positional power of workers, which refers to the position of their industry in an interdependent system of suppliers and distributors (Wallace, Leicht, and Grant, 1993). Workers in industries with strong interdependencies will have greater potential power because of the greater costs that would be associated with a labor dispute. Such workers would enjoy better wages as a way to preempt disruptive collective action. In summary, "new structuralist" approaches would lead us to account for gender differences in wages by examining the industries, firms, and labor markets in which women and men are employed. The third framework is a gender inequality model which stresses the fact that many of the individual resources required for advancement in the workplace, such as skill, are themselves gendered (Steinberg, 1990; Calasanti, and Bailey, 1991). That is, the definition of selected manual or non-manual occupations as more or less skilled is the result of having the power to define skill. The ability of male-dominated occupations to monopolize and define certain activities as skilled has the consequence of restricting access to certain occupations, and also of justifying differential wage rates. This approach also recognizes the impact of family-related demands that affect women's work but not necessarily that of male workers. Thus, displaced women workers face the economic and psychological strains of job loss in addition to the new demands of managing a family with one or more unemployed members. Since the data for this article were obtained from workers in only three firms, we are unable to examine any hypotheses associated with a "new structuralist" framework. Instead, we examine the relevance of human capital and gender inequality to account for differences in the effects of plant closings on displaced women and men workers. Based on these two theoretical frameworks, it is expected that women and men will report different experiences associated with plant closings. Specifically, we expect that women will report greater negative economic impact, and more psychological and family problems. Our analysis will also examine the political beliefs and attitudes of displaced workers, but we make no prediction as to gender differences. There is insufficient guidance from theory or past research to shape expectations regarding whether and how gender affects displaced worker's "confidence in institutions" or their support for action by government to deal with unemployment.

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METHODOLOGY Data for this article were obtained from hourly workers displaced by three plant closings in Lafayette, Indiana in. 1989. The largest of the three plants was General Foods, a unionized plant that produced food products. The second plant, Philips Circuit Assemblies, was a unionized plant producing electronic products for computers and automobiles. The third, Appliance Valves Corporation, was the smallest of the three plants. It was a non-union plant that produced nonelectrical machinery. Contrary to the usual pattern of union plants being male dominated, respondents from one of the union plants were 60% male, from the other, 20% male. Thus, any gender differences found in the effects of plant closings would probably not be related to whether or not a plant was unionized. Questionnaires were sent to workers shortly after the closings and 12 months after the closings. Confidentiality considerations prohibited linking the experiences of the same persons at two points in time. Thus, the survey design was cross-sectional, not longitudinal, and data from individual respondents to the first questionnaire cannot be linked to the same individuals who responded to the second questionnaire. In the article, we report the experiences of the two groups of displaced workers at two points in time. Altogether, 761 workers were displaced when the three plants closed, and they received the first questionnaire. Three hundred and forty-eight workers responded (46%) 3 Of the 348 who received the second questionnaire, 215 responded (62%). Response rates across plants at both time periods were about the same with the exception of a lower return from General Foods workers at time one (39%). We believe that this lower rate was the result of protracted preclosing negotiations between labor and management that angered many workers. Two-thirds of the respondents are women, and they are similar to the men in age (41 years old, on average), marital status (63% are married), and number of years they had worked at the plants prior to the closings (eight years on average). Overall, 58% of the workers have attained a high school diploma, with 12% having less education, and 30% having more. Women are significantly less likely than men to have any postsecondary education--vocational training or college (data not shown). Measures o f variables are as follows. Gender is dummy coded, with women = 1; men = 0. Marital status is dummy coded, with currently married = 1; single, separated, divorced, and widowed = 0. Plant seniority is the number of years workers were employed at the plant prior to its closing. Education is the highest level of formal education completed, measured in categories ranging from "none" = 1; to "college degree" = 8. Skill level is reemployed workers' perceptions of whether, in comparison to the prelayoffjob, their new job requires a "lower skill level" = 1; "about the same skill" = 2; or "a higher skill level" = 3. Employment status one year after layoff is dummy coded, with reemployed = 0; still unemployed = 1.

