Sexual Equality, Female Labor Force Participation and Female Crime - Testing Some Common Assumptions

• NCJ Number: 90112
• Author(s): C L Willis
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 24 pages
• Sale Source: Eric Document Reproduction Service
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. Revised version of a paper presented at the 1981 Annual American Sociological Association Meetings, Toronto, Canada, August 24-28.

Annotation

Most of the contemporary research on female crime rates has focused on the impact of the Women's Liberation movement on reducing the differences between male and female crime.

Abstract

This perspective assumes that increases in female crime due to women becoming emancipated both culturally and structurally. Other recent studies, however, have suggested that the gap between male and female crime has not been significantly reduced. The concern of both groups of studies is the impact of sexual equality on the differences between male and female crime differentiation is used to determine if greater sexual equality and more female labor force participation contribute to fewer differences between male and female participation in crime. The results of an analysis of 100 counties in a southeastern state indicate that sexual equality does not significantly reduce the male-female gap in criminal behavior. Female labor force participation, urbanization and income level are more important factors. The counties with the lowest male-female crime differentiation are characterized by high female labor force participation, low urbanization and high income level. Implications regarding the nature of these findings for future research are discussed. (Resources in Education (ERIC) abstract)