How long is a piece of elastic? The measurement of female activity rates in British censuses, 1951–1981

The available evidence concerning the growth of female labor force participation in the United Kingdom since World War II is reviewed. The authors first discuss changing concepts, methods, and results in British censuses from 1951 to 1981. They then reconstruct female labor force trends to take into account the biases identified. They propose a series of economic activity and employee rates for females aged 20-59 and for the proportion of part-time female employees.