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Earnings ratio is reemployed workers' current hourly wage divided by their prelayoff hourly wage. Economic distress is the sum of workers' responses to eight items which ask whether they have difficulty acquiring both necessary and more optional consumer items-food, clothing, housing, furniture, car--as well as difficulty paying bills in general and lack of money left over at the end of the month (Pearlin, Menaghan, Lieberman, and Mullen, 1981). Scores can range from 8-16 with higher scores indicating greater economic distress. Depression is workers' answers to a question asking "During the past week, how often did you: (1) lack enthusiasm for doing anything; (2) have a poor appetite; (3) feel lonely; (4) feel bored or have little interest in doing things; (5) lose sexual interest or pleasure; (6) have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep; (7) cry easily or feel like crying; (8) feel downhearted or blue; (9) feel low in energy or slowed down, (10) feel hopeless about the future." Possible scores are "1 day or less" = 1; "2-4 days" = 2; " 5 7 days" = 3. Total scores can range from 10-30 (Pearlin, et al., 1981). Hostility toward spouse is workers' report on a four-item scale of how often during the last 12 months they and their partners have engaged in negative verbal or physical behavior: quarreling; getting on each other's nerves; insulting or screaming at each other; pushing or hitting each other. Possible scores range from "never" = 1, to "a few times a week" = 5. Total scores can range from 4 to 20 (Broman, et al., 1990). Hostility toward children is worker's report on a four-item scale of how often during the last 12 months they and their children have engaged in negative verbal or physical behavior: unpleasant arguments with one another; getting on each other's nerves; losing control of temper when dealing with children; hitting, slapping or spanking children (by either partner). As with hostility toward spouse, possible scores range from "never" = 1, to "a few times a week" = 5. Total scores can range from 4 to 20 (Broman, et al., 1990). Cohesion is workers' report on a six-item scale of family practices and feelings which indicate family closeness. The six items include the following: (1) family members are supportive of each other during difficult times; (2) our family does things together; and (3) family members consult other family members on their decisions. Possible scores range from "almost never" = 1, to "almost always" = 5. Total scores can range from 6 to 30 (Olson, Portner, and Bell, 1982). Adaptability is workers' report on a five-item scale of family practices and feelings which indicate flexibility. The five items include the following: (1) in our family, it is easy for everyone to express his/her opinions; and (2) we shift household responsibilities from person to person. Coding is the same as for cohesion. Total scores can range from 5 to 25 (Olson, et al., 1982). Confidence in institutions is the sum of workers' responses regarding their confidence, or lack thereof in eight major American institutions: the Presidency, Congress, Supreme Court, business, labor unions, religion, medicine and law. Response categories were coded "lots" = 3; "some" = 2; and "hardly any" = 1. Total scores can range from 8 to 24. Opinions about six different governmental actions concerning employment and income levels were measured by the percent of workers agreeing with each item. Two items, for example, were (1) the government should end unemployment by hiring

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everybod~¢ who is without a job; and (2) the government should reduce taxes on big business."

FINDINGS Gender and Economic Effects We examined the economic impact of the plant closings by looking at the number of weeks of unemployment and the likelihood of getting reemployed during the first year after layoff for all the displaced workers. In addition, for those who were reemployed, we determined the skill level and wage level of the new job in comparison to the prelayoff job. We also documented the level of economic distress being experienced by workers after their reemployment. After layoff, workers were unemployed almost half of a year, 25 weeks for women and 22 weeks for men, on the average. When surveyed a year after layoff, moreover, women and men were similar in terms of reemployment status, with 28% of women and 24% of men being still unemployed. These gender differences are not statistically significant. For their prelayoffjob, workers indicated skill level in terms of the time that would be necessary to train someone for their job---a few weeks or less, according to 68% of women and men. Among those reemployed one year after layoff, 42% perceived their skill level to be higher in the new job; 29% said that their skill level was the same; and 29% reported that the skill level of the present job was lower than that for the prelayoff job. Women were similar to men in their perceptions of past and present skill levels. In contrast, there are significant differences between displaced women and men in earnings for both the prelayoff job and the new job. For the former, women earned $7.23, while men earned $11.09 per hour, on average. Among the reemployed, both women and men were losers in terms of average hourly wage rate. Women's new wages are still lower than men' s ($6.14 versus $8.75, respectively), while women have lost less in terms of the ratio of their current to their former wages. Women are also slightly more likely than men to be experiencing more economic distress as indicated by perceptions of inability to afford categories of consumer goods (an average of five versus four such categories, for women and men, respectively; data not shown). Table 1 presents the results of ordinary least squares regression analysis of reemployment, earnings loss (among the reemployed) and economic distress (among the reemployed).5 We expected that the forms of gender inequality that exist in the workplace would persist beyond the plant closings to limit women's opportunities for reemployment and financial security. The first equation, for reemployment, indicates that the likelihood of being reemployed one year after layoff is not influenced by any of the human capital variables. Workers with more experience, education, and higher self-reported skill level are not any more likely to be reemployed than workers with less of these resources. In addition, neither gender nor marital status is related to reemployment. The absence of a gender effect on reemployment is not consistent with other findings from the early 1980s when the unemployment rate reached double digits. The present closings

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Table 1. Ordinary Least Squares Regression Models of Pre-Post Closing Earnings Ratio, Employment Status, and Economic Distress Independent Variable Gender b Marital Status c Plant Seniority Education Skill Level Earnings Ratio Constant R2 Sample Size

EmploymentStatusa B -.02 .01 .00 -.00 .01 . .98 .03 116

.

