White employed wives work out of an interest in being in the labour force rather than financial need. On the other hand, black employed wives are more apt to be working out of financial need and also more likely to be employed full-time. The situation of housewives is somewhat different. White housewives tend to show little attachment to the labour force. They are usually not employed before a birth nor do they have any intentions of being employed afterwards.
Black housewives seem to be the most disparate group.
Whereas educational level and parity have consistently predicted maternal employment when children are older, these factors did not differentiate the employed wives from the full-time housewives. They feel the relationship involves the notion of work interruptions, particularly those interruptions involved with childbirth. In order to examine these issues, Desai and Waite use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to question women 14 to 21 in 1979. Hence, women who leave work in this interval tend to leave that job permanently. These women plan to stay out of the labour force at least for a while and perhaps return at some future date.