Women entering the workforce following the success of the feminist movement in the 1960s are credited with transforming the American economy.
Married women entering the workforce were also partly responsible for the meteoric rise in housing prices, at least according to investor and economist Peter Schiff.
DON'T MISS: Beloved Retailer Reaches Its Final Days With No Savior in Sight
"The 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage peaked at 18.45% in October 1981 and troughed at 2.65% in 2021. The current rate is 7.5% and rising, Schiff tweeted to his 960,000 followers on Twitter. "40 years of falling mortgage rates, plus married women entering the workforce, allowed home prices to rise much faster than incomes. Look out below!"
The 30-year, fixed-rate #mortgage peaked at 18.45% in Oct. 1981 and troughed at 2.65% in 2021. The current rate is 7.4% and rising. 40 years of falling mortgage rates, plus married women entering the workforce, allowed home prices to rise much faster than incomes. Look out below!
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) August 6, 2023
Schiff's post received nearly 4,000 likes, but more than a few commentators had a problem with his conclusion.
"'Married women entering the workforce" wasn't a cause of inflation, it was an effect of inflation," user Joseph Wenger rebutted. "It became a necessity in the 70s. Of course there were other reasons, but inflation was one of them."
Another user accused Schiff of blaming women for rising housing prices, which prompted Schiff to expound on his original point to make it a little clearer.
"That's not what I meant. Married women worked to help their husbands [buy] more expensive homes. Women working didn't cause home prices to rise, but rising home prices caused women to get jobs. It was inflation that caused home prices to rise," Schiff said.
That's not what I meant. Married women worked to help their husbands but more expensive homes. Women working didn't cause home prices to rise, but rising home prices caused women to get jobs. It was inflation that caused home prices to rise.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) August 6, 2023
In the early 20th century -- you know, before the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote in 1920 -- only 20% of women were "gainful workers," according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and only 5% of married women worked outside the home.
By the time the Great Depression hit in 1930, 50% of single women were in the workforce and 12% of married women worked, according to The Brookings Institute, lending credence to Schiff's assertion that economic realities prodded women into joining the workforce.
Laws against pregnancy discrimination and workplace harassment in the late 1970s further bolstered women's presence in the workforce with labor participation among women peaking at 78% in the late 90s.
Action Alerts PLUS offers expert portfolio guidance to help you make informed investing decisions. Sign up now.