-.11 .04 .07 -.01 .11 .

Earnings Ratio

B .24'* -.01 -.02** .04 .I 3** . . .39 .22 101

Economic Distress

13

B

13

.27 -.02 -.24 .10 .25

1.22* -.39 ---2.37*** 2.76 .16 104

.21 -.10

-.36

aUnemployed = 1; bFemale = 1; CMarried = 1. ***p = < .001; *'p = < .01; *p = < .05.

occurred at a time of low unemployment and job expansion, especially in the service sector. Thus, the disadvantage of being a woman worker does not extend to reemployment opportunities under conditions of a growing local economy. The second equation looks at the earnings of reemployed workers compared to their earnings at the time of the plant closings. Earnings ratio is current hourly wage divided by former hourly wage; smaller scores indicate more wage loss. Among reemployed workers, women suffered less earnings loss than men, contrary to our hypothesis. This is probably due to the relatively low prelayoff wages that women were earning (in comparison to men), which they could recover or improve upon in an expanding local economy. Workers with greater seniority had a significantly lower earnings ratio (greater loss). This also probably results from the fact that most experienced workers had the highest prelayoff wages and had greater difficulty achieving such a wage in a new job. Workers who report higher skill levels in their new jobs have a higher earnings ratio. Finally, neither education nor marital status affects the earnings ratio of reemployed workers. The third equation in Table 1 concerns economic distress, the number of areas of consumer goods (e.g. food, clothing) that displaced workers perceived they could not afford. Among reemployed workers, women report higher levels of economic distress than men. This may reflect women's lower absolute wage level in comparison to men. It may also mean she experiences distress immediately (e.g., she is the one who must literally go out and try to buy groceries, clothes for the kids) while her husband experiences it more generally (e.g., wanting to be a good provider). Marital status does not affect economic distress. Finally, workers with a higher earnings ratio (less loss) perceive significantly lower levels of economic distress. However, we cannot say with assurance that the economic distress reported by women is due to the layoff, since we have no data on men's and women's economic distress prior to the layoff. The economic impact of plant closings on men and women workers, in terms of reemployment opportunities and wages, is undoubtedly related to the nature of the local economy. We have described local conditions as reflecting an expanding economy. The county unemployment rate when the plants closed in 1989 was below four

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percent (the state unemployment rate was at seven percent), and conditions in the county had improved substantially since 1982, the period of highest unemployment in both the state and the county (just under 12%). Between 1982 and 1989 total employment in the county grew by 26%, with the greatest growth in service jobs (35.7%) and retail trade (34.9%). In contrast, employment in manufacturing grew by 15%, with almost all of that growth accounted for by a single employer (the new auto assembly plant). The manufacturing, service, and retail trade sectors account for about 80% of all employment in the county (about 27% in each sector). Although we lack information on the specific jobs that workers obtained after they were displaced, it is likely that women were drawn disproportionately into service and retail trade jobs, while men were most often reemployed in manufacturing.6 Thus, in a local economy with expanding female-dominated occupations, displaced women workers are as likely to be reemployed as their male counterparts. Moreover, reemployed women have hourly wages that are closer to their former wage level than do reemployed men, but this is probably due to the lower absolute pre-layoff wages of women. Yet, despite the absence of gender differences in reemployment, women workers who are reemployed report greater economic distress than men, even when controlling for earnings ratio, indicating that women have greater long-term negative experiences than men following job loss through plant closures.

Gender and Psychological and Family Effects We examined the psychological effect of the plant closings by asking the displaced workers 10 questions designed to tap depression. As reported in Table 2, scores for women were higher than those for men at both times, which is consistent with research on depression (Kessler and McRae, 1981; Radloff and Rae, 1981). However, the scores of women and men did not vary greatly from each other either right after the closings (15.9 vs. 14.9) or one year later (16.9 vs. 15.3), although at the later time the difference approached statistical significance (p < .09). As to family effects, for married individuals we assessed verbal and physical hostility toward the spouse. For parents we assessed verbal and physical hostility toward children. There were no significant differences between women and men either immediately following the closings or one year later.

Table 2.

Gender Differences in Psychological and Family Effects T1

Depression Family Cohesion Family Adaptability Sample Size Hostility Toward Spouse Hostility Toward Children Sample Size

T2

Gender Differences

Male

Female

Male

Female

T1

T2

14.9 22.1 17.8 90 8.4 9.4 62

15.9 23.0 18.5 159 8.9 8.9 107

15.3 21.2 17.9 61 8.9 8.5 49

16.9 22.1 17.8 99 9.5 9.1 63

NS .06 NS

.09 NS NS

NS NS

NS NS

Note: T1 = Time of plant closings; T2 = One year after closings.

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Finally, the gender differences in cohesion, or closeness, and adaptability, or flexibility, were examined. These characteristics are important to a family's continuing ability to meet new challenges. Again, there was no difference between women and men on average. Although the difference in cohesion between women and men just after the closing (23.0 versus 22.1) approached statistical significance (p < .06), the less than one point difference may not have substantive meaning.

Gender and Political Consequences We examined the political ramifications for displaced workers of a plant closing in two ways. First, we asked workers to indicate their degree of confidence in eight American institutions (e.g., the Presidency, labor unions). Second, we asked displaced workers to indicate whether they agree or disagree with six possible actions by the Federal government to deal with economic problems. Table 3.

Gender Differences in Confidence in Institutions and Political Beliefs Mean Scores Confidence in Institutions

T7

T2

Gender Differences

Male

Female

Male

Female

T7

T2

15.2

14.7

14.5

13.6

NS

.06

Percent Agreeing with Proposed Government Actions T1

T2

Gender Differences

Male

Female

Male

Female

T1

T2

Government Should End Unemployment by Hiring Those Without Jobs

22.7

26.0

13.1

31.3

NS

.01

Government Should Provide Families with Money for a Decent Standard of Living

44.4

65.4

33.3

70.4

.001

.000

Government Should Reduce Taxes on Big Business

15.9

11.3

10.0

9.3

NS

NS

Government Should Tax the Rich Heavily in Order to Redistribute Wealth

38.2

45.8

37.3

55.7

NS

.03

Government Should Limit the Amount of Money a Person is Allowed to Earn in a Year

4.5

5.0

4.9

4.0

NS

NS

Size of Government Should Be Reduced Even If It Means Reduced Services In Health And Education

14.4

6.3

25.9

10.1

.03

.01

Sample Size

90

61

159

99

Note: Lowerscores= lessconfidence. T1 = Time of plant closings; T2 = One year after closings.

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Table 3 contains the confidence in institutions scores of men and women workers (upper panel) and workers' responses to possible government actions (lower panel). Displaced women workers have lower scores than men, indicating less confidence in institutions, both at the time of the plant closings and one year later. The gender difference in confidence is statistically significant at Time 2 only. Responses concerning possible governmental actions also differ significantly by gender in several areas. Displaced women are more likely than men to support government guaranteed income to families (significant at both Time 1 and Time 2), and are less likely than men to support reductions in government spending that impact on health and education (significant at both time periods). Women also differ from men in their belief that government should be the employer of last resort, and that government should impose higher taxes on the rich in order to redistribute wealth (both significant in Time 2). Clearly, displaced women workers are more likely to favor government actions to deal with unemployment than are displaced men. This is consistent with Poole and Zeigler's (1985) finding that the employed women are more supportive than men of redistributive economic policies. We cannot say, however, that these political views are any indicator of one' s propensity to act on political beliefs by joining social change movements. These findings should be approached with caution for several reasons. First is the fact that we do not have repeated measures on the same individuals and therefore cannot know if changes between Time 1 and Time 2 reflect changes in the political views of specific persons. We can only say that the views of two groups of the same persons has changed over time. A second caveat is that we have no evidence of the political views of our respondents before the plant closures, and thus cannot say with confidence that male-female differences are due to the experience of unemployment.

CONCLUSIONS Until relatively recently, conventional wisdom viewed unemployment among women workers as different from unemployment among men, because women were seen as being less committed, second earners (Targ, 1983). Thus, job loss for women would not have the same negative consequences stemming from loss of meaningful work. We now know that most women are in the labor force as single parents, sole providers, or as dual wage earners by necessity. We also know from earlier research on plant closings that women experience either the same or more serious negative consequences as men. On the latter point, displaced women workers in the early 1980s took longer to get reemployed and experienced greater wage loss after reemployment. In this article we examined the general hypothesis that the two genders would differ in how they experienced the economic, psychological, and social effects of job loss due to plant closings in the late 1980s. The significance of the present research is that the plant closings occurred in the context of an expanding local economy, whereas earlier research findings were obtained in the context of severe recession. Our gender inequality perspective receives some support, though not exactly in the manner hypothesized. Women and men do not differ in their chances of reemployment. Following the closings both genders are out of work about the same length of time before obtaining new jobs. This finding differs from that of earlier research and is

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obviously linked to the more favorable economic conditions associated with the closings. When job loss occurs during periods of high unemployment, displaced women workers experience a longer period of unemployment compared to men. However, when local economies are strong, especially with the growth of female-dominated service jobs, displaced women workers have better chances for reemployment. Although reemployed women do not experience greater earnings loss than men in the late 1980s, this finding does not substantially contradict our gender inequality hypothesis. Both men and women suffer wage loss when they are reemployed, but women lose less because of their lower absolute wage level prior to the plant closings. This interpretation is consistent with our finding that reemployed women report greater economic distress than men one year after the plant closing. The absence of any consistent gender differences in psychological effects and family relationships is contrary to our hypothesis. A gender inequality perspective argues that w o m e n ' s double responsibilities as wage earners and in the domestic sphere would result in more intra- and inter-personal stress after job loss. We can only speculate that this may be due to the more favorable economic climate which gave displaced women workers greater optimism about the future. Consistent with the "double burden" argument of the gender inequality perspective, displaced women workers in the late 1980s are somewhat more alienated from social institutions and more "radical" in their choice of government actions to remedy unemployment. This may indicate a growing militancy on the part of women workers as they continue to experience inequality in employment wages, in unemployment experiences, and in their dual responsibilities at home and work. The reality of gender inequality in the workplace continues to shape the experiences of women and men workers following plant closings. The greater negative experiences of women are not substantially moderated by their accumulation of skill or seniority in the workplace, or the economic conditions when job loss occurs.

NOTES 1. In almost all extant plant closing research, public notice of a shutdown was not given by the company beforehand so that researchers could collect adequate baseline data for comparative purposes. Such was the case for these closings. However, information is available from a similar plant closing study in a nearby community which did have a control group. After that closing, displaced blue-collar workers were more economically distressed nine months after the shutdown than the comparison group of continuously employed workers at another plant and reemployed workers continued to be as economically stressed as those still unemployed (Perrucci, et al., 1988). In addition, that displaced blue collar workers have tended to suffer economic losses in comparison to others, losses that were not usually recovered by reemployment, has been well-documented nationally (Congressional Budget Office, 1993). Economic strain, in turn, has been the main mechanism through which unemployment affects displaced workers' psychological health. (Kessler, Turner, and House, 1987). Thus, although direct evidence is lacking, it is reasonable to presume that a considerable amount of the economic strain being expressed by the displaced workers in this study was due to their unemployment and/or reemployment in lower-paying jobs. It also follows that changes in the differences between women and men on psychological and social variables are due to experiences following unemployment.

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2.

3. 4.

5.

6.

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For a study of the processes by which women and men develop differential or similar commitment to work and family roles, see Bielby and Bielby, 1989. In general, the average sense of control is greater among those who are employed compared to those who are not. However, this relationship does not hold overall for married women, because of their typical work and family characteristics including low pay and major responsibilities for household chores. See Ross and Mirowsky, 1992. Social support can be an important buffer against depression, and both women and men can benefit from this resource. However, women and men are likely to receive social support from different locations in their social networks. Men seek help from their spouses and women from family members, friends and neighbors (Perrucci, et al., 1988). We did not test for response bias because we were unable to obtain the requisite information on the three groups of displaced workers. Aside from the three dummy variables, the level of measurement of variables is appropriate for the statistical techniques used in the analysis. All ordinal scales are assumed to reflect an underlying dimension which is continuous. Ordinal scales can be treated as if they were continuous, and the distinction between discrete and continuous measures is the most meaningful criterion for selecting appropriate statistical techniques. See, e.g., Bohrnstedt and Knoke, 1982. For an expanded discussion of the use of ordinal measures with parametric statistics see Bohrnstedt and Carter, 1971. Since the dependent variable, unemployment, is dichotomous we also analyzed the same variables in a logistic regression model. None of the logistic regression coefficients is statistically significant, thereby parallel results to the ordinary least squares analysis is reported in Table 1. National data indicate that job growth in service and retail trade sectors resulted in women taking the large majority of the new jobs created. See Smith, 1984; Deitch, 1988; and Deitch, Nowak, and Snyder, 1991.

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